The Mountaineers Players not only rehearse and perform shows at the beautiful Kitsap Forest Theater, they care for the property with volunteer labor and support from skilled helpers. The forest and weather is not easy on wood structures, and it takes time and money to keep the buildings around the property functioning.

At the theater we had roofs on dressing rooms that were 30 - 40 years old and had taken beatings with fallen branches and trees - as well as the weather. We have been working on replacing the roofs at the theater for the last year or so, and this fall we have replaced the roof on Harriet's (the men's dressing room) and are working on replacing the walls and roof of one end of the "long building" that had collapsed this summer.

Thanks to the expertise of Steve Bozorth and Vince Valin, Harriet's is covered with TPO (Thermoplastic polyolefin single-ply roofing membrane) that should protect Harriet's for many, many years. We still need to paint the eaves and the edges of the building - so there is lots of opportunities for more volunteer help. Let us know if you are interested.

We also had a collapsed roof this year at the end of the "long building" that also houses the women's dressing rooms and other storage. Steve and Vince have been working on this roof after volunteers helped tear down the rotten part of the structure. Steve put new studs on the walls and he and Vince are in the process of rebuilding the roof rafter structure. It was a much bigger project that originally thought.

Thanks to Steve and Vince and the many volunteers who have made this project move forward. And thanks to the Bremerton Rotary and the Mountaineers Foundation for grant money to help fund this project. The actors next spring and summer will appreciate the dry spaces.

Please see our photo-gallery for more pictures from these projects.

For those who don't know what a hen house is doing at the Kitsap Forest Theater, a bit of clarification: The term 'Hen House' has been used to denote the women's dressing room since Music Man in 2001 when the "pick-a-little ladies" deemed it such.

The back story to the repairs on the women's dressing room roof goes back to last November when a very bad wind wipped through Kitsap Peninsula leaving scores of trees uprooted. Among the 10-20 trees that fell on the Kitsap property, one fell on the roof of the Hen House.

Last week a few volunteers (Scott & Barb Baker, Josh Brown, Craig McCoy, Olivia Hickerson, and Brian & Gala Lindvall) started the roof repair project. The Bremerton Rotary donated money to help cover the material expenses (Thank you!) and we started the tear off and replace the roof project. A few of us took several loads of old set wood to the dumpster and dump.

We will need many more work parties to complete the project, but a good amount of rotten roof has now been repaired. It takes an army of volunteers to keep this property in good repair. Please let us know if you would like to help with this project.

The Mountaineers Players have been performing at the Kitsap Forest Theater since the 1920's. There is a long history of volunteers who have loved and cared for the theater and the property "up top" where the historic Kitsap Cabin sits. Read our history to learn some of what started this wonderful and long tradition. The Players spend many weekends on the Kitsap property rehearsing and performing shows, putting on summer camps - and caring for the property. Many Players live in tents or in the dorm during rehearsal and show weekends. We eat meals prepared by volunteer cooks in Kitsap Cabin, and we socialize, sing around the campfire, hike to Big Tree, and enjoy being in the forest environment.

To keep this place functioning takes many volunteers taking on many tasks. It's wonderful how some who audition for shows later become important volunteers who help with the maintenance of the property. We would like to highlight some of our many faithful volunteers.

Erik Lam was a performer in this spring's Fiddler on the Roof. His mother and sister were in last spring's Oklahoma! Erik decided to do his Eagle Scout project on the Kitsap property and asked where he could be the most useful. We decided that a great project would be clearing out part of a theater building where the roof collapsed this spring. In addition to falling trees and branches, the roofs at the theater take quite a beating with the weather - and this roof was over 30 years old. His crew worked two full days and hauled away over 3 tons of rotten wood and other debris. They also took 890 pounds of old metal to metal recycling. They accomplished in two days what would have taken us months to do. Erik and his uncle also built beautiful new benches for the Kitsap Cabin deck. The Mountaineers Players and the Kitsap Forest Theater thank Erik and his family for their incredible work on behalf of the theater. To see more pictures from this successful work party.

Joe Markovich auditioned with his family for Fiddler on the Roof this spring, and if you saw our show, he was one of the bottle dancers extraordinaire. He would practice by walking down the theater trail with his bottle on his head (and no - they were not attached). Joe is also an arborist, and he immediately saw that he could be very helpful on the property. Joe has spent quite a few volunteer hours cutting down dead trees that were threatening buildings (or people) and climbing high into trees to cut off dead branches. He brought a friend, Chris, several weeks ago to continue his work. Joe and Chris, we so appreciate you taking care of this amazing property.

We have many other long-time volunteers who have spent untold hours building, repairing and taking care of this property. We could always use more help and expertise. Please contact us to volunteer your time and resources.

This summer and fall we will be putting a finish on the yurt decks and doors, cleaning and painting a building on the property, and rebuilding the roof and rafters of the building at the theater. Come be part of a decades old Mountaineers tradition and volunteer your time and efforts to keep this theater alive for future generations!

How do you find an affordable floor to finish the unique yurt when you are on a budget? We solved that problem by finding some beautiful oak flooring on craigslist that was being removed from a house set for demolition. With a lot of volunteer labor, time, and sweat, plus one talented craftsman – we went from the picture on the left to the picture on the right. 

Thanks to Craig McCoy for providing the truck and volunteer time to help load the flooring, transport it to Kitsap, and start grinding off the nails. Josh Brown, Brian Lindvall, Trey Morgan, Gail Foster, Nancy Estill and Gala Lindvall all helped with the grinding, wiping and stacking of the wood. It took three days of work to go from the flooring at the original house to the flooring stacked in the shed ready for installation.

Special thanks to Chris Greyell from Milllwork Installations for providing the expertise and spending an entire weekend from dawn to dusk laying the floor. He was helped by Trey Morgan, son of Angela Morgan, a cast member of our spring show, Fiddler on the Roof. 

One of the joys of working on shows at the Kitsap Forest Theater is meeting new people – and finding actors and their family members who immediately start jumping in to help with roofing projects, felling trees, cleaning up, cooking and keeping this place humming. We thank everyone who helped with the yurt, and who help all around the property. You are all continuing a Mountaineers tradtion that started in 1923, and hopefully will continue for many more generations.