Theater in Southern Oregon

Eventually, so many people came to Ashland that the original building was enlarged and by 1917, a round, dome-covered building was in place. As the Chautauqua movement lost momentum, the building fell into disuse and by the 1930s had been torn down, except for the round cement walls. And it is within these walls that the story of theater really begins in Southern Oregon.

Evidence of this rich cultural legacy is seen throughout the region. Southern Oregon has many more theaters, galleries and fine arts opportunities than one would normally find in such bucolic rural settings as these. Here's a look at some of the theater-going opportunities you'll find here.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Angus Bowmer was a teacher at Southern Oregon Normal School, now Southern Oregon University, who persuaded the city of Ashland to produce a festival of two plays within those cement walls. The city agreed, a stage was built, and The Oregon Shakespearean Festival was born on July 2, 1935, with a production of Twelfth Night. Today, the Tony-Award winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival attracts thousands of visitors to Ashland to see its rotating repertory of plays, February through October.

Oregon Cabaret Theater, Ashland
The Oregon Cabaret Theatre, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, has earned a reputation for top-flight musicals, revues and comedies, all professionally produced with its signature flair and panache. The shows are presented in an elegant nightclub setting housed in a magnificently restored and renovated Baptist church building, complete with stained glass windows and a crystal chandelier from a vintage movie palace.

Oregon Stage Works, Ashland
A non-profit performance group formed in October 2002 in response to an outpouring of community support for the creation of a professional theater company focusing on the staging of developing and master American playwrights. Inspired by the diversity of American society, Oregon Stage Works is dedicated to enlightening artists and audiences alike with creative and challenging interpretations, and simultaneously embracing a community of all ages and cultures with affordable professional theater.

Theater Arts, Southern Oregon University, Ashland
The university is committed to providing a superior training program for undergraduates through a balance of classroom instruction and hands-on stage production experience. Students gain the theatrical skills necessary to succeed in graduate schools and in professional workplaces. Theater arts majors participate in an intensive program that produces two or more stage productions each academic quarter.

Camelot Theatre Company, Talent
Here's a small theater with an intimate performance area. The company is dedicated to creating high-quality, affordable theater from classic, contemporary and new works, which reflect the diversity of American culture.

The Rogue Theatre, Grants Pass
This lovely art deco-style theater was built in 1938 and has recently undergone a renaissance, becoming a showcase for national, regional and local performing arts. This attractive, welcoming facility augments the historic charm of downtown Grants Pass' central shopping district. In the past several seasons, music fans have seen such top names as Richie Havens, Mickey Rooney, Donovan, Little Feat and more.

Rogue Music Theater, Rogue Community College, Grants Pass
This venue offers some of the finest regional musical theater in Oregon, especially lovely are July and August shows under Southern Oregon's balmy night sky in a lovely outdoor amphitheater.

Barnstormers Little Theater, Grants Pass
One of the oldest community theaters in Oregon, it presents classic and contemporary plays, leaning heavily toward comedy.

Stardust Repertory Theater, Grants Pass Performing Arts Center
Located in Grants Pass High School, this is one of the nicest performing arts venues in the Northwest. Built in 1999, the GPHS Performing Arts Center houses two theaters and three performance classrooms. The main theater seats 800 and has the largest stage in Southern Oregon. The Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce and local merchants also sponsor a series of free "Concerts in the Park" every Tuesday night, July-September, in Riverside Park.

Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, Medford
Here is Southern Oregon's state-of-the-art community performing arts center, located in the historic downtown of our largest city, Medford. The facility features excellent acoustics and sightlines, an impressive array of theatrical equipment and is operated by a professional staff. The auditorium is intimate and comfortable and seats just 750 patrons, yet the stage can accommodate large national concert, dance and theatrical tours. The Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater is a vibrant facility utilized by all parts of the community for performances, rehearsals, classes and workshops, conferences, receptions, parties, seminars, trainings and more.

Here's the Ginger Rogers-Medford Connection. It was a Texas contest that started Ginger Rogers on the road to Hollywood ... and to Medford. In 1925, in Dallas, she won a statewide Charleston dance competition that led to a six-month theater tour of one-night performances. She came to Oregon and appeared on the stage of Hunt's Craterian (now called the Craterian) on April 21, 1926, just 18 months after its grand opening. Heralding her appearance, the Medford Mail Tribune wrote "Miss Rogers is a winsome little miss with captivating mannerisms and a pair of feet that make the most intricate dances seem easy." Included was a picture of a glamorous Ginger at age 15. Today her graceful magic lives on as this fabled entertainer and Rogue Valley neighbor shares her name in the lights of the new Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater.

Ross Ragland Theater, Klamath Falls
The 1939 art deco-styled Esquire Theater in old town Klamath Falls was remodeled into a state-of-the-art performing arts center. Today, The Ross Ragland Theater and Cultural Center serves, educates and inspires more than 100,000 people each year, and is the only year-round, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary arts center in South Central Oregon and Northern California. The theater provides the perfect venue for large Broadway shows, symphony orchestras, top name artists, as well as smaller chamber ensembles and one-man shows.

Theater at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg
The UCC Fine and Performing Arts Department provides educational opportunities for students interested in obtaining a college transfer degree, Associate of Arts, or personal enrichment in Music, Theater, and Visual Arts. Classes are held in the Whipple Fine Arts Center. The 182-seat Centerstage Theatre is a classroom for theater, lighting, makeup and set design. Backstage has a costume loft, wood shop, makeup area and dressing rooms. Theater productions are produced quarterly.

Britt Festival, Jacksonville
Assembled by a group of volunteers in the summer of 1963 (with a plywood stage and tin-can lights), Britt Music Festival featured a small chamber orchestra. Today, the Britt Festival brings world-class musicians to their Jacksonville outdoor amphitheater, with a capacity of 2,200, throughout the spring and summer months.

Who Was Peter Britt? In 1852, Peter Britt (1819-1905) arrived in Jacksonville with $5 in his pocket and a wagon full of photography equipment. A Swiss immigrant, Britt forged a distinguished life and career in the Rogue Valley, and became one of Oregon's most celebrated citizens. Through thousands of photographs, he chronicled 50 years of life and growth in Southern Oregon. From Jacksonville's inauspicious beginnings in the 1850s to Southern Oregon's agricultural prominence at the turn of the century, Britt's images tell the stories of those who settled and transformed our region.