Oregon Shakespeare Festival Spring 2016 – Ashland, Oregon
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First Posted 4-19-2016 and Last Updated 4-23-2016
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is one of the best things about visiting Ashland!
We love the OSF and whenever we’re in town we try to see as many of the shows currently playing as we can (time & money permitting). They produce eleven plays in three theaters each season: Shakespeare and “the classics”, adaptations, musicals and new “world premiere” plays which run in reparatory February-November.
The campus is located at Main Street and Pioneer in downtown Ashland and there are 3 theaters (the large outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre, the large Angus Bowmer Theatre and the smaller Thomas Theatre), the box office, the Tudor Gift Shoppe, the Founders Room and patio, rehearsal rooms and administration offices. They offer guided tours, pre and post show talks, and other special events. During the summer and early fall months there are FREE Green Show performances before the evening shows (weather permitting).
The Allen Elizabethan Theatre is a large outdoor “open-air” amphitheater in the style of the Globe Theatre from Shakespeare’s era, except it’s built out of modern materials and has high-tech lighting and sound.
Shows don’t open in the outdoor theatre until summer, and even then there’s a “rain or shine” policy for most performances. We’ve sat through outdoor shows in the rain and cold, where we were under the balcony and the rain was blowing in sideways and hitting us in the face, and other shows where it was “hot as hell” and there was no breeze blowing at all. Most times it’s a great experience and the weather isn’t a factor, but other times it’s been very uncomfortable, so now you’ve been warned.
TIP: Dress in layers and prepare for the weather and other conditions you may experience when seeing shows in the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre!
NOTE: This stage pic is from a previous trip and Blog. Last fall when we visited there were large wildfires burning in the area around Ashland and the Rogue Valley. A number of outdoor performances were cancelled because of heavy smoke (health, air quality and visibility issues were determined each night prior to the performance and the audience was warned that conditions might cause cancellation).
The Box Office is housed on the first floor of a building next to the Thomas Theatre on Pioneer Street. The OSF is completely “special needs” friendly and fully accessible.
Tickets for the two shows (Twelfth Night Wednesday Matinee and Yeoman of The Guard on Thursday Evening) were available for pickup at Will Call in the Box Office.
Wednesday Matinee of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” done 1930’s Hollywood style in the Angus Bowmer Theatre
We had a ticket to the Thursday Evening performance of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Yeoman of the Guard” done Country “Corn Pone” in the Thomas Theatre at 8pm and we were told to arrive early for the “pre-show” at 7:30pm. There was audience interaction with the characters before and during the show, and some of the best and funniest moments were the unscripted improvisation with the people sitting on the stage.
There was no intermission. It was a relatively short show and it ended about 9:45pm.
Be sure to visit the Plaza at night for the “after theatre” experience. Most of the restaurants, breweries and bars stay open late and cater to both locals and the tourists in town. Weekends and some weeknights there is live music performed at some of the local venues.
NOTE: Be aware! The “transient” population tends to congregate in the area at night, but they are mostly harmless and usually don’t bother other people except to ask for money.
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Our Friday afternoon activities were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances so instead we drove over to the OSF Box Office and switched our “comp” ticket to the Friday matinee of “Great Expectations”. We parked the car in the 4 hour lot and went to the show.
Friday Matinee of the World Premiere adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” in the Angus Bowmer Theatre
The other shows playing “Viet Gone” and “The River Bride” both had great reviews.
Visit the OSF’s Festival Welcome Center for information and view the beautiful costumes from last season’s shows up close! The Volunteer Staff also have good tips about the town of Ashland.
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During the Summer and early Fall months the OSF has FREE Green Shows before the evening performances (weather permitting) “on the bricks” in the OSF plaza between the theaters. The OSF invites visiting artists of all types to perform “On The Bricks” on the Plaza stage:
NOTE: This Green Show pic is from a previous trip and Blog. The Stage and Brick Plaza (as well as the Path to the Downtown Plaza) are currently undergoing extensive renovation.
And of course visit the Tudor Gift Shoppe for all your OSF souvenirs!
All photos copyright 2016 JoshWillTravel
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