Scott R.C. Levy, producing artistic director at Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, was in his element last weekend talking with arts leaders from small communities around the country. One was from an old silver mining town in Idaho. Another came from a retirement resort in Florida, and the last from an outlying Minnesotan area – population 768 – made up of what he called “Norwegian bachelor farmers.”

Levy introduced himself this way: “Bangor is the gateway to the Great North Woods and was once the lumber capital of the world.”

But the group had not gathered to share the romance of the past. They were in Minneapolis at the Theatre Communications Group annual conference about all things theater. Levy was leading a panel discussion on producing theater in small communities beyond the theater Meccas of New York City and, indeed, Minneapolis, home to some 200 theaters.

“We stay away from anything that’s hyper-urban,” said one participant. “There are generalities to extract from hyper-urban plays but those are not metaphors that speak to my audience. We try to find a balance.”

Balance was a word that came up frequently as the men talked to each other and to about 20 attendees who themselves run theaters in provincial settings. The balance is between edgy and conservative art, older and younger audiences, local and visiting performers.

One of the younger members of the audience asked about finding balance between personal and professional life in a small town. He couldn’t seem to stop bumping into patrons as his local store, and wondered how he might avoid working even when he was shopping. “It’s exhausting,” he said. “How do you disappear?” A collective sigh of understanding rose in the room.

“You have to face that you are essential to your community, that you are going to be a leader,” the man from Idaho said. “You will be on boards, in schools, at the Chamber. And the people in your community will learn that artists are real people, too, and they can do effective work. That’s important for buying authenticity in a small town.”

Nearly everyone in the room agreed that one of the top questions they faced upon arrival as theater artists in their hamlets was: Will you stay? On the advent of celebrating a 20th-year anniversary of a theater, one woman said, she developed the slogan: “We’re here. We’re staying. Get used to it.”

Levy, who wore a John Deere T-shirt under a sport coat, attended the conference with his incoming board president Durell Buzzini and managing director Marie Cattelle. In addition to moderating the discussion among the small theater leaders, he also attended large group presentations on keeping live theater viable in a world of limited budgets, increasing technology and dwindling older audiences.

The four-day event, he said, gave him encouragement for the work he is doing in Bangor.

“In the end, we’re all facing the same issues: how to continue to build audiences and keep them engaged,” said Levy, who is about to launch his third season in Bangor.

Attendance at Penobscot Theatre – just over 11,000 tickets sold per year – has remained unchanged in the last 10 years, said Levy, whose annual budget is $650,000, including in-kind services. After listening to others at the conference, Levy said one way he might target new audiences is through technology, perhaps with online video previews of shows. Last season, he collaborated with Maine Discovery Museum to offer low-cost babysitting services to parents who want to attend performances at the theater.

Still, he said, there’s much work to be done in terms of budget, programs, outreach, staffing and audience development.

Going to a conference with others who work in the same industry, Levy added, gave him a strong dose of encouragement for his work in Bangor.

“It’s the best form of professional development I can think of,” he said. “Last year, I left the conference with big ideas. It was good to pause for a few weeks and think about them and share them with others at the theater.”

This week, he’s pausing again to think big ideas.

“I’m still learning,” he said. “This last season was a big learning experience for me. It was more risky than I wanted or intended it to be. Now I’ll determine if the upcoming season is too commercial.”

The lineup includes “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” “Peter Pan,” “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Night of the Iguana,” all of which have either name recognition or track records as crowd pleasers.

“It may be more palatable to this community than last season was,” said Levy. “If the audience numbers don’t show that, then I’ll have to rethink again.”

For information about the 2007-2008 season at Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, visit www.penobscottheatre.org or call 942-3333.