Curtains rise and fall on theatrical productions throughout Midcoast Maine. In Bath, that venue is the oh-so-medieval Chocolate Church Arts Center.

In 1845, architect Arthur Gilman designed the church in the Gothic Revival style. It was completed by 1847. Its grand interior cathedral post and beam ceilings, pointed arch windows, pinnacles and 18-foot square tower (complete with a Paul Revere bell) is set on a 47 by 88-foot long foundation, wrapped in board and batten.

It has been a historical landmark since the early 1970s and it has pitch perfect acoustics. Bath residents and those from the Midcoast and beyond have known it for decades of quality theater, concerts and art exhibitions.

The Chocolate Church Arts Center offers a variety of performers and performances. Over the years, Don Campbell, Lunasa, Schooner Fare, John Gorka, Geoff Muldaur, Castlebay, Battlefield Band, Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, J. Geils, Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood, Enter the Haggis, blues artists Marcia Ball, Rory Block, James Cotton, Roomful of Blues and Shemekia Copeland, and the incomparable Judy Collins' names have graced its marquee.

The Chocolate Church has also has been home, off and on (mostly on) to the Studio Theater of Bath (STB), a semi-professional acting group, since 1979. Outstanding theater has been produced there, from “Jesus Christ Superstar” (with Boothbay's very own Ron Bouffard in the lead role) to “The Best Christmas Pageant” to Neil Simon and Oscar Wilde.

Last weekend, STB's production of “The Elephant Man,” with live cello music, concluded to rave reviews. Theatrical offerings are staged in on the main stage or in the Curtis Room.

The walls of the Member's Art Gallery, above the Curtis Room, provide space for further creative depth in the form of oil, watercolor, pastel and pen and ink paintings/drawings and sculpture.

The Chocolate Church Arts Center is one of the premiere cultural venues in Midcoast Maine. And, like others that are also historical landmarks (the opera houses in Boothbay Harbor and Camden, and the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta) boards and executive directors struggle to fund maintenance and restoration projects. The historical landmark designation requires the integrity and character of these structures be maintained.

In July of 2013, the Chocolate Church Arts Center hired Jennifer DeChant as its new executive director, replacing Barbara Bowers, who left a few months earlier.

As DeChant familiarized herself with the programming, and the challenges faced to produce it, and both observed and was told of the extensive work necessary on the beloved structure, she realized, some conversations “should have happened yesterday.”

“We launched a building action committee a few weeks ago with expertise in historic buildings banking, architecture and law to have those necessary conversations,” DeChant said. “This ad hoc group was formed to figure out what our options are: how should the building's infrastructure needs be addressed, how do we build on what we have .... Others will be added to the committee as we go along.”

With regard to the infrastructure, the furnace has issues, parts of the exterior are rotting and the steeple is leaning. Long time board member Thom Watson said they had arrested the leaning, temporarily, with internal buttressing and spent $68,000 on a new roof. But, despite this action, somehow more water, not less, is finding its way in via the (original) steeple, making it the architectural priority.

“We started with a seven step plan several years ago and are down to the last three steps,” Watson said. “Over the last few years, all we've been able to do is try to arrest the current deterioration. The committee needs to decide if we should begin a capital campaign, and if we do, should it be for the remaining restoration or individual restoration projects? The board and corporation are responsible to the National Parks Service to keep the property up, so it's a question of how we repair it, not if we repair it.”

DeChant said once the newly formed committee presents its recommendations, “We will be bringing to the streets, in essence, what has to come about for the future of the Arts Center.”

The creative heart beats on

DeChant has been working on off-campus programing like the annual production of “Love Letters,” performed by Watson and STB original member Suzanne Rankin of Wiscasset, at the Cosmopolitan Club on Valentine's Day; and summer programming. That's in addition to her service as representative for District 62, to which she was elected in 2012.

DeChant and the board are also working on creating summer programming and educational workshops, which do not require the use of the main stage. This executive director believes that art transcends the physical; it's immaterial where an art exhibit, play or concert is held – it is all produced by the Chocolate Church Arts Center.

“The Chocolate Church has a brand of producing quality experiences,” DeChant said. “All of the boards over the years have done good work, but the church is diversifying and strengthening its brand and that's not beholden solely to the main stage.”

Watson concurred. “The product is a great performance, the theater or visual arts, not where it happens.”

For DeChant, focusing on local talent, giving locals the opportunity to play a venue like the Chocolate Church, is important.

DeChant said there has also been discussion taking that focus on local talent to the high schools. She is working on art workshops based on the Big Brothers Big Sisters model of Bigs and Littles. Students would be paired up with a retired, or active, artist in the area (who would receive a small stipend). The workshop would culminate in the students' having an art show at the Arts Center.

Also a writer's workshop and songwriting workshops plans are in the works locals working with locals in a spirit of creativity.

Watson said they are also developing playwriting and songwriting workshops. A theater workshop would be designed for the age 60 and over set this summer.

“It's been successful in other parts of the country; we would come up with a small script for six to eight people. Go to an elderly housing complex, hold auditions, cast it, rehearse and hold theater workshops (all in-house) and at the end of six weeks put on the show,” Watson said. “There are lots of talented people in assisted living situations. It gets people out maybe trying something new, socializing, and challenging their memories.”

Watson said studies demonstrate that when people in this age group are engaged in the arts/creative expression they are less depressed; less dependent on medication. DeChant added talks with some elder housing/homes in Bath and the region have already been started.

While these satellite performance sites are moving the arts around town, the board, Watson and DeChant continue to work on strengthening the organization that is the Chocolate Church Arts Center.

“We must have a healthy org in tandem with preservation of the building. How do we innovatively and creatively face these challenges?” DeChant. “In 1986 the community raised $200,000 to save the foundation of the Church. People made something happen; there was an emotional investment, a physical investment and a reward.”

A core volunteer group of 24 are invested physically and emotionally today. But, casting for new members is ongoing. One relatively recent volunteer took over the sale of ads for the programs, which was a huge boon, others come in to do day-long projects, usher, etc. DeChant would like to train volunteers to be stage managers, and to handle box office tasks.

Watson says people share memories of the church in their lives on a regular basis.

“The Chocolate Church has intersected with peoples' lives,” DeChant said. “It's is all part of the conjuring of an artistic and cultural arts experience, one we hope will be part of the magic that moves it forward when we decide what we will be doing physically with the church.”

Upcoming experiences include STB's spring production of Anton Checkhov's "The Cherry Orchard" in April; folk blues artist Chris Smither, Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks, and musician songwriter Greg Brown.

For more on the Chocolate Church Arts Center, vist chocolatechurch.com.