In Ashland, the Play’s (Still) the Thing This fall Tim Bond returned to his longtime creative home to serve as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s artistic director. The festival is struggling, but Bond’s outlook is sunny. One man in his time plays many parts,” wrote the Bard in “As You Like It.” Tim Bond grew up in Ohio and California. He received a BFA in dramatic arts from Howard and his MFA in directing from the University of Washington, and he started his professional career at the Seattle Theatre Group in 1984, directing more than 20 productions, many of which were West Coast and world premieres. His career has taken him all over the country—from Dallas to Cleveland to Milwaukee. But the Pacific Northwest, and Ashland in particular, have had a strong pull for Bond, who was also a full professor and head of the professional actor training program at the University of Washington School of Drama. And from 1996 to 2007, he served as artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he directed 12 productions and created a program to mentor theater artists and administrators from diverse backgrounds. In September he returned to Ashland to serve as the festival’s new artistic director. Bond returns during a challenging time for the 88-year-old festival and for the performing arts in general. He’s undeterred, though. In fact, he’s excited. “I was just here in July,” Bond told Oregon Business during a video call in August. “There was an energy and an excitement of audiences coming back, finally, after COVID. That felt amazing.” In April OSF launched an emergency fundraising drive, saying it needed to raise $1.5 million by June — and $2.5 million in total — in order to continue the 2023 season. That announcement followed the January resignations of executive director David Schmitz and director of development Amanda Brandes, plus 12 layoffs, seven furloughs and a hiring freeze. Artistic director Nataki Garrett stepped into the role of executive director on an interim basis, but resigned from the festival in May. OSF later announced that it met and exceeded the $2.5 million goal in less than 50 days, but said it needed another $7.5 million to complete the season. OSF board chair Diane Yu says after Garrett’s resignation, the search for a new BY CHRISTEN McCURDY | PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN “ 24
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