BANGOR – In March, Scott R.C. Levy drove from New York City to Bangor through a pounding snowstorm to attend a production of “Long Day’s Journey into Night” at Penobscot Theatre Company. He quietly saw the show, toured the city and liked what he saw. The impromptu visit reinforced Levy’s hope to join the Bangor arts community.

After a rigorous two-day interview last month, Levy was named Tuesday the new producing artistic director of Penobscot Theatre.

“There are so many different points to my mission,” said Levy, an educator at Playwrights Horizon Theater School, a professional theater-arts training program in New York City. “A huge piece of my mission is instilling a passion for live theater as an important art form for the audience and to find those who haven’t been exposed or interested in this art form and bring them into the theater.”

The five-member search committee unanimously chose Levy from a pool of 47 applicants in part because of his enthusiastic approach to the arts and to Bangor as a community, said Robert Guerette, vice president of the board of directors and head of the committee. But it was equally vital that the new director be comfortable and capable in the role of fund-raiser, an increasingly important quality for artistic leadership. The theater’s annual budget is just over $500,000, with another $100,000 from in-kind gifts. About a third of the budget is from ticket sales; the rest comes from programs, contributions and other sales.

Levy, 29, has a fine arts degree in acting and drama, as well as a master’s degree in educational theater from New York University. In addition to his teaching, he has also worked as a director, actor and producer. He is also founder and artistic director of The ANT Company based in New York City.

“Scott is very energetic,” said Guerette, who will become president of the board next season. “He has a great theater and academic background, and we thought he would do so well here. He just doesn’t seem to run out of ideas, and his enthusiasm and energy are contagious. With a 30-year history, we think this is a viable organization that can contribute to what Bangor can claim it has to offer, and we’re excited about the future. I think the future looks very bright.”

Mark Torres, producing artistic director at Penobscot Theatre since 1992, resigned the post last November, saying that it was time to move on in his career. A year earlier, he saw the theater through a budget crisis, which almost closed the organization but ultimately helped build it into the smaller, more financially secure company it is today. He and Collene Frashure Torres, his wife and managing director at the theater, hope to stay in the area but have not revealed career plans publicly. Torres will leave the organization in mid-June. Collene may stay on longer to help with the transition. They both plan to attend the theater’s second annual gala benefit on Saturday, May 14, at the Bangor Opera House.

“We really feel great about the search working because the board gave it the time and care this kind of thing needs,” Torres said Tuesday. “We support the board and search committee in what they are doing, and, as members of the community, we’re excited to support Scott in his endeavors.”

In addition to finding new audiences in the area, Levy, who vied with two other finalists for the position, said he hopes to produce world premieres of new plays and increase educational outreach for community members of all ages.

His particular interest in young audiences caught the attention of Sandra Blake Leonard, a financial consultant and theater supporter. Leonard attended a community forum held for Levy during his interview time.

“He had such enthusiasm,” said Leonard. “I was very taken with him and interested in his commitment to children’s programming and in bringing along the next generation of theatergoers.”

Levy grew up in West Hartford, Conn., and said he is looking forward to returning to New England – this time with his wife, Joye Cook-Levy, an educator and playwright. The couple is expecting the birth of its first child any day. Levy starts his position the first week in June.

Since applying for the job, Levy said, he has been checking online weather reports regularly to see if the adjustment to longer winters and lower temperatures might be his family’s biggest challenge. But with his roots in New England and his wife’s in Iowa, he can safely turn his attention to monitoring other parts of his new community, he said. The day he arrived in town for his interview, for instance, Levy read a front-page article in the BDN about a thirtysomething group generating social and professional buzz in Bangor.

“It was exciting to me that there is a community my age interested in developing the community,” said Levy. “Everything I’ve been reading and hearing suggests Bangor is on the way up socially, economically and culturally. I’m excited to become part of that and to help with the continued growth and the creative economy. I look forward to getting the work started.”

Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.