untar the distribution file and cd into the dir (for ooRexx I had to rename the dir ooRexx-3.11 as oorexx-3.11 to satifsy dh_make).
dh_make -e me@mydomain.net -f ../original.tar.gz
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot
This does some preparation and then runs configure, and if all is well make runs too.