The threatened demise of the Penobscot Theatre Company is disturbing to many of us in the Bangor are. I disagree with Mark Torres’ idea of why this has come about.

When he first came here to take on the direction of the theater, he started with very basic views in what should be presented and he used, for the most part, local talent.

We mid-Maine people are a close-knit and proud community. We are proud of those people who made up the main group of talent that built PTC into what it has become in the past 10 years. When Mark discontinued the use of our own local talent, and started to import actors, thinking they were more professional perhaps, he lost our loyalty.

Actors like Ron and Julie Lisnet, Jim Richardson, Ron Adams (one of the funniest men to ever “strut the stage”!), Davidson Kane, Bob Libbey, Allison Cox and too many others to name, worked countless hours for $200 or so a production. To be sure, many of these fine performers have moved on to other commitments, but surely there are many other talented locals that could be groomed to take their place. Mark wants to help advance new talent?

What is wrong with starting at the grass roots? The imported actors have to be paid “scale,” housed and transported, costing hundreds of dollars more and for people that we neither know nor can relate to. We love our own actors. They love acting. Why can’t we continue to make use of those we know and love and use only occasional imported talent to augment what we already have? We want a “community” theater, not a Broadway theater.

Betty F. Shibles

Orrington