There are few artistic mediums into which Dover resident Jonathan Frazer Lessard has not dipped his toes. He’s a musician, recently of indie rock band Ellen Page and now a solo performer at work on his first album. He’s a stand-up comedian who once served as a bouncer at famed New York club “Comic Strip Live.” He’s done grip and lighting work on films, including “The Minis,” starring Dennis Rodman as the coach of a dwarf basketball team. He’s acted in local theatric productions like “An Evening of Apocalyptic Theatre” at The Players’ Ring. He’s also a writer, visual artist, and booker of concerts at The Red Door in Portsmouth.

“It’s fun to do a bunch of different things, because I won’t get stagnant,” Lessard said. “I’m trying to learn as many aspects of as many different types of art as I can.”

Lessard’s diverse ambitions have benefited the Seacoast arts scene. While many locals complain about the dwindling number of live music venues in Portsmouth, only a handful actively try to do something about it. Lessard is one of them, having expanded the live music and comedy offerings at The Red Door over the last two years.

Lessard grew up and went to high school in Dover before attending college in Pennsylvania. Since then, he has bounced between New York, Los Angeles and Portsmouth, resettling this summer in Dover. Returning to the Seacoast a couple of years ago, he noted that only a few Portsmouth venues, such as The Press Room and The Dolphin Striker, regularly booked bands that play original music.

“Portsmouth, 10 or 15 years ago, had a lot of venues that had a lot of original live music,” he said. “Coming back into the scene, I noticed that there were still a fair amount of venues, but most of them do cover bands, catering to the tourist population.”

It was early last year that Lessard launched the Local Heroes concert series at The Red Door. By then, the club’s weekly Hush Hush Sweet Harlot series had long since earned regional recognition for consistently bringing in talented new acts.

“I thought it was necessary to have at least one other night a week where people could come out and see local bands play and support their friends and try to get some sense of that community we had music-wise 10 or 15 years ago,” Lessard said.

Originally held every other Tuesday night, Local Heroes now takes place every Thursday night. Lessard has also taken over booking of the Hush Hush series on Mondays.

The Red Door still supports the local DJ community on most nights, but now it presents two evenings of live music, ranging from soft acoustic singer-songwriters to loud indie rock bands. Although the club’s urban atmosphere, with its plush couches and popular martinis, may seem an improbable venue for electric rock, it proves a uniquely cozy and intimate setting to experience bands up close and personal. Lessard serves up a steady diet of local and international talent that soars just below the mainstream radar.

And, every once in a while, he ropes in a bigger name. On Monday, Oct. 14, for instance, Hush Hush will host anti-folk pioneer Paleface, a former roommate of Beck who has written several songs for The Avett Brothers (the show will be an “Avett Bros Appreciation Night”).

Lessard is also using the series to branch out into other live entertainment offerings. On the first Thursday of each month, Local Heroes presents a Comedy Night, next on Oct. 4, giving amateur comics a local performance outlet.

“I’m trying to get the local standup scene going,” Lessard said. “There’s a lot of funny up-and-comers around here, but there’s not really a venue to do that.”

Bookers of shows are really unsung heroes of the Seacoast music scene. Booking quality acts on a regular basis, and then promoting the shows to get heads in the room, is no easy task. Like his Hush Hush predecessors (including such well-connected locals as Sidney Lindner, Laurel Brauns, Jason Boucher and Tristan Law), Lessard strives to bill nationally touring performers with similar-sounding local acts.

“You have to get the local bands in, because honestly, that’s what people are interested in. People don’t come in to see a really good band they’ve never heard of from Chicago,” he said.

Lessard vigilantly promotes his shows on social media and on the streets. He finds that old-fashioned word-of-mouth is still the best way to hype a show.

“I think that’s what really brings people out is actually talking to them person to person and just trying to tell people that they need to come out and support the local scene,” he said.

When he’s not booking shows, Lessard is at work on his myriad other projects, including a solo album he hopes to release within the next couple of months. A guitarist and singer, Lessard has been playing music for about 10 years. Ellen Page was his first active band, and they developed a strong local following, but the group is now on hiatus.

Once his album is out, Lessard will likely start plotting a return to New York, where he hopes to establish a small live music venue like The Red Door. He said he would make a point of booking Seacoast bands there, giving them exposure in the big city.

For now, though, we can be glad that Lessard is actively working to strengthen the local scene. But, in order to make Portsmouth a nationally recognized music hub, he’ll need some help. Although we’ve already seen a significant expansion of venues in recent years (including Buoy in Kittery, and the still materializing 3S Artspace in Portsmouth), the scene can only sustain as much music as the public demands.

“People need to come out in order for the bands to want to come out. That’s the toughest part, is getting people out consistently,” Lessard said.