February | 2010 | Ashland Theatre

Actress Helena de Crespo, last summer’s sensation in Oregon Stage Works’ “Shirley Valentine”, is spearheading a new project in the Rogue Valley. It’s called Intercambio, a multi-cultural theater project to integrate the arts and bring artists and audiences together, bridging the gap of ethnicity.

Fluent in Spanish and English, Helena has established theaters in Colombia, Costa Rica, and in the United States. Helena and I lunched at Pangea as she described her upcoming talent Showcase and the premier of a new play.

HDC: With the formation of this new organization, Intercambio, in the Rogue Valley, it seemed the best way to show the cultures to each other was to get them together, have a Showcase, and leave it up to them. And it’ll happen. It’ll be really exciting. There will be something from every age group, every ethnicity group, and everyone is welcome. We want to hear from everybody who thinks they can sing, dance, play a musical instrument, read a poem, do a scene from a play, anything that’s in the performing arts.

Continue reading Helena de Crespo →

Richard Heller plays Major Metcalf in Oregon Stage Works production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”. After acting, teaching, writing, and directing theater in California Richard is in Ashland to finish his education in Theatre Arts at Southern Oregon University. In the last six months Richard has played in “True West” and “Glengarry Glen Ross” at Oregon Stage Works, Blythe Spirit” at SOU, and now, “The Mousetrap.” We chatted at Noble Coffee Roasting one sunny afternoon.

EH: In “The Mousetrap,” Agatha Christie portrays a variety of eccentric characters in bizarre relationships.

RH: She does manage to create a lot of suspense with that dynamic of suspicion and intrigue. There’s the whole madness theme, the schizophrenic thing. Everyone in the play is accused of being a little bit mad. There’s a whole question of identity that runs through the play. Who is anybody really? There’s this whole question of how well we know anyone.

Continue reading Richard Heller of ‘Mousetrap’ discusses the craft →