AUGUSTA — The Augusta Colonial Theater Board of Directors announced today Peter Bezemes of Branson, Missouri has been hired as the organization’s first Executive Director. He will begin his tenure in this newly created, full-time position this summer.

Andrew Silsby, Vice Chair of the ACT Board of Directors led the months-long search that resulted in over 100 applications with finalists from Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Maine. In the end, the search committee was unanimous in its selection. Silsby said of Bezemes, “We are excited and feel very good we have the right person, with great credentials and experience in theater operations and fundraising, and someone that knows what it will take to get the Augusta Colonial Theater back open and what we all hope it can be.”

A Massachusetts native, Bezemes brings over 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry to Augusta. Most recently, Bezemes served as the Executive Director for the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri and for several years he was the Executive Director of the Scheidegger Center for the Arts in Saint Charles, Missouri. At the Scheidegger, Bezemes oversaw the construction of the 138,000 square foot, state-of-the-art performing arts venue from the ground up and quickly established a profitable model of operations through creating and funding a 3.5 million-dollar endowment and building a dedicated base of staff, volunteers, and patrons. Bezemes breadth of experience includes production of Broadway musicals, educational programming, film, television, and broadcast radio. Bezemes earned his master’s degree in film studies from Boston University, currently holds a National Broadcast License, and is a voting member of the Grammy Awards in the Production and Engineering Ring.

After a tour inside the Colonial with ACT Board Chair Richard Parkhurst, Bezemes said, “While it needs a great deal of work, I believe there is great potential, and I believe the revitalized Colonial Theater will be of enormous benefit to the city, state and all of the people in Maine.”

The executive director search committee was chaired by Andrew Silsby, Vice Chair of the ACT Board of Directors and President of Kennebec Savings Bank, and included board chair and Downtown Augusta developer Richard Parkhurst and board member Crystal Sullivan Fuller.

Additional information about the Augusta Colonial Theater, including history, upcoming events, and how to support may be found on the theater’s website at augustacolonialtheater.org.