As The Public Theatre renovates, putting on plays remains the same

LEWISTON – Ask an artist. Fancy facilities and high-tech gadgets create little art.

One tiny stage and a single light can illuminate an affecting story, if the words are good and the acting is true.

“From the very beginning, this theater was founded on a shoestring,” said Christopher Schario, artistic director of The Public Theatre.

Not so anymore.

The company’s Maple Street home, a former auto garage, social club and adult movie theater, is well into into a $2.5 million renovation.

There is a new lobby, shiny new bathrooms and freshly painted lines on the repaved parking lot.

But are the plays better? Yes and no, Schario said.

The company’s No. 1 priority is to begin with something entirely intangible: the script. After all, the play’s the thing.

Then comes the actors.

In 1993, just one year after the theater opened, the company made a deal with Actor’s Equity, making it one of only five theaters in the state to hire members of the nationwide actors’ union.

The aim was to get the best actors they could.

“Then comes all the other stuff,” insisted Schario.

Physical changes, such as the expansion of the stage by four feet on either side, came later. Props were accumulated. Lighting and sound systems were upgraded.

Air ducts in the ceiling were removed this summer, making room for new beams of light to shine on the stage.

“We just have a larger palette,” Schario said. “We have a lot more colors we can choose from.”

Schario believes the average theatergoer won’t notice the new light on the stage. Those lights might not even get used.

People notice the lobby, the marquee and the bathrooms, amenities that make the theatergoing experience more comfortable.

But the shoestring ethic remains.

“You can do a play in an empty room with folding chairs,” Schario said.