Information condensed from a press release by Craterian Theater
Stephen McCandless, Executive Director of the Craterian Theater since its renovation in the mid-1990s, will step down this fall after 31 years. “Running this theater has been an incredibly rich experience,” McCandless remarks. “But it’s time to make way for new leadership, energy and vision.” A national search for McCandless’ replacement will be launched in the near future.
Current Craterian board president Brian Watkins calls McCandless “an amazing person whose inspired stewardship made the Craterian a beacon of joy in the heart of Downtown Medford. Stephen’s work has touched the lives of the tens of thousands of people who have filed through the theater’s doors over the years. We have been blessed beyond measure to have him here.”
Taking the reins at the Craterian in 1995 occasioned a homecoming for McCandless, who grew up in Medford. He was working as Director of Operations at Holzmueller Productions in San Francisco when he heard about the plan to turn an unused, derelict old movie house into a new Performing Arts Center. With memories of having attended Saturday matinees at “The Crate” as a kid, he looked into the position and was encouraged to apply by Interim Executive Director Lynn Sjolund, whose musical productions at Medford High McCandless had worked on as a student in the mid-1970s.
In 1995, the Craterian was still in shambles. McCandless’ first job was to oversee renovation of the theater and to lead the final phase of the $5.2 million capital campaign required to fund it. Raising money continued to be one of his chief responsibilities. Since the Craterian opened its doors on March 1, 1997, McCandless has raised five million dollars for the company’s coffers. The Craterian’s operating budget has grown seven-fold, its staff has expanded from three to 10, and, in 2018, McCandless secured the funding for the Collier Creative Center, a 24,000 square foot rehearsal and production facility in Downtown Medford.
Since the theater’s reopening in 1997–featuring a performance by the Rogue Valley Chorale, McCandless has programmed over 700 shows. Asked to name favorites, he mentions STOMP, Moby Dick (The Acting Company), Peer Gynt (The National Theater of the Deaf), and Finding Neverland (National Tour), as well as performances by Dana Carvey, Hugh Laurie, Mandy Patinkin, Pink Martini, Melissa Etheridge, Peter Frampton, and the Indigo Girls. When pressed to name a particular favorite, McCandless confesses it is The Choir of Man, which was presented in January 2020. “The construct of that show was so novel,” he declares. “And it had everything: chart-topping music, fabulous singing, humor, step-dancing, a working bar on-stage, and audience interaction. And its message and poetry were profound. It was a full meal.”
As much as McCandless has loved presenting top-flight professional shows, he has derived the most joy from productions by the Teen Musical Theater of Oregon (TMTO), which became part of the Craterian line-up in 2009. “The shows are exceptional” McCandless contends, “but beyond that, I know all of those young people on stage. I know how hard they’ve worked, how far they’ve come, on stage and off. Every one of them has a story, and every story is inspiring and worth celebrating.”
McCandless knows the young performers as well as he does because he also happens to be Artistic Director and Technical Director of TMTO. Not content to supervise from the sidelines, he has been a hands-on participant in nearly all of TMTO’s shows, serving as Sound Engineer for 36 of them and building scenery for another 30. He finds the work so gratifying that he plans to stay on with TMTO for at least another year. He may have an extra motive for doing so: the opportunity to keep working with his daughter Cailey, who directs and choreographs most of TMTO’s productions (assisted by her wife, Andrea, the company’s music and education director).
In the realm of administration, his services have extended beyond the walls of the Craterian to Southern Oregon University’s Regional Advisory Board, the Rogue Community College Medford Campus Advisory Committee, the Medford Arts Commission, the Chamber of Medford / Jackson County Board of Directors. and the Siskiyou Institute Advisory Board. He was also a founding board member of the Art in Bloom Festival and was a member of Medford Rogue Rotary.
As if all of these achievements in the theater and community were not enough, McCandless also came up with the taglines for both the Craterian (“It’s more than entertainment. It’s Life. Don’t Miss It”) and TMTO (“Starring the future, today!”)
In light of his imminent retirement, what tag-line would McCandless offer to sum up his 31 years at the Craterian? “Well, it was more than I expected, or could have hoped for,” he says, “but I’m excited about what comes next, so let’s go with ‘There’s always another show.’”