Since the campaigns launch, some donors say they have noticed new efforts from OSF to connect with them. In a statement, OSF Board Chair Diane Yu applauded Garretts work to advocate for performance venues and encourage equity and diversity at the organization. At the same time, respondents viewed Ashland primarily as an outstanding arts and culture destination. Garretts critics, however, found much to dislike. Productions have included plays about the Roe Supreme Court decision, immigration, and oppression of Native Americans. The challenges are not going away. The theater has been and mostly remains an elitist, entitled fortress reserved for those who reside at the top of the status quo, she said. The trip planner that puts everything in one place, making planning your trip easier, quicker, and more fun. The 2022 schedule is also staggered so that fewer shows are running in late summer, when its often smoky. Now, Travel Ashland is trying to change that perception. The rollout of the Change Makers circles could have been better. The position will be a homecoming for Bond, who served as an Associate Artistic Director at OSF for 11 seasons from 1996 to 2007. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Some were furious when the organizations announcement of new Change Makers donation circles indicated that it was doing away with its membership program. Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has chosen Tim Bond as its new artistic director. Also, Rauch launched what became the award-winning American Revolutions project in which OSF commissioned new works about crucial moments of change in U.S. history. Sign up for announcements, and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows! Analysis of ticket sales, however, showed that half of patrons were casual theatergoers who came to just one play a year, according to Dubon. Go. An enslaved woman turned Union spy and a brilliant professor in a modern-day private university are facing similar struggles, though they live over a century apart. Language is killing us. New colors teal, blue, and a sunny gold infuse Travel Ashlands revamped website and the latest visitors guide. The company has done away with its dynamic pricing model, where ticket prices fluctuated with demand; instead, ticket prices are fixed and have been slashed across the board. The city of Ashland is home to this magnificent festival and buzzes with drama for a big part of the year., OSF's season runs from April through October. Unlike music festivals such asLollapaloozaorBurning Man, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival spans several months.. Oregon groups create a path for people of color to feel safe on There are very few artists in the United States who have the vision and the practical skill set that Nataki has, said Travis Preston, dean of the school of theater at the California Institute of the Arts, where Garrett trained. From almost her first day on the job, it was clear that those efforts would collide with traditional philanthropy, with financial repercussions. with Olivia Elease Hardy: More Questions with the KIMBERLY AKIMBO Cast, Chatting With THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HEATHER Stars Katey Sagal And Brittany Nicole Williams, See Highlights Of KIMBERLY AKIMBO, SOME LIKE IT HOT & More At Broadway in Bryant Park. Be a part of it! There you'll findHarry & David'sCountry Village Store. May 5, 2023 Nataki Garrett, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is stepping down after a tumultuous period that concluded with a financial crisis so severe that the. Your regular monthly contribution supports JPR's local journalism and all our music and cultural programming. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival's artistic director the first person of color in the role departs amid criticism that her plan to save the American theater drove away donors and patrons. Garretts departure gives the festival an opportunity to look at their core offerings and values, according to Endowment Board President Christy. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The venerable but troubled Oregon Shakespeare Festival has a new leader in Tim Bond. Manage Settings Ultimately, if the theaters going to engage new audiences and survive, he added, they will have to give up control. Battered by pandemic, Ashland reimagines its tourism economy He is the recipient of two Backstage West Garland Awards, two Syracuse Area Live Theatre (SALT) Awards, and a Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum Award. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or Youve got [restaurants] like Rubys and Growler Guys and Skout that really do appeal to the outdoor traveler, says Towle. Stay. OSF reopened with a limited season in 2021, but in August, most of the performances of the festivals only running show were canceled because of smoke. [It did not] put OSF ahead of where the organization was, financially, before the pandemic. The festival is still struggling with staffing shortages. The towns tourism board could have written the copy, Dubon noted. In order for theatre to remain vital, it must adapt to this moment and boldly transform for its future. A local vitamin shop goes by the name Alls Well. The mass exodus from the restaurant biz is a national trend, and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that quit rates remain higher in foodservice than in any other industry. The Covid crisis sparked some reliable big arts donors to shift their giving to social-service organizations. This Bay Area leader is taking Oregon Shakespeare Festival's top job Founded by Angus Bowmer in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned theatre arts organization that presents an eight-month season of up to 11 plays that include works by Shakespeare as well as a mix of classics, contemporary plays, musicals and world-premieres. I took part in the Summer Seminar for High School Juniors and got to work with the same actors I loved watching on stage. Some saw an agenda in her selection of shows. Other theaters are trying to make their work more inclusive without losing their audience, Paul Barnes said. Ticket sales last year did not reach even half what they were before the pandemic. Plus, you get your very own room!, While OSF is the main attraction of Ashland, that doesn't mean there's nothing else to do there!. The travel planner that takes fun and convenience to a whole other level. In Ashland, the pandemics l ingering effects likely kept some OSF theatergoers away during the 2022 season. Supporters argue bias and racism marred her tenure. Oregon Shakespeare Festival needs $2.5M for show to go on Related: Oregon Shakespeare Festival needs $2.5M for show to go on Women of Influence 2020: Meet Oregon Shakespeare Fest's Nataki Garrett There are three types of tickets: Economy, Standard, or Premium. The 2022 Season will also bring an unprecedented, episodic vision of Shakespeare's late work Cymbeline (The Cymbeline Project, dir. Lithia Park is lush from recent rains. Whether you're a big theatre-goer or have never been to a show before, you won't be disappointed! ; world and West Coast premieres of new works byKirsten Childs,Mona Mansour,Dominique Morisseau,Qui Nguyen,Karen Zacarias,Amir Nizar Zuabi, and reimagined classics by directors such asShariffa Ali,Lili-Anne Brown,Nataki Garrett,Kent Gash,Henry Godinez,Tiffany Nichole Greene,Rosa Joshi, andDawn Monique Williams, amongst many others. Shes not afraid, like all the great writers, of allowing her audiences to sit with discomfort, said Marissa Chibs, a Cuban American writer, actor, and filmmaker who recently joined the OSF board. OSF prices the tickets in two ways: Zones and ticket types. American theater, she argues, will survive only if it changes its art, practices, and culture to make younger generations and new audiences feel welcome. Her favorite places she's visited (so far) include London, UK, Angers, France, and the entire country of Norway. Garrett almost didnt apply for the OSF post. Those who remained on staff during COVID saw fewer shifts, fewer customers, and a drastic cut in wages. The social media page is just one aspect of a rebranding campaign Travel Ashland launched in response to the visitor study. But at least some of Garretts critics believe it is her push for equity and inclusion that has triggered a collapse in ticket sales and donations. Before the pandemic, I visited Oregon Shakespeare Festival every year for a decade. Visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival at any point during the season. Do you see a visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in your future travel plans, or perhaps you'd prefer something like theSundanceFilm Festival instead? From late April through December each year, the Festival now offers 800 to 850 matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary plays not limited to Shakespeare to a total annual audience of nearly 400,000. Interview: Charmaine Weir-Smith of THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE at Baxter Theatre Centre Talks Storytelling and Process. Bert Etling, executive editor of Ashland.news, routinely sees obituaries in newspapers nationally that cite the deceaseds devotion to OSF. Jefferson Public Radio | Ashland, population 22,000, sits in a rural expanse nearly 300 miles from Portland, the nearest major city. In Ashland, average home prices and rents were already significantly higher than most of Jackson County before the Almeda Fire devastated the valley. Supporters increasingly felt shut out. Promised coffees and meetings to discuss the festivals direction didnt materialize. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Board of Directors has announced its appointment ofTim Bondas its new Artistic Director, effective September 1. In 1952, volunteers came together as the Tudor Guild, which over the years raised funds to support actors and the crew, managed a gift store, and even brought cookies. Review: 'Confederates' Talks Race in Double Time With these changes and our bold programming, I'm excited to grow OSF's community in Ashland, around the country, and around the globe.". In a speech the previous year at the national conference of StateraArts, which supports womens advancement in the arts, she had cheered the sea change represented by a growing number of women leaders in the field women warriors, she called them. We are at an inflection point in our industry, where outdated business models must evolve in order for our theaters to survive, Garrett said. Launched just a few weeks ago, it has already netted about $1.5 million, more than half of the $2.5 million needed to finish the season. Ashland in January 2021. Revenge Song, a raucous musical by Vietnamese-American writer Qui Nguyen about the subjugation of women, drew the most ire. The Chronicle visited Ashland in late March, about a month before the announcement of Garretts departure. Any new leader introducing change might face such criticism. The performances profanity, violence, and sexualized lyrics shocked some audiences. Having arrived at the festival just before the pandemic shuttered it for 17 months, she was, after nearly 30 years in theater, directing a play by Shakespeare for the first time indeed, the very play that inspired her career. An immersive digital festival at the intersection of live theatre and extended reality. Youll start hearing soon about some staff changes where these leaders have just said, Im done.. Get Pilot. Residents have nurtured the festivals growth since it launched in 1935 as part of the towns July 4 celebrations. Discover new places and be inspired by stories from our traveler community. They ranked Healdsburg, Lake Tahoe and Bend more highly when it comes to wine, food, and outdoor recreation. Nicholas C. Avila and King John, dir. Image Courtesy: Oregon Shakespeare Festival My Personal Experience With the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Oregon Shakespeare Festival names Tim Bond as new artistic director The position will be a homecoming for Bond, who . Garrett was viewed as more progressive, which won her both support and opposition. Fresh snow at Mt. His stature and accomplishments as an artist include introducing prominent new and classic works and he is widely acknowledged as one of the nation's foremost interpreters of the works of August Wilson, which we all witnessed when he directed Wilsons How I Learned What I Learned at OSF last year. Women artists of color are familiar with Garretts OSF experience, said Chibs, the Cuban American artist and OSF board member. 541-482-4331. Recent credits include the acclaimed productions ofFannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer( TheatreWorks),How I Learned What I Learned(OSF, Seattle Repertory Theatre),Gem of the Ocean(TheatreWorks),The Children(Seattle Rep), andPass Over(A Contemporary Theatre).Associate Artistic Director and Director of Artistic Programming,Evren Odcikin, will serve as Interim Artistic Director through September 15, allowing for an overlap with Bonds start date.OSF is a very special place, and I am honored to be asked to serve in this new capacity, says Odcikin, who has overseen the producing of five seasons, and helped guide the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermath of the devastating Almeda Fire, and multiple leadership changes. In conversations with the Chronicle in the weeks before her departure, Garrett said she was puzzled by the criticism lobbed at her. In a prepared statement, Garrett didnt provide a specific reason for leaving the organization. While you may need a car to get to a few of them, that can be a great activity to pass the time. Disclosure: Pilot is supported by our community. Founded in 1935, it is one of the oldest and largest non-profit. The 2022 In-Person Season culminates in November with a raucous reimagining of a holiday classic (Mark Bedard, Brent Hinkley, and John Tufts' It's Christmas, Carol!, dir. The pandemic limited face-to-face conversations, which likely added to the sense of estrangement. Oregon Shakespeare Festival But these challenges also pose great opportunitiesto rebuild in a way that reflects where we are today and where we want to be in the futurewith actors, staff, audiences, and artistic leaders who reflect the richness of our countrys diversity. 2023 - Copyright Wisdom Digital Media, all rights reserved. Elisha Lewis, manager at Standing Stone, cites a combination of blows that made recovering impossible, starting with smoky summers that reduced tourist traffic. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Now, OSF seemed only interested in their money. Black Lives Black Words International Project, led by Simeilia Hodge Dallaway and Reginald Edmund, partners with OSF to produce "Films for the People," featuring one-person short films by groundbreaking Black writers and creatives. Contributions in 2021 and 2022 reached only about $8 million each year, less than half of the 2019 total and the lowest in a decade. If youve visited Ashland lately, you may have been struck by how normal it all feels. CARDIAC ORGAN is excellent fun not the good, clean type, but the vastly superior creepy, twisted type. I care deeply about this company and the Ashland community, and will be devoting my immediate focus on restoring , healing, and reinvigorating this national artistic treasure as it embarks on its 89th season.Bond has directed nationally and internationally at Market Theatre, Baxter Theatre Centre, Guthrie Theater, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep, BAM, The Wilma Theater, Arena Stage, Alliance Theatre, GEVA Theatre Center, Cleveland Play House, Indiana Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, PCPA, Arizona Theatre Co., Portland Center Stage, Dallas Theater Center, A Contemporary Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Paul Robeson Theatre, and Seattle Childrens Theatre. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is back in full this season, with a new focus centered around greater access for patrons. Bond worked there for 11 years as . He then joined Delaware Public Media as a Report For America fellow before returning to the west coast. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Is Struggling, but Hope Springs Eternal Many things might explain the move, including a bleak fiscal outlook. With vengeance weighing heavily on his mind, he conjures a storm to bring ashore a passing ship carrying his enemies, who find themselves at the mercy of his supernatural machinations. Even simple things like having a safe place to put your bicycle matter, he adds. In their rebranding campaign, Contently Co. identified four lifestyle personas they hope to target through marketing: families looking for a stress-free vacation with kid-friendly activities; friends meeting up in Ashland, travelers seeking a quick getaway; and wanderers on the hunt for a scenic home base from which to explore Rogue Valley wineries. Gibbs credits strong support from locals and services like DoorDash for keeping his restaurants afloat. Ive got a lot of friends who are in these positions right now, and theyre catching hell, said Michael McAfee, head of PolicyLink, an equity research and advocacy organization. @media(min-width:0px){#div-gpt-ad-broadwayworld_com-under_first_paragraph-0-asloaded{max-width:300px!important;max-height:250px!important}}if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'broadwayworld_com-under_first_paragraph','ezslot_2',845,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-broadwayworld_com-under_first_paragraph-0');Oregon Shakespeare Festival today announced its 2022 Season, making a joyous return to repertory programming after two years of extreme uncertainty-and emerging with an ambitious vision of theatre as an accessible artform that can boldly meet our current moment. This is my child; I gave birth to this child. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has announced that Tim Bond will . A Hilarious Celebration of Musical Theatre Opens in Brazil. The slate of eight live plays in 2022, her first full season, included two Shakespeare productions and a Christmas show. OSF wrote a response in which it committed to becoming an anti-racist organization actively working to eliminate anti-Blackness., Gary Herman, an Ashland resident who has stopped giving to the theater, pointed to an OSF filing in a National Labor Relations Board case in which the theater describes itself as a not-for-profit anti-racist social justice organization that presents plays in repertory., Oregon Shakespeare Festival board: You asked me for money, so tell me what is OSFs mission? Herman wrote to the Ashland.news. Filmed in beloved Black-owned businesses in Houston and San Francisco/Bay Area, this unprecedented project connects Black arts and the communities they serve to celebrate the talent, resilience, and presence of Black artists, leaders and communities across America. QUILLS FEST 2022 is an immersive digital festival at the intersection of live theatre and extended reality. The relief funding helped OSF offset its pandemic-related losses, says Zidell. Dont forget about the rest of us, another urged. Debate over Garrett versus Bond was contentious, according to several individuals involved. People of color who take over historically white institutions often find their abilities and decisions questioned, according to surveys by the Building Movement Project, a social-justice research and support organization. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Along with new art offerings on its stages and on O!, OSF provides a sturdy foundation for these changes by making its programming economically accessible year-round with a new pricing and donor benefits model. Several longtime top-end donors stepped back soon after she arrived, according to Garrett. Ashland, Oregon 97520. Otherwise, there was a danger that support from a narrow set of the wealthiest donors could influence play selection and shape the art itself. Some of those lost donations were clearly a rejection of Garretts leadership and art. The artistic director had left days after her arrival, and she had stepped in on an interim basis. The position will be a homecoming for Bond, who served as an Associate Artistic Director at OSF for 11 seasons from 1996 to 2007. Light from the stage caught the big, infectious smile that broke across her face when her cast cut up. That means work in the back offices to, among other things, erase decades-old fundraising conventions and flip the script on how groups market themselves and to whom. The festival opened ticket sales in the winter of 2021, a time when Covid cases spiked because of the Omicron variant. The donation also qualified her to buy tickets early I wanted to be in the first five rows and attend coffees with the cast and management. Ashland , Southern Oregon. Thats what it becomes all about.. Her grandmother took her to opera, symphony, theater. 107.170.67.21 The festival is often simply referred to as OSF. After George Floyds murder, Garrett backed a We See You, White American Theater letter written by more than 300 Black, Indigenous, and other people of color in the nonprofit and commercial theater. Whisked to a Shakespearean theatre, a prehistoric holiday celebration, and a Zombie future, will Carol find her soul with the help of these apparitions? "This is a moment to take bold action to make theatre accessible by lowering barriers for entry. Bond, currently TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's artistic director, is set to take over the Ashland, Ore . Quills is a first-of-its-kind convening of theatremakers, transmedia storytellers, and creative technologists. An important goal of the rebranding effort, says Cato, is sending a clear message that all are welcome and that you can visit Ashland without breaking the bank. They didnt care what was playing at OSF; theyd be there.. Garrett and Executive Director David Schmitz instituted these changes to increase accessibility and inclusion and to lead the American theater at large in that direction, says Zidell. We continued to offer higher, competitive wages, but we werent seeing quality candidates apply.. During the Chronicle visit to Ashland, Garrett hinted that the donor would like to see her gone. The crowd would come down the hill and pour into the store, Hammond said. For similar reasons, the Rogue Valleys uncrowded tasting rooms have an advantage over better known wine regions, says Gibbs. I dont own Actors Theatre any more than they do. Direct from the U.K.,The FABBA Showis the sensational, authentic and truly magical tribute to Abba. The organization perhaps moved too quickly to change some things during the pandemic, she said. Garrett said she hadnt actually changed much at OSF, thanks to the pandemic. Youre going to lose patrons.. For reasonable prices, you can stay in a mixed-gender common room with bunk beds. Audiences, which have been in decline for many years, are staying home in bigger numbers, having grown accustomed to home entertainment. One rescinded a $4.5 million gift. Ashlands exceptional early powder and OSFs first ever holiday production, Its Christmas, Carol! Dawn Monique Williams, who's worked at Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and . Patricia Reser Center for the Arts (7/27-7/27), Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre (HART) (7/14-7/23), The Armory at Portland Center Stage (7/19-7/19), Reed College, Kaul Auditorium (7/29-7/29). Better still, more than 3,000 people have donated to an emergency Save Our Season fundraising campaign. Ashland saw record visitorship last year, despite the less than stellar snow. Telling a tale of young artists fighting for not only justice, but simply visibility in the time of the AIDS crisis. Being in Southern Oregon, Ashland is near several wineries and vineyards. During his time with OSF, he directed 12 productions, promoted equity and inclusion efforts throughout the company, and created the FAIR Program, which cultivates the next generation of theatre artists and administrators from diverse backgrounds. For some, the aid was not enough. This is the seat of the American theater, the theater that represents white mainstream culture and white dominance in a way that no other theater does.. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is back in full this season, with a new focus centered around greater access for patrons. Pirronne Yousefzadeh). Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat' Examines Lives Unraveling by Industry's If you're curious about what it's like and what you can expect, then I've got all the details for you! Honest advice & tips for travelers [2023]! Oregon Shakespeare Festival on track to meet first goal to 'save' 2023 season Published: May. In OSFs heyday, Ashland was a theater Shangri-La. Gibbs was having trouble filling shifts at his two restaurants, so he cut service from five nights a week down to four. Every year they track trends and plan accordingly. I believe that smoky wildfire seasons are here to stay, says Lewis. For 12 years, banished Prospero has been living on a mystical island and using magic to subjugate its natives. Excited by the potential of their partnership, the nonprofit and the job candidate fail to map out the specifics of the change the leader will bring about.
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