Second act

 The O’Shaughnessy Center has completed the first part of a three-phase overhaul.

Whitefish Theatre Company recently completed Phase I of its Act 2 Capital Campaign, which seeks to upgrade and expand the O’Shaughnessy Center. The first part of the five-year campaign included several renovations to the theater.

“We ripped out the old seats, put in new carpeting, new paint, re-covered sound panels [and] redid the concrete floor,” said Gayle MacLaren, Whitefish Theatre Company’s interim executive director. “Everything has a fresh coat of something.”

The upgrades include new, more comfortable seats that retract electronically, MacLaren said.

“They fold down pneumatically,” she said. “We also got new railings. It’s safer, more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing.”

Whitefish Theatre Company launched its capital campaign in December 2012. The project seeks to raise $1.25 million over five years.

In addition to renovating the theater, the campaign seeks to build an addition on the building’s south side and expand the lobby.

The nonprofit theater group completed the first phase of the campaign in November. In just 11 months, Whitefish Theatre Company raised $275,000.

 “We really, really did well,” MacLaren said of the campaign’s initial fundraising efforts. “We have people pledging over five years.”

The theater group also received a $250,000 challenge grant from the Minnesota-based I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation. The foundation has been a major supporter of Whitefish Theatre Company for nearly 20 years and provided a major grant to build the O’Shaughnessy Center in 1998.

The challenge grant is payable over five years and is contingent upon Whitefish Theatre Company raising matching money from the community.

So far, the theater group is off to a good start, MacLaren said. “Now we can start Phase II of the fundraising.”

The second phase is the Carolyn Pitman Community Room. The two-story addition will add rehearsal and storage space and a meeting room to the O’Shaughnessy Center.

It’s much-needed space, MacLaren said; in addition to housing Whitefish Theatre Company productions, the O’Shaughnessy Center hosts children’s camps, films and special events. Sometimes there is more happening at the building than the existing space allows.

“We’re hoping — because we tend to rehearse off site when there’s too much going on — to cut that down a little bit,” MacLaren said.

The addition will benefit more than just the theater group. The meeting room will be open to members of the community, MacLaren said.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people about the need for a nice conference room,” she said.

Whitefish Theatre Company estimates Phase II will cost about $900,000, which includes architectural fees, construction and furnishing the addition. Whitefish City Council already has approved the expansion, although the project has to go through the architectural committee once the theater group has final drawings.

Whitefish architect Ross Anderson has completed preliminary drawings for the expansion, MacLaren said.

“He has always worked with us since we moved into the building,” she said. “He’s on the board. I think he has a special feeling for the way the building is.”

Whitefish Theatre Company is in the process of getting better drawings and applying for a grant to help with the funding, MacLaren said. The group hopes the addition will be completed in spring 2015.

Once the expansion is finished, Whitefish Theatre Company will move onto Phase III: expanding the lobby to improve traffic flow and comfort.

“It’s a little cramped when we have a full house,” MacLaren said.

Community members are welcome to tour the O’Shaughnessy Center to see the renovations and hear more about Whitefish Theatre Company’s plans for expansion, MacLaren said. The group also welcomes input.

“We try to be as much community-minded as we can,” she said.

For additional information or to donate to the Act 2 Capital Campaign, call Whitefish Theatre Company at 862-5371 or visit www.whitefishtheatreco.org.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by email at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.