Jeff Wiseman, the new executive director of The Waldo Theatre, rolls up his sleeves as listens to a theater staff member in Waldoboro on Friday, March 7. Wiseman, who hails from a performing arts and development background in New York and Maryland, said he is looking forward to leading through listening as the theater rockets toward its 90th anniversary in December. (Sarah Masters photo)
Jeff Wiseman is leaning in to listening.
As the new executive director of The Waldo Theatre, Wiseman wants to hear the community’s dreams and plans for the near 90-year-old institution. So far, he likes what he’s heard.
“I want to be part of what’s next for The Waldo Theatre,” Wiseman said.
Wiseman has started to think of the Waldo Theatre as a harbor, a shelter for artists and the community to come together. That has a ripple effect all down Main Street and into the greater region, he said.
“The Waldo Theatre in the business of investing in its community,” Wiseman said. “Everything that happens here – tickets, donations, performances, the art and culture – it all gets invested back into the town. That’s what I’m interested in doing, enhancing the resources for that.”
The first show Wiseman saw at The Waldo Theatre was Adam Ezra’s sold-out performance on Dec. 13, 2025. He said everyone was dancing in their seats. At the end, Ezra went into the audience and sang “Let it Be” with the crowd.
“That community experience, in mid-December with the snow was coming down outside, is something I’ll always carry with me,” Wiseman said.
Wiseman was born and raised in Orrville, Ohio. The area is rural Amish country, Wiseman said. The son of a truck driver, Wiseman did not naturally fall into the performing arts. It was not until late in his high school years that he auditioned for the school play to impress a girl. And indeed, a lifelong relationship bloomed.
“I fell in love with the theater,” Wiseman said.
Wiseman landed the role of Col. Nathan R. Jessep in “A Few Good Men,” the character portrayed by Jack Nicholas in the 1992 film. Wiseman continued performing through high school and went on to attend the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
Award-winning theater director and artist Ping Chong was a visiting professor when Wiseman was a student. Under Chong’s mentorship, Wiseman and some of his peers presented a student performance at Kent State and later in the Bronx, N.Y. Those collaborations and experiences led Wiseman to move to New York City after he graduated college.
Wiseman lived in and worked from NYC for nearly 20 years. He performed around the world, including over five years around Europe across multiple productions.
Eventually Wiseman wrote and directed a play. Through that and similar experiences, Wiseman found he had an interest in fundraising and producing.
“I became joyfully focused on that. It’s very fulfilling to provide opportunities for others,” he said.
Wiseman went on to several management and fundraising roles in a variety of industries, mostly in the arts for organizations of all sizes. He worked for and learned from development professionals at Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Metropolitan Opera.
For several years until early 2020, Wiseman worked raising funds for The Public Theater in New York, which manages the Shakespeare in the Park program, among others.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced universal theater closures, Wiseman moved on to a similar role in a different industry and state. He found a development position in Maryland at the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a nonprofit law firm that provides legal assistance, education, and advocacy to Medicare recipients and health care professionals.
Once he was out of an urban environment, Wiseman said he discovered he really missed the outdoors and the countryside. He decided to get back to those roots when he reentered the art world. He also wanted to live on the coast.
After several years of searching, Wiseman finally found what he was looking for when the Waldo Theatre posted the opening for the executive director position in November 2025.
Wiseman first visited Waldoboro in December. He spent a long weekend in town meeting theater staff and board members and attending events.
Wiseman was in Ohio when he received the job offer. He said it was so special to have that moment with his family – he was beaming with joy.
Wiseman moved to the Midcoast in late February on a day between blizzards. He drove 13 hours from Maryland with a packed car. He stopped at The Waldo to pick up his theater keys. Wiseman took a moment to stand in the dark theater, another special moment.
When he finally arrived at his rental, Wiseman spent an hour digging snow and ice before he could park and unload.
Wiseman is spending his first 30 days at The Waldo Theatre meeting with each employee and board member. He said he wants to learn as much as he can about their future dreams for the theater while he learns about the theater’s current programs and initiatives and the theater’s history.
By listening to community members, Wiseman will be able to develop a strategic plan that is a community vision. He said The Waldo Theatre is amazing because they do everything.
For instance, what Mia Branco, the director of the education program, has done to serve so many students is significant, Wiseman said. In the past year, The Waldo has educated 651 students as well as 608 youths and 43 adults.
Every program is a doorway into another program, said Wiseman. A family who goes to a singalong discovers the community theater program; a theater student discovers music concerts.
Every time the theater doors open to Main Street and the community, the world arrives, carrying sounds and stories and ideas from far way, Wiseman said.
“This community is here to meet the world. That’s what a harbor does. That’s what The Waldo does,” he said.
Wiseman anticipates any strategic plan for The Waldo Theatre will continue many of the theater’s successful programs and include a focus on community partnerships. He is particularly excited about the theater’s upcoming 90th anniversary in December.
“The decisions that get made now are part of a very long story. We have an opportunity to build a sustainable organization that will last the next 90 years,” Wiseman said.
His new colleagues have done a remarkable job building the theater’s audience and programs since it reopened in 2020, particularly during an era of crisis for the performing arts industry as a whole, he said.
“The Waldo Theatre has been growing in time when isn’t case for organization across country for most part,” he said.
When the warmer weather returns, Wiseman cannot wait to get out on the water. He kayaks and would like to sail. He likes to hike and mountain bike. His parents were both born in coal mining camps in West Virginia, giving Wiseman a strong connection to the Appalachian Mountains he would like to experience some day.
Until then, Wiseman has been so focused on learning about The Waldo Theatre that he has not yet been able to experience much of the community. Wiseman is looking forward to getting to know local performing and visual artists. He has already heard a great demand for the next Waldoboro Talent Show.
On Thursday, March 5, The Waldo Theatre hosted a reception for Miller School’s art show.
“I’ll never forget seeing families and kids walk in that door together,” Wiseman said. “Having families here, making sure doors are open wider than ever for those types of opportunities are very important to me,” said Wiseman. “Community isn’t a concept; it’s what gets people through.”
For more information about The Waldo Theatre, go to thewaldotheatre.org or find the theater on Facebook and Instagram.
