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OSW checks in By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings Oregon Stage Works' quest for theater space is taking a small hiatus. After considering domes, big tops, as well as a variety of existing buildings, the breakaway theater has found temporary lodging in one of Ashland's most storied hotels - the Ashland Springs Hotel owned by Doug Neumann. OSW's artistic director Peter Alzado said for the next several months OSW will stage its works in the hotel's lovingly restored Elfinwood Room while a search for a permanent home is continued by OSW's board of directors. "We'll get two good shows out of this," Alzado said. "Our relationship with the hotel will continue - in what capacity, and in what space isn't clear - but the relationship has been excellent and the hotel has been very accommodating." Elfinwood Room is theatrical in its own unique way. Gargoyles dominate a fireplace stretching the full height of the tall ceiling. Chair-backs have knobs of staghorn. The feeling is that one has stumbled into a palatial, turn-of-the-century drawing room. And though Alzado estimates that the room will only hold as many as 70 patrons, that's enough for the nascent theater group to put on a show. The kickoff production is "Talley's Folly," a play by Lanford Wilson that stars Alzado himself, opposite local actress Kate Sullivan. That play opens Thursday, February 20. The follow-up play, "Lettice and Lovage," is being directed by 10-year Ashlander Janet Greek, perhaps better known for her television work directing episodes of LA Law, Babylon 5, and Northern Exposure. Greek's theater work goes into previews on March 25 and 26, opening March 27. The group had found a temporary home in Oregon Shakespeare's Black Swan Theater. That was good for two productions when "Love Letters" opened alongside "Inspecting Carol." Alzado said the productions did well, and netted the group donations in the five-figure range. But finding a permanent home is both ongoing and elusive. "The board is continuing to look at space for us. There's also the possibility of continuing at the hotel, perhaps upstairs over the summer," Alzado said. However, the challenges of working in a space not originally conceived as a theater run deep. Rico Herrera, OSW's lead builder, is heading the charge in building the set designed by Les Muchmore in such a way that it is both strong enough to endure the wear and tear of rehearsals and performances, and easy to take apart at the same time. "The challenge is making it modular, and have it so it can break down in minutes or hours, versus days. It's also an engineering problem. Structurally, it must be very sound. There's nothing worse than having walls fall down during a performance," Herrera quipped. "If there's been any problem, it's logistics," Alzado said. "It's just all the things that come up in a new space, and moving a theater into that space." Oregon Stage Works formed late last year when Alzado was ousted by the board of Actor's Theatre in Talent, citing artistic differences over play selection. That move caused a split in the support for Actor's Theatre. Many supporters came out of the woodwork to help Alzado build a new theater, form a board and help raise funds. Many actors and volunteers also became Alzado loyalists, withdrew their support for the Talent theater, and threw their lot in with Alzado. The Actor's Theatre board later appointed current managing director Livia Genise to fill Alzado's spot. Since then the Actor's Theatre has appeared to follow through on the board's stated intent to focus more on community theater, featuring time-tested productions like "Annie," and "Sylvia" and avoiding the kind of controversial work favored by Alzado - productions like "American Buffalo," and "How I Learned to Drive." During the uproar over Alzado's departure, whether or not to attempt to locate in Ashland was a key question. Buildings continue to be scarce, and land prices defiant of downturn. Alzado said he was willing to move the theater anywhere - "The work is what's important," Alzado likes to say - it was the new OSW Board that decided collectively to carve out a home in Ashland. "Initially my thinking was it could be located anywhere. But Bill Sauers (the board's chair) and other members of the board wanted Ashland, and I've come around on that. For me it was about doing theater. But theater is to Ashland what football is to Texas, so it seemed like a natural choice," Alzado said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -