Temporarily housed in the former IGA on 18th Street, Eastern’s theater studio boasts three times the space as its former location in the Doudna Fine Arts Center and has been refurbished enough to accommodate Monday’s classes.

The renovation kicked off nearly six weeks ago after Eastern’s Board of Trustees voted at its July 3 meeting to lease the building from landlords Robert and Mickey Walker.

Included in the $258, 603 lease, which runs from June 1 through Aug. 31, 2005, is a $23,00 contingency, which was implemented by the BOT to cover any unforeseen conditions that might occur after renovations commenced, said Jeff Cooley,vice president for Business Affairs.

Eastern pays $6,000 a month to rent the structure, Cooley said.

Since the 15,500 square foot facility is not owned by Eastern, there was no need to negotiate a bidding price. The owners are responsible for any of the building renovations and the contractors involved in the project, Cooley said.

“We did negotiate with the landlords specifically what we wanted done,” he said. “We discussed the price but did not control the price.”

The evolution of the renovation of the theater studio stands in stark contrast to the former Booth West location, which has seen its renovation work evolve slower than the theater studio as a result of the special ventilation requirements of Eastern’s art studio housed there, said John Oertling, chair of the theater department.

Significant work still needs to be accomplished on the green room, which is the waiting stage for the actors prior to them entering the stage; the theater and arena space, set to hold 178 seats and the dressing room space; and electrical parts in the theater and arena space, Oertling said.

The exterior of the structure is another concern that will be addressed, Oertling said.

With the IGA sign still standing firmly in place and the former market displayed as an abandoned one to passers-by, Oertling said students must be patient until the sign is replaced.

“We are trying to see how much (a new sign) would cost,” he said. “We will (replace) it. The question is, ‘How soon?'”

Eastern also has plans to replaster the exterior as well as repaint it, Oertling said.

Despite the work remaining, Oertling remained upbeat about the finished product.

“The things that I like are the bright lights and the excellent work space this provides,” he said. “There is so much flexibility and students seem to be using the shuttle,” Oertling said. “This is really a great opportunity. It’s like moving into a new house. All the facilities are expanded. We really have space to work.”

Indeed, the theater department does have an abundance of space to work with. Not only are there offices for designers, classrooms and ample work space for students to create scenery and costumes for future productions, but the department will add a portable classroom on the south end of the building to store lumber, costumes and other perishable things, Oertling said.

Since the theater department has been allotted plenty of parking, the addition of the portable classroom will not make much of a dent in the amount of parking space available, he said.

Oertling said all of the theater equipment necessary to execute play productions, performed six times yearly, already has been moved into the revamped structure and set-up accordingly.

“We have taken everything out of (Doudna Fine Arts Center),” he said. “Asbestos is being taken out there starting Labor Day weekend, and the building will be chained off.”

Although students may find the new building a bit of an inconvenience to transport themselves to since it is located off campus, Marissa Tieri, a freshman theater education major, said her lone worry is the short time span she has to run from her previous class to catch the shuttle bus.

“There should be more shuttles going here,” she said. “It is kind of hard getting here having classes in between this one.”

However, Oertling insists he is not worried about students being required to commute to their theater classes.

“They just need to get used to it. It’s only the first day,” he said.