Penobscot Theatre Company receives $50,000 grant for sound system upgrade

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Penobscot Theatre Company is getting ready to turn up the volume in 2026.

On Thursday, T-Mobile announced PTC as one of the latest recipients of a Hometown Grant.

The theater is getting $50,000, the maximum individual grant amount, to upgrade its sound system. The end result will be a complete overhaul of an aging system, resulting in better audio quality, especially for hard-of-hearing guests.

Penobscot Theatre Company was one of 25 grant recipients selected this quarter out of more than 900 applicants nationwide.

“The theater has been struggling for three years since the pandemic was over. And I guess winning something like this, gaining this sort of national attention, just feels like... We always say we’re going to recover. That’s all we’ve been fighting for for three years. And this seems like more than a signpost. It seems like a bright, shining star,” said Jen Shepherd, artistic director, Penobscot Theatre Company.

In order to qualify for the grant, PTC had to show it was embedded in the fabric of a community of fewer than 50,000 people.

The goal is to have the sound system improvements done by the time the summer musical opens up next year.