WATERVILLE — A group of youths with a passion for theater and social justice is now managing a 60-seat theater at The Center in downtown Waterville.

Operating under the umbrella of Waterville Creates!, the Out & Allied Youth Theatre will produce its own performances and offer a learning lab to teach acting, technical work and other theater-related activities. The troupe also will rent the theater out to other groups and offer assistance with productions.

“Out & Allied Youth Theatre is a troupe of artists who use theater to tell their stories, build community and address issues of social justice,” said Mark Fairman, executive director of Out & Allied.

While the goal is to provide a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer youth, young people of all ages and gender identities are welcome, he said.

“We manage the theater for Waterville Creates!, and that includes marketing and negotiating contracts with people who want to use the space for performances and rehearsals,” Fairman said. “We’d love to get the word out about that, and if people need it, we will supply technicians.”

Studio 93, a black box theater, is in the former ACAT performing space on the first floor of The Center at 93 Main St. Many years ago, the two-story theater housed part of Sterns Department Store and it includes a winding staircase in a large backstage area.

People involved with Out & Allied Youth Theatre speak about the organization in The Center in Waterville on Thursday. From left are Director Mark Fairman, Isaac Woods, Lily Fernando, Rory Romero and Katie Howes.

Members cleaned the theater space, removing debris and clearing out a storage room they use for meetings.

“It’s a great place to be, and it is a safe place you can talk about anything,” said troupe member Katie Howes, 18. “It’s a great place to express yourself – be who you are. I find it awesome.”

Fairman, Howes and other members Thursday led a tour of the theater space, which includes a dressing room, costume and makeup space, and balcony for lighting and sound.

Howes, who graduated from Erskine Academy last year, has been involved in theater since kindergarten, acting, doing technical work, writing, filming and serving as speech captain. Fairman considers her his unofficial second-in-command.

Out & Allied includes a youth theater learning laboratory for children of all ages. Partners in the laboratory include Waterville Opera House, Colby College’s education program, the college’s Center for the Arts and Humanities, and its Theater and Dance Program. Powder & Wig, Colby’s student-run theater, also is a partner, as are local schools.

Nate Rudy, executive director of Waterville Creates!, said Out & Allied and the Opera House were given a $10,000 grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to develop the laboratory and rental theater. The group also is in its second year of a three-year grant from the Mukti Fund that is dedicated to funding Out & Allied theater projects.

The public is invited to an opening reception from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 9. Theater games, tours, refreshments and an introduction to the troupe are scheduled.

Colby junior Lily Fernald, 20, Out & Allied’s artistic director, has worked closely with Fairman on the effort since September. Fernald is pursuing a double major in education and theater and dance. She graduated from Falmouth High School in 2013.

“I’m really interested in using theater to teach, and not necessarily in a classroom or at a public school,” said Fernald, who worked at Taproot Theatre Company in Seattle last year. “I love nonprofit work and I love doing theater, and that’s how I got started in theater.”

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