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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW A water tower and new home rise from the ashes ... Our View: Climate of confusion ... Guest Opinion: A family tragedy revisited ... A water tower and new home rise from the ashes ... Our View: Climate of confusion ... Guest Opinion: A family tragedy revisited ... BACKSTAGE Backstage: 'Poof: Something that wasn't there is there' Comment By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings Posted Apr. 15, 2015 at 7:41 PM Updated Apr 15, 2015 at 7:42 PM By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings Posted Apr. 15, 2015 at 7:41 PM Updated Apr 15, 2015 at 7:42 PM » Social News Judith Rosen and Don Matthews are two seasoned actors who have performed in many Rogue Valley community theater productions. At the Camelot Theatre, Matthews played Sweeney Todd in “Sweeney Todd” and Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha.” Judith recently played Linda Loman in “Death of a Salesman” at the Randall Theatre. They met in at the Camelot Theatre in 2002 and married two years later. This is the second of a two-part column. The first interview was posted on April 1, 2015. EH: What separates the medium of theater from all the other arts? JR: All of its roots are in ritual and community and communal gathering. There is something electric that happens. There seems to be a focusing of energy that brings people all together to a very similar point. It may only happen a couple times in a run, but you just feel everybody on the same wavelength. There is the other side too, that has nothing to do with an audience. That’s the power in that communal creation of something that starts as flat words on a page and becomes alive. And it’s always going to be different depending on who’s there, and who's directing. It’s bringing alive those words that will never happen, that particular way, ever again. It always takes another leap when you get it before an audience, because you get that missing dimension. But there’s richness in that first stage. It’s magic. Poof: Something that wasn't there is there, and no one is in complete control of it. Something happens that you could never expect. DM: For example, just in a very honest expressive way, to actually be Sweeny, and to be able to get away with murder. To let those dogs loose in a way that you simply can’t in society any more, unless you want to spend a good amount of your life behind bars or in a padded cell. To be able to have the freedom to do that — and then adding an audience, and if they come with you, and they take that journey with you, they’re drawn into it. And they allow themselves to discover something about themselves. Certainly part of it is just raw entertainment. But if you've got good literature, great language, and well defined characters, then someone who doesn't understand all that, can nevertheless understand the real humanity that’s there. It’s a privilege to step into a character like “Don Quixote,” to make a person see a part of life, a possibility of life that isn't there in the day-to-day. We can go into the theater, and we can say, “We’re creating a new world now, and maybe the world we’re creating isn't perfect,” but really great plays tell a truth about humanity that, when the audience gets to the end of it, the human condition is a little lighter. JR: Even if it’s not a great play. DM: If people come as an audience, and they let themselves into the play, they can let the play, and the way that the actors embody the characters, mean something to them that changes their lives, and for the good, we hope. As we start to recognize both the great joy of doing it, and the limitations of what we have to deal with, it comes down to the basic formula: Does this story touch you? Do the people that embody the characters strike you as true? And will you let yourself go into that world? Don Matthews will soon be playing in “Arsenic and Old Lace”, which opens on April 29th at the Camelot Theatre in Talent. For tickets and information call 541-535-5250 or go to camelottheatre.org . Evalyn Hansen is a writer and director living in Ashland. She trained as an actor at the American Conservatory Theatre and is a founding member of San Francisco's Magic Theatre. Reach her at [email protected]. By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings Posted Apr. 15, 2015 at 7:41 PM Updated Apr 15, 2015 at 7:42 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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