Arellano faces new rules for facility

A new set of guidelines governing the use of Arellano Theater will prohibit backstage prop construction and storage by student groups beginning Nov. 28, said William Clemm, assistant director of Levering.

Any props stored in the backstage area will have to be removed by Nov. 28, or they will be disposed of by the University, according to a letter sent by Clemm informing student groups of the change.

Students and staff agreed on the measures at a meeting last week with occupational safety officer Terry Kellam, who said that, since City code classifies Arellano as an assembly room rather than a theater, its current use does not comply with city safety codes, according to Clemm.

To achieve city code compliance, student groups can no longer construct stage props backstage, use flammable or combustible material such as paint or store any equipment backstage, said Clemm.

"We can't store anything back there except for flats," said Justine Olin, president of Witness Theatre. "It really limits what we can do with the space and destroys any storage space we might have."

The regulations will not go into effect until Nov. 28 to give student groups time to adjust to the heightened safety restrictions, said Clemm.

"We're trying to prepare the groups for the changes as quickly as possible," he said.

Until then, any group scheduled to use Arellano in fall of 2002 can store props in the theater no more than one week before the performance date, with the understanding that the props will be removed 24 hours after the last performance.

"I think [the restrictions] are necessary in terms of safety," said Olin, "but I don't think they're helpful to the groups that are using the space. But they're really our only option."

The new restrictions will preclude student groups from putting on large productions in Arellano, said Michael Pokorny, technical executive of the Barnstormers.

"We won't be able to do things like Tommy," he said. "Anything that involves construction is not going to be possible."

The new regulations at Arellano arose from a concern about the safety of students working in the theater.

"[Students were] building at night until three or four in the morning without staff oversight," using power tools and saws at times most people are sleeping, said Eric Beatty, director of the Homewood arts program.

This concerned Barnstormer President Chris Jansma, and when he read about the University's suspension of the Outdoors Club to review its safety compliance, he took action to protect his organization from similar consequences, he said.

He also said that supervised prop construction in the new Swirnow Theater raised concerns about practices in Arellano.

"When we started doing our technical work in the new theater [Swirnow], [the University] hired a technical advisor Bill Roach," said Jansma. "It really didn't make sense when we went back to Arellano to do construction without that kind of supervision."

So Jansma appealed to the administration, specifically Director of Matting and Levering Jane Rhyner, for additional scrutiny into theater-use safety.

After a series of meetings between Rhyner, Olin, Roach, Clemm and Pokorny, they met with Kellam to discuss the City safety codes, said Pokorny.

Kellam informed them that according to City code, Arellano is not considered a theater and that many of their practices were prohibited by the City.

"We thought it was a theater and that things we were doing were permissible," said Jansma.

However, the new restrictions impose a storage shortage on theater groups, said Pokorny.

"We have a small space in the Merrick Barn, 200 sq. feet of storage," said Pokorny, but the storage space cannot accommodate larger props, such as furniture.

Olin said Witness is seeking additional storage on campus from the administration, while the Barnstormers hope to obtain funding to rent storage space off campus, said Pokorny.

He said the Barnstormers would need funding since a separate storage facility could run anywhere from $600 to $1,200, but he does find off-campus storage a reasonable idea.

"Most real theaters don't have storage on-site," said Pokorny. "Most store their props at a separate facility."

Rhyner said she asked Kellam if the University could build a storage place in Levering but received a negative response.

But since Swirnow opened, Barnstormer use of the Arellano Theater has markedly decreased, said Rhyner, so the lack of storage at the site is not such a pressing issue.

With the new regulations, Arellano will have to be reserved for small-scale productions, said Rhyner.

"There are two styles of production: Tommy needs these big elaborate sets and then there's things like the Freshman One-Acts," said Pokorny. "The new change in policy in Arellano justifies the second kind of play, which is more loose and avant garde."

But Olin hopes the theater will eventually be upgraded in order to host more elaborate shows.

"Right now the theater isn't considered a theater," said Olin, "So hopefully in the future the safety aspects will be brought up to code.