To understand the New Surry Theatre, you first need to understand the old Surry Theatre.

As the story goes, the repertory theater and acting school began in 1929, with a gentleman named Leighton Rollins at the helm. Henry Fonda graced its stage, while Laura Elliot led the school. Plays ceased during World War II, and resumed in 1945, when producer Charles Carey was given carte blanche to start the Surry Playhouse. It lasted until 1952, when the curtain fell for the final time.

Fast forward to 1972. Two longtime friends from Brooklyn, Bill Raiten and Sheldon Bisberg, found the story so enchanting that they decided to form the New Surry Theatre. Today, the tradition continues -in a familiar space.

NST will kick off its 35th anniversary season tonight on the second-story stage in the Blue Hill Town Hall – one of many venues the troupe has played over the years. It’s a grand, gracious building with theater that’s small enough to feel cozy yet large enough to handle the elaborate set for “Lend Me a Tenor.”

Ken Ludwig’s Tony-winning comedy of errors will run in repertory, along with D.L. Colburn’s drama “The Gin Game,” through late August. A portion of ticket sales will benefit the town hall, and $3 from each ticket will be donated to the Blue Hill Library.

“We don’t have an actual home – we perform in different places,” explained June Carter, an actor and NST’s president. “The core of our group is from the Blue Hill area, and we hope it’s going to be a long-lasting agreement.”

On a recent afternoon, big personalities and raucous laughter filled the performance space during a rehearsal for “Lend Me a Tenor.” The play follows an opera company as it prepares for the arrival of world-famous tenor Tito Merelli, played by Herb Mitchell. But he arrives late, and the company’s manager finds a replacement, Max, played by Julian Chapman. He makes the manager’s daughter, Maggie (Jenny Smick) swoon.

When Merelli finally arrives, mayhem, merriment – and a make-out session – ensue.

As the cast members took their places on stage, Raiten recapped the last rehearsal.

“Dennis, you weren’t here last time, but Jennifer and Julian were so outrageous it was UNBELIEVABLE,” Raiten, the company’s artistic director, said in a booming voice. “All of you, let’s keep working at it – being totally that feeling, totally that character. The more we do it in rehearsal, the much easier it’ll be. The more fun we’ll have during the performance.”

New Surry Theatre is like a community troupe on steroids. Raiten wrote and directed children’s plays in New York before moving to Blue Hill in 1970. Many of his actors have worked on Broadway or in Los Angeles before moving to Maine to pursue the good life. Others, such as John Chapin, have studied for years with NST’s acting school.

“It’s incredible, Bill’s approach to things is feeling, emotion,” said Chapin, who plays Weller Martin in the tragicomic “The Gin Game.” “That informs everything else you do.”

Chapin’s wife, Dindy Royster, plays Fonsia Dorsey in “The Gin Game.” She has been a part of NST since 1979.

“The character, the emotion that gets you where you’re going, it’s a much more thoughtful approach to what actually comes out on stage,” Royster said. “And what energy that man has.”

That man is Raiten, and his dedication to work and play is one of the reasons why NST has lasted 35 years – and why many in the troupe return year after year.

“He can be demanding, but he also can pull things out of you that you never even knew you had,” Harrington said.

“He’s as good as anybody I’ve worked with professionally,” Mitchell added. “One of the things Bill is capable of is that he can adapt himself to any personality.”

Mitchell was part of NST’s inaugural performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” 35 years ago. After decades on stage and screen in Los Angeles, he returned three years ago to rejoin the local troupe.

“A lot of professional directors if they don’t like you can make it very difficult on you,” Mitchell explained. “Bill doesn’t play that game at all.”

Instead, he stands front and center, taking notes and shouting out commentary in his trademark Brooklyn accent.

“Big! Big! Be OUTRAGEOUS!” he yelled. “All right?”

The actors nodded, grabbed their props and set the stage for Act II of “Lend Me a Tenor.” There was a bit of confusion as to where a suitcase should be, but otherwise, things ran smoothly. The cast members all have worked together in the past, so it came naturally.

“There’s an ensemble kind of acting and a warmth that comes from the group,” Raiten said, smiling. “They all make suggestions and I love their suggestions. They’re always as right as mine.”

Except when they’re not.

After the doppelganger opera stars traded steamy smooches with two different leading ladies, popped open champagne, slammed doors, signed autographs and basically ran wild on stage, there came a time when the two were supposed to stand on opposite sides of a wall. Neither could see the other, yet their motions should’ve been in sync. But on this afternoon, they weren’t.

“Can we do it from the top?” Julian Chapman asked.

“No!” Raiten exclaimed, in a tone that couldn’t be questioned. “Here we go.”

Chapman of Brooksville, an 18-year-old George Stevens Academy graduate, recently received a full scholarship from Bennington College in Vermont. He said his six-year stint with NST – and a video of theater footage – made his application stand out. Though he’s not sure whether he’ll study theater in college, he said experience with the troupe has been invaluable.

“The actors also do production work on the board. Some of us went around and put posters up. We’re all a little bit of everything,” Chapman said. “Every actor has a sense of what goes into it.”

It has been that way for 35 years – even longer, if you count the early days. And if Raiten has his way, the New Surry Theatre will continue for another 35 years.

“We have a lot of fun,” he said. “We respect each other very much. And we laugh a lot. God, do we laugh. That’s what makes it all worth it.”

“Lend Me a Tenor”

7 p.m. July 6, 13, 14, 27; Aug. 11, 17, 18

3 p.m. July 15, 29; Aug. 12

“The Gin Game”

7 p.m. July 20, 21, 28; Aug. 3, 10

3 p.m. July 8, 22; Aug. 5

All tickets: $18 online, at Blue Hill Library, or by phone, 374-5556

Information: www.newsurry

theatre.org