Rep moves to a new home in 2004

Once again Repertory Philippines is on the move. Starting in January, Rep will stage all its productions at the Rep’s Globe Theater at Onstage in Greebelt 1.

There are two reasons for the name. One, in recognition of Globe Telecom’s generous contribution towards rental costs that made the move possible; and, two, the coincidental association of the name with William Shakespeare’s original Globe Theater.

Since the loss of its theater last year, Rep has been searching for a new home. For a while, it took refuge in the beautiful, new, luxurious, well-equipped RCBC Theater. However, the RCBC Theater could not handle the needs of the Rep Children’s Theater and Rep’s yearly big musical production.

Rep found the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt I for its Children’s Theater productions. Used by concert artists on weekends, on weekdays it was dark. This fitted the Children’s Theater schedule – although not perfectly – to a reasonable extent.

So, the Children’s Theater moved in. This turned out to be spectacularly successful for both Rep and Greenbelt. The mall tenants were ecstatic over the customer traffic it brought in, which made the management happy, while Rep had an 800-seat theater to use.

True, adjustments were difficult. Sharing the theater for the first time with others meant careful planning of logistics and, sometimes, as is often the case, communications would break down. Also, the cost of continuously putting up and taking down a huge, complicated set was not small. In the end, everyone seemed reasonably happy.

However, Rep still had no theater for its big musical production. Onstage’s schedule for 2003 had been set and was not available on weekends, which made it logistically impossible to do a long-running musical. Other theaters were not available or too expensive. Meralco Theater, one of the friendliest theaters in town, does not make its theater available during the day on weekdays, which again would not make Rep’s production a viable one.

Then, the Onstage management presented a proposal: If Repertory would agree to use the theater continuously for nine months of the year, it would make it exclusively available to Rep (with the exception of Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings) during those months. At first, the rental, even after taking into account the need for a community theater in Makati, was more than Rep could afford. Globe Telecom was persuaded to come in for the difference as part of its contribution to the community.

So, Rep has found another home. It will stage four plays (including a musical) from January to April. Each play will run for three weeks, with the exception of the musical that will run for seven weeks. It will take a break from May to July to give way for the concert season, using that time to develop an outreach program. It will resume at Rep’s Globe Theater at Onstage in August with the Rep Children’s Theater production, followed by a Shakespeare comedy and finally a big, family musical.

Rep will revive one of its biggest hits, M. Butterfly, when it opens in January, followed by Fame: The Musical, in February, the thriller Dracula in March and a comedy, Caught in the Net, in April. Pinoccchio is scheduled for the Children’s Theater, while The Merchant of Venice goes on stage in September and October. The Wizard of Oz, the stage adaptation of the famous Judy Garland MGM movie, will be the Christmas offering and will end the year.

Will Rep be able to fill this bigger theater?

"Create a theater and they will come." Says Zeneida Amador, Rep’s artistic director, "It is not going to be easy – technically and otherwise – to adjust to the new theater. It will be a challenge. But, it is one that will have to be met. Running a theater company, even a not-for-profit one, is like walking a tightrope. You walk that high wire of sustained performance starting each year with the pole of actors, material, venue, costs, ticket sales, sponsorships, staff, technicians, designers, builders, etc., stepping one foot at a time, trying to keep everything in balance until you reach the other side at the end of the year. Sometimes, the wire remains steady and the pole balances easily from years of practice. Sometimes, however, someone or something begins to shake the wire or the winds of change suddenly rise and all of a sudden you must find new ways to balance that pole. That is what we have done for 36 years and that is what we are going to continue to do."

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For more information about Rep and its productions, call the Rep box office at 887-0710, e-mail rep@broline.com, visit its website at www.repertoryphilippines.com, or drop by its offices at C2-A Bldg. C, Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati City.