Pocatello’s Westside Players ask community for help with much-needed repairs

POCATELLO – A community theater company that has been performing for four decades is asking for your help.

The Westside Players, entering its 40th performance season, launched its Spotlight Campaign this year to make needed improvements to its building, known as The Warehouse. The goal of the campaign is to reach $30,000 to fund two critical projects: replacing the 35-year-old stage and buying new units to heat the building.

The primary fundraising event of this campaign will be the Spotlight Gala, which will bring in a variety of musical acts for a performance at The Warehouse on May 3.

But the Players have not attached a deadline to the campaign, so they plan to keep it going until they reach their goal.

“We’re going to just keep it going, and if we need to do other events, those will come down the road. We’re just hoping that we can make it all happen,” said Karen Suess, vice president and hospitality director of the Westside Players’ Board.

The company didn’t own The Warehouse when it started performing there. The nonprofit theater group first entered into an agreement where they paid the owner in installments until they had officially bought the building.

As the Players have spent decades performing on the building’s stage, repainting for every performance, it has grown past the point of being well-used.

“It has gotten to be where we can’t even staple a staple into the floor of the stage at this point and have it stay … because there’s so many layers of paint and wax from previous shows,” Suess said.

And with the stage being at the point when it’s necessary to replace it, the Players are also seeking to improve the stage. Among the improvements will be an ungraded microphone system, improved electrical wiring and a more open stage.

The Warehouse has two parts, and it does not have heating on the southern portion, which is where the Players store their costumes, get dressed for shows and rehearse upcoming performances. On top of that, the building doesn’t have heating to its kitchen, and the heater in the lobby is approaching the end of its usage life.

Right now, the only reliable heater in the building is in the auditorium, which Suess said is “very lucky so far.”

But the actors are “behind stage in a very cold area right now,” Suess said.

The cost for replacing the stage comes to $11,750, and replacing the heating comes to $18,250.

The Westside Players plan to release more information on who will be performing in the Spotlight Gala as they get further through the planning stages and have a full set list.

To support the Westside Players and The Warehouse, find out more about the campaign here.

Unless otherwise specified, each donation will be split in half to both projects, but people who want to can specify which project they want their donation to go toward.

“It’ll be fun to see what project gets done first,” Suess said.