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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 Home News Latest Stories Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake Police Reports Cheering on the champs Ashland's Safeway part of Haggen acquisition Education For a friend: AHS seniors team up to help former fellow student Ashland builds a bridge across the STEM gap Chicken pox hits Ashland Middle School AHS speech and debate team to compete in Medford Ashland: Lions Club steps up for vision tests Environment New TAP pumps bolster Ashland's options Most residents speak against gas pipeline proposed for Southern Oregon Home Help: Make your new house feel like home ‘Tis the season — for wild mushrooms Business Ashland's Safeway part of Haggen acquisition The Playwright pub will be serving again Saturday Mt. 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Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fight Zionist suppression Guest Opinion: Life — and death — by choice Guest Opinion: The environmental tipping point Revels Latest Stories Dancing People Company celebrates the Winter Solstice 4 Things to do this weekend Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Best Bets: Dec. 18-24 'Homesman' plays grit and despair perfectly Theater ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Putting the music into 'A Christmas Carol' Meet the real Jacob Marley Music Rating old-timers’ albums from 2014 SOU presents all-percussion concert Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: This ‘Museum’ entry should be closed to the public Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'Homesman' plays grit and despair perfectly Movie review: Exiting Middle-earth with a triumphant flourish Movie review: A captivating film about a girl gone ‘Wild’ Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Looking Up: The stars from the North Pole Suzette Martinez Standring: Christmas light reflections Health Watch: Change up your treadmill workout In Good Faith: Fallen angels Marketta Gregory: Advent calendar Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake ... Raiders bring it home ... Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake ... Raiders bring it home ... BACKSTAGE Putting the music into 'A Christmas Carol' Craterian musical production features dozens of teens Comment By Evalyn Hansen DailyTidings.com By Evalyn Hansen Posted Dec. 10, 2014 @ 5:30 pm By Evalyn Hansen Posted Dec. 10, 2014 @ 5:30 pm » RELATED CONTENT • Review: Carroll's themes come through in Convivio's 'Alic... • Theater sparks 'aliveness' in actress/director • 'The Drunken City': Bachelorettes meet bar-crawlers • In the theater, the audience is part of the show • On the stage, anything can happen » Social News Doug Ham is directing “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” for Teen Musical Theater of Oregon (TMTO), opening this Friday, Dec.12, at The Craterian Theater in Medford. Throughout his career, Ham has delved into many aspects theater including acting, directing and designing. One afternoon, we met at Boulevard Coffee in Ashland to discuss his latest project. DH: It’s a really nice, different approach to “A Christmas Carol.” It’s all there, but adding musical and dance numbers just gives it more oomph. There are 49 Teen Musical Theater of Oregon students in the cast. It’s a 90-minute show with tons of scenes, tons of costumes and tons of choreography. EH: What is it about Charles Dickens’ story "A Christmas Carol" that rings so true? DH: It shows that at Christmas you can let loose of all of the stuff around you and just see the joy of it. It’s a time when everybody gets together. EH: What’s it like working with teenagers compared to adults? DH: I’ve worked with a lot of professionals and a lot of stars; it’s nice not having divas. These are kids that want to learn, they care about theater, and they want to do their best. EH: How do the teenagers get trained? DH: It’s teaching while rehearsing. The nice thing about Teen Musical Theater of Oregon is that they have become a family. A lot of them are in every show. Sometimes they get the lead, or sometimes a supporting character. They learn so much working with professional directors, choreographers, designers and musicians. They get really good training over and above what they get from school. EH: Do you ever have any behavioral problems with the teens? DH: They all know each other, so there are times when it’s, “Quiet down, so we can keep working,” but they appreciate the process. EH: How are the productions funded? DH: Each cast member pays a fee, and it is part of the Craterian season. Most things that come into the Craterian have backers. That helps, because a production can cost tens-of-thousands of dollars. We try to do everything first rate. EH: You’ve done a lot of different things in theater. DH: Every aspect of theater has its own high. Whether you direct a show or perform in a show, it’s just a different high. And it changes: When you are performing, you get the applause; when you are on the creative team, you get that satisfaction; or the curtain goes up, and you have designed this wonderful scenery, and the audience applauds. For me, it has to be collaborative. It has to be a team. I want it to be a good experience. That can’t always be the case, but we sure try. You don’t know if it’s going to be good. And you don’t know if a show will sell. All we can do is to give the audience the best that we have, and they’ll come or they won’t. But I think there’s a lot of support from the community for Teen Musical Theater of Oregon. The shows sell well. There are about 800 seats in the Craterian. With a full house these kids just light up. EH: Why have you spent your life theater? DH: It’s my therapist; it’s my passion; it’s my joy. You find your niche in life; and every new show is an adventure and a new challenge. I don’t know what I would do without it. “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13, and Thursday and Friday, December 18-19; and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20. For Tickets and information, call 541-779-3000 or visit www.craterion.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 DailyTidings.com By Evalyn Hansen Posted Dec. 10, 2014 @ 5:30 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. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs 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. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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