LEWISTON — Michael Miclon, who founded and operated Buckfield’s Oddfellow Theater for 14 years, is adopting a new stage.

Beginning May 1, Miclon will take over as the executive artistic director of Johnson Hall in downtown Gardiner. He plans to reboot the program of performances in its first floor and revive plans to renovate the Civil War-era building’s 390-seat grand hall on the third floor.

“I can already see it,” Miclon said of the third-floor hall. Though it’s been largely untouched for decades, he believes the hall can be fixed slowly. “I can see it, and the board can see it.”

For Miclon, 45, the work will dominate an already full schedule.

This summer, the Buckfield native plans to finish shooting and editing “Richard 3”. Miclon directed and starred in the Shakespeare-based comedy last summer. Among his locations were Buckfield and Lewiston.

But there is more filming to be done and more fundraising needed to pay for it.

“Besides Johnson Hall right now, the film will be my No. 1 priority,” Miclon said. “That’s something that’s going to happen, and the board knows that as well.”

The veteran performer also has dates lined up for other area venues, including Matt and Jason Tardy’s Freeport Theater of Awesome and the Celebration Barn Theater in Paris.

“Doing those shows is just good for the soul,” Miclon said.

Given his already busy schedule, Miclon passed on the Johnson Hall directorship when friend David Greenham, a consultant to the Johnson Hall board, first mentioned the opportunity last fall.

A couple of months later, Miclon asked Greenham about the job. The deadline for applications on the national search had just ended, said Greenham, the former director of the Theater at Monmouth and a cast member of “Richard 3.”

“I thought, ‘They’re covered,'” Miclon said. “It’s meant to be.”

Then, the board chose not to hire either of the finalists chosen from a pool of 34 applicants. The day the board was to meet to consider options, Miclon asked Greenham about the job. A meeting was hastily scheduled. The day after the interview, the board unanimously hired Miclon.

“Mike’s a great guy. He’s a really dynamic individual,” Greenham said. “He understands the relationship between arts and community. And he understands the challenge taking a building that isn’t something and making it into something

“That’s the situation with Johnson Hall,” Greenham said. “It’s a great historic building that needs a bunch of work. But not everyone can imagine what it will be like when it’s completed. Mike’s the perfect guy to articulate what it is we’d like it to be.”

After all, that’s what he did with the Oddfellow Theater, which Miclon renovated from an Oddfellows Hall. He and friends built the stage and the seating and the upstairs living area.

The building is currently for sale, though much of its contents have been sold. Miclon sold the seats to the Tardys for their Freeport theater. The lighting and other equipment were sold to the Celebration Barn.

Miclon, who sometimes wondered whether he had the right skills for a regular work, said he feels “perfect” for the Johnson Hall job.

“I can lead the construction, I can do the construction,” he said. “I’m very comfortable at creating a series of performances that I can build energy for and a fan base for.”

And he’ll be picking up the work begun by mentors Benny and Denise Reehl.

The couple, who first met and taught Miclon when he was a middle school student, also founded the nonprofit organization that runs the hall. Benny Reehl died in 2005. Denise Reehl, the longtime artistic director, retired earlier this year.

“Benny couldn’t see his work through,” Miclon said.

Miclon hopes to complete the work for him.

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