GATE Theater set to move to Santa Rita

by Krystal Paco

Guam - It was truly a showstopper when the Guam Fire Department ordered closure of the GATE Tiyan Theater last year, but looking ahead there may just be a happy ending. It's a tear-jerking story as Department of Education Theater Arts specialist Ray Twenter remembers tearing down the old Tiyan Movie Theater in 1995 to become the performance space we know today as the GATE Theater.

"I think it was all that labor and everything it become a sentimental thing to us because we had spent a lot of time and effort in renovating it that's kind of hurt inside a little bit," he said.

Twenter says there's no hope for the building as a leaking roof and falling drywall could potentially hurt theater patrons despite thousands of ticket sale profits poured into facility repairs. In addition, there's no way the theater can remain on the present property as the department of land management returned the land to its original owners.

And although the curtain was called for the Tiyan facility, the show must go on - this time, Twenter says, at the renovated Southern High School Fine Arts Auditorium in Santa Rita. "We're slowly starting to take the equipment apart and we're hoping to move it down to Southern High once they complete the renovations down there," he explained.

Twenter is concerned, however, as the new venue is a long commute for northerners and may prove a challenge with the theater's rigorous rehearsal schedule. "We suggested maybe possibly having a bus that could pick up students at the schools and drop them off at Southern and pick them back up. It might mean a little overtime for the bus driver; there's probably several ideas we could come up with. I think transportation is going to be an issue for the students up north here to make that trip for rehearsal," he said.

DOE superintendent Jon Fernandez says the Southern High auditorium is set for opening in May and future meetings will be held with the Department of Public Works to propose possible bussing for GATE students.