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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us September 17, 2005 Oregon Stage Works presents ‘Copenhagen’ Stefan Fischer, left, as Neils Bohr and Judith Sanford as Magrethe perform in Oregon Stage Works’ production of “Copenhagen,” which opened Friday at the A Street Marketplace. Photos by Helga Motley | Oregon Stage Works A tale of two scientists Artistic Director Alzado talks about his choice of this play and his approach By Chris Honoré Tidings Correspondent Peter Alzado grew up in Cedarhurst, Long Island. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in English and theater from Queens College in New York. He studied with Stella Adler, Michael Moriarty, Warren Robertson, Mira Rostova and Joel Zwick. His Broadway debut was in Michael Weller’s “Moon Children,” followed by Michael Bennet’s “Ballroom.” He moved to Ashland in 1985. He was the producing artistic director for the award-winning Actor’s Theatre from 1996-2000. He founded Oregon Stage Works along with Bill Sauers, Jeanette Larson and Lee Perlman in 2002. The new OSW opened at 185 A St. in May 2005. Daily Tidings : What is there about theater that captivates you and caused you to open Oregon Stage Works? Peter Alzado : I am particularly interested in a certain interpretive dynamic that, when executed with depth and with skill, forms a circle of insight, recognition and understanding between the author, the director, the actor, the designers and the audience — everyone in the room going down the same thematic track. That is enriching beyond the words and actions used to create that moment. Oregon Stage Works was built for the possibility of moments like that. Further, it was built as a home for passionate and skilled artists to continue to grow and express themselves and as a place where learning and searching is encouraged, supported and honored. Joining Fisher and Sanford is Tim Blough , in the background, who plays Werner Heisenberg. DT : When you think of small theater in Ashland, what is your vision and philosophy? PA : To me, intimate theatre in Ashland means an actor-based theater. Which, in turn, means writers, directors and designers of an exquisite sensibility. Production values are kept to a minimum and require great imagination, intelligence and specificity in the execution. Some years ago, Richard Hay recommended a book to me called “A Simple Stage.” I like that concept a lot. After all, the theater’s greatest attribute is its ability to inspire the imagination. If everything is done for you in the acting and in the values of production, then what room is there for you and your imagination? DT : What do you look for in a play and how do you go about selecting the plays that appear at OSW? PA : Play selection depends a great deal on who I have to direct and perform the material. Of course, I look for writing that is sharp and deep, and light and filled with the writer’s passion about the themes he or she has taken up. I am open to producing plays about any subject, as long as it expresses itself with artistry and integrity. The worst thing a theater can do is pander. When I did “American Buffalo” and “How I Learned To Drive,” many people around the theater, having read the plays, were adamantly against my doing them. Yet those very people, on seeing the productions, were engaged and compelled and even shocked at their positive responses to what they experienced. Theater does not live on the page, it lives on the stage. Theater not only has a right to challenge the status quo, it has a responsibility, an obligation to do so. If all we do is what is expected, then what is the point? Why not just stand around have a martini and congratulate ourselves on our clean white lives. DT : What is involved in finding the right actors and directors for your plays? PA : Along with the right play, finding the right directors and actors is the bottom line in the theater. If you can pay (something we have an obligation to do) the talent pool you can chose from expands and you have more choice. Here in Ashland, we are fortunate to have a major regional theater bringing an array of talent to the area, not to mention audience members and lovers of live theater. You try to hire people who have a certain level of skill and who have been trained to look at the text. Stefan Fischer, left, as Neils Bohr and Tim Blough as Werner Heisenberg enjoy a moment of levity in Oregon Stage Works’ “Copenhagen.” Photos by Helga Motley | Oregon Stage Works Sinatra once said at a recording session “If it ain’t on the page, don’t play it.” I believe deeply in that and try to hire people who understand that as well. Hiring developing talent can also be exciting and can offer something very special to a production. DT : You are about to open “Copenhagen.” What was there about this play that you found compelling? PA : In “Copenhagen,” Michael Frayn uses science and a pivotal moment in history as a spring board for the examination of a relationship, and that examination evolves into a thrilling search for truth and the way we view our actions — the things we do — from diverse perspectives. Thought is forever trying to find safe harbor and life simply won’t allow for it — truth is not static. There is no doubt an absolute, but certainly it is outside the grasp of thought. How fabulously theatrical: to search for human truth in the relationship of two friends who developed nuclear physics and who now exist on opposing sides of a world war. DT : Have you had any difficulty in finding an audience in Ashland for your productions? PA : Audience continues to build with both local patrons and tourists frequenting the theater. It took me almost three years to bring Actors’ Theatre to the place Oregon Stage Works is after only a year and three months. Sunset Magazine called recently for our schedule of plays. I don’t worry about accessibility. Accessibility comes with the interpretive thrust inherent in a play’s production. You can do an ancient work and dress it in modern clothes and if that interpretive intelligence isn’t there, it doesn’t matter, the audience won’t come in. The clever turn can, at times, actually serve as a distraction from the play’s essence. I sometimes think that the subject matter is incidental to the to the play’s production. One almost always gets the story. Our job in the theater is to give you the human beings in the story, and if we can do that, there is nothing inaccessible or too esoteric. I have every confidence that whether we are doing a rip-roaring comedy like “Wild Guys,” slated for next summer, or a probing piece of work like “Orphans,” also in next year’s season, if we make every attempt to reveal the human element, our audience will be there. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams