Since 2015, Villamor Hall of the UP Theater has undergone various changes—some subtle, others quite noticeable. Of the buildings that comprise the UP Theater Complex (UPTC), Villamor Hall has seen the most extensive rehabilitation.
Villamor Hall houses the UP Theater Lobby, the Main Hall, and the Aldaba Recital Hall. It is also home to the UP Diliman Information Office, a separate unit from the UPTC.
As the largest university theater in Quezon City, the Villamor Hall Main Hall is a highly sought-after venue, not only by University constituents but also by the general public.
UPTC Director Josefina Estrella mentioned that, as a space of assembly, the UPTC management wants to ensure the safety and comfort of their patrons.
“Primarily, our main function is to serve the UP community. Our main task is really to maintain the venue up to the standard that we think it should be,” Estrella said.
Rehabilitating the UP Theater was and has been a herculean task. For one, the UPTC management did not have any documents regarding the building. Villamor Hall is rich in history, but time has taken its toll on the structure.
To address the many challenges the Villamor Hall is facing, Estrella solicited the help of Maree Barbara T. Tan-Tiongco, who had, at that time, recently returned after completing her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University in Connecticut, USA.
“Alam ko na the Theater needs somebody with a lot of technical expertise sa theater and understands how a theater building should be maintained. I convinced Barbie to join, kasi fresh pa siya from [finishing her] MFA [at] Yale,” Estrella said.
Tan-Tiongco, who later became the UPTC university extension associate, elaborated:
“The goal of the UP Theater rehabilitation is to be Philippine Building Code Compliant because this is a place of assembly. As a place of assembly, we are taking in 2,100 people [audience], wala pa iyong mga performer, at sa Main Hall lang ito. We are looking at a capacity of around 2,500 people at a time,” Tan-Tiongco said.
With Tan-Tiongco on board, the UPTC underwent a thorough assessment from April 2015 through 2016.
“My job is really to assess what the Theater needs, [kung] ano nga ba talaga ang kailangan. Barbie was taking the lead in terms of assessing the people. Eventually, we had to enlist the help of the Office of the Campus Architect (OCA), kasi the Quezon City Fire Department held an inspection of the Villamor Hall,” Estrella explained.
Tan-Tiongco welcomed the fire department’s inspection.
“Natuwa ako noong nag-inspection ang Fire Department kasi [the inspection lets] UP know what is wrong with the building,” she said. “The Fire Department gave us about 20 items on the checklist so that we could be compliant. In all aspects we failed,” she added.
The building lacked fire extinguishers and proper signage. Estrella also revealed that at the time, the UPTC staff were not trained in first aid and evacuation drills.
“We are a place of assembly, yet we don’t have the structures to handle risks, medical emergencies, or disasters,” Tan-Tiongco said.
Estrella emphasized that, should any untoward incident happen in the Villamor Hall during an activity, they would be held responsible for failing to mitigate risks or disasters.
“Kapag may nangyari, kami ang masisisi,” she said.
The assessment enabled the UPTC management to begin essential housekeeping. They collaborated closely with the OCA and streamlined their staff and their skills.
The UPTC management has been able to fully rehabilitate the Aldaba Hall with support from the Aldaba estate. The Main Hall lobby has also been upgraded.
“We now have fire extinguishers in every corner of the building. We were able to clean the fire exits at the Main Hall. We have wheelchair lifts and an elevator. Each wing of the Main Hall and lobby now has male, female, and persons with disability (PWD) accessible restrooms. Our dressing rooms are now PWD accessible, so the doors are bigger. We made sure that people with reduced mobility will be able to enjoy the UP Theater,” Tan-Tiongco said.
She added, “We were able to implement the rule that overcrowding of the spaces in the Villamor Hall is not allowed.”
The UP Theater was also able to upgrade its sound and lighting systems, and soon, Villamor Hall will also undergo electrical rehabilitation.
Tan-Tiongco explains, “Magkakaroon tayo ng tatlong lingo na walang kuryente. We are going to transfer to a new power system.”
Before upgrading the infrastructure, Estrella and Tan-Tiongco first addressed the staff’s need for skills and personality development.
“Jose and I planned to equip the staff first, and then we would equip the venue. So, housekeeping,” Tan-Tiongco said.
She described their approach to staff development: “We made sure to support them with the right tools to empower them. We sent them to workshops on event management and theater equipment use. We introduced them to new equipment. We also brought them to [theater] venues, we had a tour. We brought them to CCP [Cultural Center of the Philippines], where they had interaction with the crew. We also went to Power Mac Center Spotlight, a blackbox space in Makati, and to the CCP Film Center. Every year, we do workshops sa crew doon sa World Trade Center,” Tan-Tiongco explained.
The UPTC management also worked to have the crew earn certifications for necessary skills in theater work.
“We had the visioning with the CCP administrators, and we identified strengths and weaknesses. After that, we did first aid training, fire evacuation training, disaster management training, also occupational safety and health training,” Tan-Tiongco said.
Today, the UPTC crew and staff have specialized skills and are organized into groups: electrical, stage carpentry, and sound/audio.
“Kung dati they are a group that just did the same thing, ngayon kahit papaano very specialized na sila. Kahit ganoon, alam pa rin nilang lahat paano ang mga gagawin [sa theater].”
Rehabilitation of Villamor Hall is still ongoing, with plans to improve the air conditioning units, stage floor, roof, and theater seats.
Despite the work ahead, significant progress has been made at Villamor Hall, ensuring it remains a safe, accessible, and vibrant cultural venue for the UP community and beyond.