Center Theatre closing temporarily

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Center Theatre announced Monday that it is closing in an effort to slow the spread of COVID 19. According to an announcement posted on the website, “We are joining many other local organizations who are taking action to slow the spread of COVID 19 to give our healthcare systems and supporting infrastructure a chance to cope with this global pandemic. We do this not out of fear but from a sense of shared responsibility for the health and welfare of our community.”

While the Theatre is closed, staff will still be working full-time at home and behind the scenes. Patrick Myers, the Center Theatre’s executive director, said that the Theatre board of directors felt strongly that they should do whatever they can to ensure that staff does not suffer because of the coronavirus. 

“We have been making lists of projects that have been on the back-burner and improvements we can make around the Theatre,” he said. “Our plan is that when the Theatre is ready to re-open, it will be better than ever.”

Myers was unsure how the closure and the pandemic would affect the Theatre’s plans to open their new second screen in April, “We hope that when we reopen, we will have two screens to show movies but at this point there are no guarantees.”

While the Center Theatre is closed, officials will be holding online fundraisers and raffles to raise support for the operational and personnel expenses. Anyone wanting to make a donation can do so on the Center Theatre’s website centertheatre.org, on Facebook, by calling the Theatre at 207-564-8943, or by mail to Center Theatre, 20 East Main St. Dover-Foxcroft, Maine 04426. The Center Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to make arts, education and entertainment accessible to our rural communities to engage and inspire.