Goodbye to Shangri-La

It was our Shangri-la, that 500-square meter piece known as the William J. Shaw Theatre. No Kennedy Center, its belly was crammed with e-quipment, costumes, and props. Its overcrowded offices were filled with files, scripts, books, scores and tapes along with computers and an ever-busy Xerox machine. The low ceiling of the rehearsal hall showed the effects of miscalculated thrusts of swords or other stage weapons. Body lifts had to be imagined rather than rehearsed or one ran the risk of literally going through the roof. One bathroom was shared by both boys and girls and had only one working faucet. The backstage dressing rooms were small, airless and cramped; the toilet didn’t flush; and, every so often, a tiny guest has to be tempted with flypaper and exterminated. The gray carpet in the lobby and on the stairs showed the effects of the unending traffic of thousands of feet, both big and small, and spilt food and drinks. The steps leading from the lobby to the orchestra, to the balcony and offices and up to the rehearsal hall were so steep that even the most hardy had to rest on each landing. But, as a line from a song goes "…it wasn’t paradise but it was home." It was our Shangri-la.

This was where steady streams of frightened auditioners were turned into seasoned actors. This was where 97 new creations were rehearsed and then brought to life upon the small, but well-equipped stage. This was where actors would spend up to 12 hours a day in rehearsal, or performance or teaching workshops. This was where thousands of young people spent summers giving vent to their dreams of being in theater or just enjoying creative fun. This was the William J. Shaw Theatre. This was Rep’s home, its Shangri-la.

I remember 13 years ago when we were invited by the developers to create a theater in the mall. We literally watched the theater being built. We were there from groundbreak-ing, through every step of the first raising of the Rep curtain. We worked with the architects and the builders. We climbed unfinished steps, ducked under beams, walked through dusty cement, watching carefully to make sure the theater was finished to our specifications.

I remember the heartfelt joy and gratitude we felt as an appeal for help from individuals and the business community to furnish the theater, spearheaded by the now Ambassador Isabel Wilson, was met with unexpected and unprecedented success. A sizable grant from the William J. Shaw Foundation, headed by Fred Velayo, provided the funds to make sure that the theater would be equipped with the newest and most modern equipment. In gratitude for this donation the theater was named the William J. Shaw Theatre. Knowing Gen. Hans Menzi’s love for theater and Rep, his foundation also donated a large amount, and for this and in memory of Gen. Menzi’s lifelong support of Rep, the orchestra level was named the Hans Menzi hall.

Besides Rep, only Rustan’s Tower, Bon Apetit, few stalls in food court were the inhabitants of the still unfinished building when the specially woven Tai Ping Rep curtain, created with the help of P.L. Lim, went up for the first time. The play was the musical, Gigi. In the audience were some of the members of the Theatre Fund Committee, with such names as Ramon Sy, O.V. Espiritu, Rafael and Cesar Buenaventura, Alfredo Ramos, Doris Ho, Juan Lanuza, Terry Wilson, Rep. Butz Aquino, the late Betty Go Belmonte, George Drysdale, Kaleem Haquani, P.L.Lim, Beth Day Romulo, the late Tessie Romulo, Suzanne Santos, Washington SyCip, Fred Velayo. Percy Weatherall, Frances Viana and Paz Sycip Yuchengco and other theater lovers and loyal subscribers. Some of Rep’s best were on the stage – Baby Barredo, Michael Williams, Patty Manahan, myself and a great support cast. During the performance, the lights suddenly went out and the actors continued under emergency lights —— without a hiccup in the performance —— until full lights could be restored, thus earning a standing ovation from the audience.

A few months later, the Rep Children’s Theatre staged its first production, Sleeping Beauty. In 10 years, it has seen thousands of children trooping into the theater to enjoy their first exposure to live theatre entertainment. Summer workshops have drawn in thousands more.

A 10-year lease seemed forever then. But before we knew, it had ended. The economy, new visions, changing directions, changing priorities and Rep’s Shangri-la home is no more. In February 2003, the sign that says "William J. Shaw Theatre, The Home of Repertory Philippines," will be taken down forever. The William J.Shaw Theatre will no longer exist. Goodbye to our Shangri-la Plaza, the dedication and vision that created Repertory Philippines will still exist, ready to meet new challenges as it has always done in the 36 years of its existence.

Rep’s new offices and rehearsal halls will be located at Karrivin Plaza located at 2316 Pasong Tamo Ext., which will also be the site of its summer workshops. A single season of four plays, to be staged from January to July, will be held at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the RCBC Plaza in Makati. The plays will run for four weekends with two-week intervals between plays. The fifth weekend of each play will move to the Insular Life Auditorium in Alabang. The Rep Children’s Theatre will move to Onstage at the Greenbelt Plaza. Two special productions will replace the second season, including a yearend musical, and will be announced as soon a plans are finalized.

The three months that have passed since we were told that Rep could no longer could lease the theater, have, to put it mildly, been very, difficult and admittedly sometimes very depressing.

One day, when I was really, really, down, my boss and Rep’s artistic director and president Zeneida Amador gave me a book to read. It was called Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson. It gives great advice about dealing with change. On the dedication page is a quote by A.J. Cronin that says, basically, that life is like a maze and sometimes we run up against a brick wall but that...

"...always, if we
have faith God
will open a door for us,
not perhaps one that we ourselves
would ever have thought of,
but one that will ultimately prove good for us."

With that mind, we look forward to the new year and a new way of life. After all our life is in the theater – wherever it may be.