As co-artistic directors for The Public Theatre in Lewiston, Christopher Schario and Janet Mitchko run the show. 

Literally. 

They select, cast and direct plays. Hire the crew and administrative staff. Raise funds. Promote and market. They do it all.

And over the past 22 years, they’ve brought lots and lots of performances to the stage.

They’re careful about what they put on. If it bores them, they figure it’ll bore an audience. It’s a philosophy that seems to have worked. They’ve helped take the place from a tiny theater housed under a Bingo hall to one with nearly 17,000 patrons a year. And in the process, the year-round professional theater has earned Down East Magazine’s “Best Theater” readers’ choice award the past two years.

Name: Christopher Schario, Janet Mitchko

Age: Christopher: 66; Janet: “A lot younger than Christopher”

Town: Lewiston/Auburn

Job: Co-artistic directors

What does an artistic director do? (It sounds like something involving crayons, paint and collages . . .) On the artistic side the most important thing we do is pick the season and cast the shows. We go to New York City about three times a year for auditions and hold auditions at the theater for New England-based actors. We also hire all of the set, costume and lighting designers for each show. We both attend all design and production meetings regardless of which one of us is directing the play. We also both have administrative and fundraising responsibilities, and Janet also does the marketing for the theater.

How does co-directing work? We don’t co-direct the plays. When one of us is directing a play the other will watch several run-throughs of it while it’s in rehearsal and give notes to whoever is directing. We give each other ongoing feedback about how things are progressing, but whoever is directing always has the final say.

How did you get involved with theater?

Christopher: I did a play (“Guys and Dolls”) at the end of my senior year of high school. I had never had any interest in theater at all up to that point. Nor did anyone I knew. But that was all it took. From that moment on, this has been my life.

Janet: I started writing skits and acting in grade school. I grew up in New York and for my 13th birthday I saw my first Broadway show, “Irene,” starring Debbie Reynolds. My mom knew the producers, so I got to go backstage and meet her and I was so star struck I couldn’t speak, but I knew I wanted to do what she did on stage.

How has The Public Theatre changed since you started? The size of everything has been totally transformed. When we got here the budget and audience were small and there was no staff except for us and a part-time technical director who designed and built all the sets. The building was owned by a social club (that held Bingo upstairs during performances), and then a pool hall. Our budget is now six times larger, we have more full-time staff, the yearly audience is almost 17,000 patrons and we’ve bought the building and spent about $1.5 million renovating it. Nevertheless, you’ll probably still catch us hunting for props for an upcoming show at a local yard sale.

Strangest thing that’s happened during a show there? Gratefully, things generally go pretty much as we plan them. Because we are a professional theater, we run a pretty tight ship. Occasionally a technical mistake will happen or an actor will drop a line, but thankfully nothing has happened that we could label as “strange.”

What’s the best show you’ve been involved with?

Christopher: That’s hard to say. It changes with each passing year. (My) all-time favorites at TPT include “Dancing at Lughnasa,” “Terra Nova” and “Educating Rita.”

Janet: Being a mom, I would never say which one of my children I liked best, so my lips are sealed.

What’s your secret to corralling all those actors, behind-the-scenes people, sets, props and audience members? It’s a part of the skill set of being a theater professional. Plus, working with people who love the work they do is way easier than herding cats. We have a very good reputation among actors in New York and around the country, and people WANT to work here.

What’s one show you’re dying to bring to The Public Theatre? What’s the next show in the season? That’s the one we’re most dying to do. That’s one of the best parts of this job — producing plays we want to do, that WE would pay money to see. We’re very excited about our upcoming 25th season.

What’s one show you never want to have to put on? A boring one. If we don’t like the play, you’re not going to see it on our stage.

Christopher, I hear your language can get . . . creative. With a particular emphasis on a certain F word. What’s up with that?

Christopher: I’ve never said that word in my life.

Janet: No comment.

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