Christmas Belles, a University Theatre production, opened Wednesday in Talley Ballroom after overcoming the obstacle of Thompson Theatre’s closing.Nancy Breeding, special projects and arts web coordinator and marketing manager for the show said not having Thompson Theatre presented a unqiue problem. ”Of course having Thompson closed was our biggest challenge,” she said. “We had to move all of our rehersals into a tiny space and, especially once we moved into the ballroom, we had very little rehersal time.[The cast] only rehearsed a couple of times before the show opened.”Breeding said she believes Thompson’s re-opening will have a positive effect on the program because they would have more room for costume and set building.”Most of our costumes are in storage in the center where Century Storage used to be,” said Breeding. “We are sharing a space with the Crafts Center. It’s the whole production spaced that we have had to work around, but we have still been doing well and selling out so we might be doing something right.”Marielle Kissick, a junior in buisness administration, said she thought using Stewart Theatre definitely had a major impact on the University’s theater program.”Well, we had to cut down on our normal season for sure,” said Kissick. “So we could not do as many shows as we normally do.”One thing that was changed by the move was space, Kissisck said.”We had to adjust to rehearsing in a different space and move all of our costumes, props and supplies,” Kissick said. “When Thompson closed they had to have a costume sale because we just do not have enough space in our new place for all of our things.”Allison Snyder, a sophomore in English, said she also felt the affects of the move in her experience performing in the play, “Christmas Belles” which runs through Sunday.”We are in the ballroom for our performance because Stewart is being used for other things, like the dance production,” Snyder said. “I’ll be very excited when Thompson reopens.”As a participant in the University Theater, Kissick said using the ballroom was a learning experience.”We have never had to do shows in the ballroom, so it is a new experience for this cast definitely,” said Kissick. “We usually do about six plays a year and we are only able to do three or four this year due to the constraints.”Snyder said she believes “Christmas Belles” has faired well, considering the difficult conditions.”It has gone very well,” said Snyder. “It has definitely been a learning experience and I have had lots and lots of fun.”Construction was not the only challenge the cast faced while preparing for the opening, Snyder said.”Becoming comfortable and understanding our characters has definitely been one of our greatest challenges on stage,” Snyder said. “One of the most important things is to get comfortable around the other cast members so we appear natural and at ease on stage.”Their efforts did not go wasted, Katie Furches, a freshman in elementary education, said.”I really liked it,” Furches said. “I think the cast did a wonderful job. I was surprised at the quality of acting, it was obvious how hard the cast worked to do so well.”