Tossing Around Ideas Tossing around ideas for creative uses of the Boothbay Harbor Opera House are, from left, Congressman Tom Allen, Tony Heyl, Jay Sanders, Dennis Gleason, Dick Peck, who were all on a tour of the building. (Photo Robin Beck)

"There won't be another chance. Other towns have lost their opera houses and they've gone dark," says David Peck, vice president of the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor.

"Most communities would give their life to have this problem - a standing, living opera house," says Abby Levin of Boothbay who works with the Maine Arts Commission.

It has been a busy week at the Opera House.

Last Wednesday a "Business After Hours" was held there, drawing around 80 people and sparking their interest, and on Monday U.S. Congressman Tom Allen and actors Jay O. Sanders and Maryann Plunkett enthusiastically pledged their support for the project.

Impressed with the "incredible" turnout by scores of downtown business owners on a sunny August afternoon, speakers from state agencies and arts organizations on Wednesday urged community leaders to use both "heart and head" to preserve the historicity and cultural heritage of the Boothbay Harbor Opera House.

The leaders of the non-profit organization trying to save the Opera House had invited business owners to a Business After Hours upstairs at the Opera House on Aug. 13. Tours of the building and remarks by several speakers familiarized residents with the proposed purchase and restoration project and its relevance to the local economy.

The organization, the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, needs $1.2 million to buy the Opera House from owner John Abbe by Sept. 30.

As of this week some $350,000 has been pledged. Board members are willing to take out a mortgage for $300,000 and expect to raise the remaining $550,000 for the purchase.

The Sept. 30 deadline is firm, directors told the gathering, and there is real competition to buy the building. Other parties reportedly are interested in acquiring the property for such uses as boat storage, shops, condominiums or low-income housing.

"It used to be that this was just a nice thing to do," said Abby Levin about historic preservation for the arts, "but now we know it has very strong economic opportunities."

Retirees look for cultural offerings before they move to an area; teens at risk are shown to do better in school and in the community when they are involved in the arts; and involving young people ensures the success of a project, she said.

Historic buildings are a "cultural inheritance," she said, "they are public goods... `We owe the future the past,'" she added, quoting Wendell Berry.

Mark Torres, director of the Bangor Opera House's Penobscot Theater, urged residents to focus on a mission statement and a strategic plan, determining how the facility will sustain itself in the long-term.

Ann Ball, an expert in cultural tourism with the Maine Office of Tourism, offered examples of cultural heritage tours and programs throughout the state which demand collaboration of organizations but yield tourists who stay longer and spend more.

Darcy Rollins of the Maine Downtown Center, who described the state's program to help revitalize downtowns, commented, "Many towns would be ecstatic to call this [opera house] their own... I encourage you to think of this as part of the larger community... This can be the pulse of the downtown."

"I strongly believe this could be an anchor for the north part of town," says Steve Malcom, a member of the Opera House board. "It will invigorate the downtown and extend the business district."

Steve Cole of Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) advised the people gathered to act with both the heart and the head - to reclaim the memories of the Opera House through historic preservation but also to have a sound business plan which will attract investors and ensure long-term sustainability.

Lynn Thompson of Boothbay, director of the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Edgecomb, offered an administrative perspective.

She related how the 17-year-old visual arts center had to diversify and provide employment to become a year-round center. Watershed's "Mudmobile," which takes ceramics on the road to schools, senior centers and other places, not only provides activities and a service to communities; it also raises awareness about Watershed's artist-in-residence program and provides employment for its artists and income for the center.

Jaimie Kleinstiver, director of the Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce, sees the Opera House as a potential source of revenue as a site for conferences.

Opera House board members are already planning on multiple uses for the four-story facility, including: as a performing arts theater and concert hall, dance studio, oral history room, computer center with Internet access, host of an artist-in-residence program, a possible film festival site, and as a venue for meetings, conferences and classes.

Some uses, such as those bringing in ticket or fee revenues, would likely subsidize others which do not.

Wednesday's gathering, which provided copies of the Opera House prospectus with old photos and future floor plans, served to stir interest in the project, stimulate financial pledges and get people talking.

On Monday, after visiting Hodgdon Yachts, Rep. Tom Allen stopped by for a tour of the Opera House and a briefing on the group's plans for it.

He was impressed with the facility, agreeing it is a worthy project and offering his staff's assistance in applying for federal arts grants.

"Restoring the Boothbay Harbor Opera House as a community arts center is a project that will enrich this community by strengthening its sense of history and continuity and by providing a wonderful site for activities that will bring residents together," said Allen, who is a past president of the Portland Stage Company.

Jay O. Sanders and his wife Maryann Plunkett of New York City are professional actors who have been summering in Boothbay Harbor for 13 years.

After touring the Opera House on Monday they both volunteered to serve on the Board of Advisors and to help with benefit performances.

"There are endless possibilities," says Sanders, "the structure is in such good shape... I would love to see arts camps and workshops in the summer, a gathering place for dance, music, film, theater... The arts give a place real heart," he says.

The Opera House, Sanders adds, "sits right at the door of Boothbay Harbor." Restoring and adding visual interest to the exterior of the building would create a "doorway to the town that says the arts are alive, [that would invite people] come see our shops, restaurants and the waterfront...

"People who come to shows would also eat at local establishments and buy T-shirts. They'd get food for their souls here. A community center in the best sense attracts people but also inspires them by giving them a place to come together to learn and see art in all its forms," says Sanders.

Sanders has acted in over 60 movies, including Cross Creek, Glory, JFK, Angels In the Outfield, Music of the Heart, Along Came A Spider, and The Day After Tomorrow, a blockbuster about global warming due out in 2004. He has also appeared in such television shows as Law and Order, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Spenser: for Hire, and Northern Exposure.

Maryann Plunkett, a founder of the Portland Stage Company, has acted on and off Broadway and received a Tony Award as best musical actress for her role as Sally in Me and My Girl. She has appeared in films such as Fools Rush In and Claire Dolan and in television shows such as L.A. Law, Law and Order, Matlock and Murder, She Wrote.

Both have also narrated and recorded many audio books.

The Opera House was recently the site of the Lincoln Arts Festival's Jazz Weekend, and it will host a barbershop quartet concert on Aug. 24.

"I think it's common knowledge that this is the last chance Boothbay Harbor will have to save the building," says Stan Tupper about the Opera House. "It's the last, best hope to keep it as a cultural center."

Clubs and arts organizations are encouraged to hold meetings or events in the Opera House so that many will experience what it has to offer.

For more information about the project visit the website designed by Dawn and Gary Guzzo of Atomic Studios: www.opera-house.org.

To arrange an appointment for a tour, call the Opera House at 633-6855, Steve Malcom at 633-3818, or Dennis Gleason at 633-6849.

Email messages may be sent to info@opera-house.org.

To make a financial contribution, send tax-deductible donations to: The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, P.O. Box 800, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.