Hugh Gillis and His Hall

A Building of Our Own

1954-55年间，学院的大部分精力都花在了准备和执行转型上 from the quarter system to the semester system. Curricular problems caused by this 1962年，当吉利斯写他的系里历史时，这种转变仍然存在. 在1952-1954年的战后繁荣时期，新的演讲和戏剧大楼(现休·吉利斯大厦(Hugh Gillis Hall)是在第五街和圣费尔南多街的交界处规划和建造的. 在此之前，该部门一直在位于 one of the connected buildings of the College quadrangle. As the department grew, 现场车间、服装车间和几个教员办公室都设在Quonset小屋 acquired after World War II. They were located outside the building and behind Morris Dailey Auditorium. From 1941 onward, Hugh Gillis was the driving force behind the 在第五街和圣费尔南多街建造新的演讲和戏剧大楼. 它于1953年完工，1954年投入使用，总面积为50,422平方 feet at a cost of $1,284,866. Of particular importance in the new building were radio and television studios. The 1953 building was a single story structure; the second floor was added afterwards. In 1982 the Speech and Drama Building was re-dedicated and named in his honor, Hugh Gillis Hall.

Building and Construction Woes

新大楼的建设过程并非没有困难，包括总工会之间的谈判破裂后的停工 Contractors of Northern California and the AFL laborers' union. Four thousand laborers throughout the county were involved in the shutdowns. Negotiations broke down, according 对于承包商协会来说，工会要求每小时增加15美分. The contractors offered a 10-cent an hour pay raise.

当部门场景设计师温德尔·约翰逊回来时，另一个问题出现了从一个公休和参观了新剧院之前的奉献 building and discovered a serious structural omission. The stage house had a grid 用来支撑悬挂在上面的布景和照明设备的重量 it. 然而，他指出，“强梁”，即两个完整的主要工字钢， had been omitted during the construction phase. The strong-back was the location for 头座滑轮，所有的电缆都从滑轮上穿过网格系统被聚集在一起，由一个平衡重量的“飞系统”控制在演出前或演出中升降布景和照明设备. A fly system is a major necessity for the successful operation of a theatre. Wendell 约翰逊拍了照片，最后不得不出现在萨克拉门托为他辩护 additional funds for the inclusion of the strong-back I-beams. As a result of this omission, the theatre could not be used until the oversight had been corrected. Performances 仍然在老的小剧场上演，迫使学生们化妆穿上他们的服装，然后，风雨无阻，从新大楼冲到 old theatre across campus. Once approved, the construction crew had to cut holes in 建筑的屋顶和墙壁以50英尺长乘2英尺高来介绍 I-Beams into the building and create support for them.

The theatre eventually opened with the inaugural performance of Hamlet，由教职员工和学生出演，教职员工詹姆斯·克兰西主演.

The Fire

戏剧学院每周在系图书馆召开员工例会 the 12:30 lunch hour. Sometime between 1965 and 1967, just after the start of a meeting, 学生斯坦利·安德森冲进教室，报告说教室里着火了 the theatre. The staff rushed to the theatre where they joined students in “manning” the fire-hose. The main velour act curtain was on fire and the flames had ignited 电轨、板条和栅格地板上堆积的灰尘 off the automatic sprinkler system that covered the entire stage. Many of us were 希望后台的总机能参与进来，这样就能安装一个新的在礼堂后面的房间里，就像原来的设计一样 of the building.

No such luck! The major damage was to the act curtain and teaser curtain as well as 水对舞台和陷阱室的布景和设备造成相当大的破坏舞台下面摆放着所有的地毯、灯光设备、楼梯单元和大型道具 were stored. All the lighting equipment had to be brought up to the stage and immediately dried out to avoid rust damage. That process took several days of volunteer labor.

台上所有洒水喷头上的保险丝都换了，然后 the fire inspector turned on the main valve on stage. This was to test whether some sprinkler heads had been overlooked. Everything appeared to be working. Several weeks 然而，后来，建筑和地面部门发现，主要的火灾火灾发生时，大楼的软管阀门已经关闭，但并没有关闭 been turned on again. So some kind soul turned it on. We immediately discovered that 舞台上的几个洒水喷头在更换保险丝时漏了，我们 had another minor catastrophe and mop up.

The Flood

在圣何塞成为一个城镇之前，现在校园的西北角是一片沼泽 where natives used to hunt wild fowl. While the Speech and Drama building was being 建成后，红木桩被打入基岩，为建筑提供坚实的基础. (后来沃尔奎斯特图书馆(Walquist Library)建成时，也是这样做的，但加固了 concrete pillars were pounded into the ground instead of the redwood posts.) The local water table was very high at this location. Often during high tide water from the 草坪洒水器不会浸透到地面上，并产生一层水层 the grass would only disappear when the tide went out. Consequently, a sump pump was 安装在现场车间的油漆井中，以疏散可能渗入的水 a long, narrow, four-foot-high trough during the rainy season. It was activated by 一个自动开关，这意味着在白天或晚上的任何时间泵会不会“踢进来”，制造出一种响彻整个后台的嘈杂声. 为了在作业期间关闭泵，安装了旁路截止开关 in the shop adjacent to the stage. Unfortunately, stage managers sometimes neglected 把系统重新打开，导致水在井里积聚，形成 a musty odor. That was an indication to turn on the system again.

Ken Dorst relates:

我在圣何塞州立大学工作期间发现圣何塞市，尤其是由于银行的透支，市中心平均下沉了12英尺 ground water. Once the ground settled, there was no space left to be refilled with rainwater. Therefore the sump pump was not activated as often. During the 1970s, we 在山谷里经历了长时间的干旱，水泵不再工作了. At the end of the drought, water started to replenish the ground basin. One day I lowered the orchestra lift to the basement to get some lighting equipment. While down 下面，我打开遥控器插座的盖子，把升起来的电缆插进去 the lift. I was shocked to discover a mirror-like surface reflecting light back. We 我发现，由于水泵干了，水也不工作了油漆灌得很好，溢流通过排水管流入管弦乐队的电梯 well. The drainage pipe had been designed for the emergency condition of removing water from the lift area. It reversed the process. The hydraulic tubes for the lift were filled with water. The entire system had to be refurbished at a great inconvenience to the production program.

Gillis Steps Down

休·吉利斯担任系主任18年后，于1955年因健康原因辞职. 接替他的是哈罗德·克莱恩，他带来了对剧本创作的全新重视， dramatic literature, and a tighter organization of the Drama staff. Crain took on 课程修改，新教师的加入，儿童剧院的发展， and the construction of a second floor on the Speech and Drama Building. Dr. Ward Rasmus was appointed associate head. Hugh Gillis retired in 1962 after a thirty-three-year year tenure in the department. The Speech and Drama Building was renamed for Hugh Gillis as an act of affection and respect.IIn 1957, Benjamin Gilbert wrote of the Gillis legacy in his book Pioneers for One-hundred Years, stating

该部门是西方最大的部门之一，并已发展成为一个文化中心 for drama in the community.