Jesai Jayhmes recently performed with Jeannine Grizzard, Diane Nichols and Peter Alzado in Ashland Contemporary Theatre’s dramatic reading of Jane Anderson’s “The Quality of Life.” Jayhmes came to Ashland in August to attend Jean Houston’s Social Artistry training and decided to stay. We chatted over curry at the Namaste Café across from Lithia Park. This is the first in a two-part interview.
JJ:. My experience of Ashland is continually surprising in that the quality of artistic literacy of the population is very high.
EH: How have you made your way in the field of theater?
JJ: One of my passions is training groups. For years, I trained people in acting, improvisation and classical theatre. That translated into something more professionally lucrative which is training people, outside of theater, in their effective communication skills. Those are the ones who will actually value it and pay for it. I’ve worked with a lot of people from all different professions that need to get up and talk about anything. That’s really fun, but I like making shows much better. Continue reading Jesai Jayhmes→
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.
Ashland Theatre 