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The cast performing "Tribes" in one of the early productions of the Oregon Contemporary Theatre in its new downtown Eugene home.

(OTC/Eugene)

The Oregon Contemporary Theatre is a big part of the renaissance happening in downtown Eugene.

The theater moved recently from the Whiteaker neighborhood, where it operated as the Lord Leebrick Playhouse. The vacated space was well used, because Capitello Wines moved in and became part of that neighborhood's new Fermentation District.

The theater's new home is at 194 W. Broadway downtown, near where the city owns two parking garages and offers free parking on evenings and weekends _ a perfect match for theater attendees.

The theater bought its new space in 2009 because the small non-profit could afford it at the height of the recession. It took four years to remodel, with the opening happening in 2013.

The space was once a public market in the 1920s and then was used for food and drug stores. The theater remodel opened a 135-seat main theater, plus a second theater in back with 99 seats.

Craig Willis, the producing artistic director, has been with the theater since 2003. He calls the new space as good as it gets for a small theater in a city the size of Eugene.

The theater produces a half-dozen thought-provoking plays during the September to May season. Currently showing is "I & You," a play about youthful love. Look for the full schedule at octheatre.org.

-- Terry Richard