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BACKSTAGE Designer creates spaces for people to have experiences Comment By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings Posted Jul. 26, 2015 at 12:48 PM By Evalyn Hansen For the Tidings Posted Jul. 26, 2015 at 12:48 PM » Social News Craig Hudson designed the sets and lights for Oregon Cabaret Theatre’s stunning production of “Cabaret.” Hudson founded OCT when he took a peek into an old pink church at First & Hargadine Streets in Ashland. He transformed it into a lush theatrical venue complete with dark green walls, polished wood balconies, and dominated by a spectacular crystal chandelier. Hudson divides his time between Ashland, where he is the resident set designer at OCT, and his exquisite bed and breakfast in Mexico City called The Red Tree House. He is now in the midst of building a dazzling supper club (to open soon) just below the Cabaret Theatre: The Hearsay Restaurant, Lounge & Garden, where we met one afternoon. CH: This will be the main dining room, but in the evenings, it can turn into a cabaret. It’s going to have a pretty decent lighting system, a good sound system; it will have a grand piano in here. I would love to do piano bar one night a week. I would like to have an after-theater venue. Some things will work, and some things won’t. You think you know what’s going to go on, but you often don’t. Things seldom work out the way you plan them, but they always turn out OK. If you can just let go of the need to control it, in minute detail, it’s OK. It’s trying to place yourself uniquely in the market. Perhaps it’s defining what you’re doing, articulating that, then marketing it. We’re so close now. EH: Tell me of the creation of the Oregon Cabaret Theatre. CH: A friend of mine knew I wanted a theater and a place to put that chandelier. There was a door that had been kicked down in back. We went into this spooky scary place. This was full of old restaurant equipment. There was a room stuffed with old moldy mattresses and blankets. It was great for homeless people because they could break a window and get all of the mattresses that they needed. Kids would play in here. They could jump off of the balcony onto more mattresses. It was a wreck. The bank had repossessed it. I negotiated with the bank. The building itself was pretty cheap, but fixing it up was expensive. For everything I did, I had to equate to how many months I had to work as an assistant professor (at Southern Oregon University) to pay for it. I’d wonder, “The door hardware is going to cost me six months of work?” The project in Mexico (the Red Tree House) has given me a chance to be creative in design. There again, I don’t have a client that I have to please. I get to create something that’s fun. That’s the first part for me. People said, “Craig, you can’t do business that way.” I’d say, “No I’m not a good business person.” I think truthfully I am. But my philosophy of doing business is by putting business second. EH: You create these fabulous spaces for things to happen. CH: It’s funny because that’s exactly how I think of myself. I’d like to create environments for people to have experiences in. It’s true of everything I do. And it is theatrical in all senses. It’s fun. And, believe me I’m grateful that I’ve gotten to do that. Hudson’s next set design will be for Oregon Cabaret Theatre’s next production: Alfred Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps,” which runs Sept. 10 through Nov. 8. “Cabaret,” directed by Cabaret’s Artistic Director, Valerie Rachelle, plays through Aug. 30. Evening shows start at 8 p.m., matinees at 1 p.m. For tickets and information call 541-488-2902 or visit www.OregonCabaret.com. 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 Jul. 26, 2015 at 12:48 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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