“Hidden Agendas”, Oregon Stage Works Playwrights Unit’s next production, features “The Other Side” by veteran playwright Bob Valine. Bob met with early success, collecting numerous awards and fellowships. His play “Black Judas” was produced at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles before he followed the “spiritual path”. Now, winding down a long career in teaching, Bob is seeing his plays produced again. Outside on a sunny day, we chatted about his evolution as a playwright.
BV: It’s become a passion, now. It’s something I really need to do. My early playwriting was instinctive, a lot of anger and revolution. Now it’s different. It’s exploring who we are and what we’re doing here, and exploring human emotions, my own and others.
“Lately I’ve been very busy,” said Dennis Nicomede who recently delivered stunning performances playing numerous characters in “Love’s Not Time’s Fool” at Rogue Community College. Dennis has just written the narration for “Spotlight on the Mills Brothers” at the Camelot Theatre, and is soon to portray John Smith in “Breaking the Code” at the Ashland Contemporary Theatre. I visited Dennis and his wife, Jeanne, in their charming home in Talent.
EH: Tell me about “Breaking the Code.”
DN: It’s about Alan Turing, the mathematician that broke the German enigma code. That’s a play I’d refer to as a drama, something that has some real emotional value to it.
Ashland Theatre 