About Nothing” as well as three plays not written by Shakespeare that either make his work a central theme or make him a character in the action, as in Liz Duffy Adams’ “Born With Teeth,” a play that imagines a meeting at a pub between Shakespeare and his elder contemporary, Christopher Marlowe. Also on the roster: two one-man shows written and performed by veteran OSF actors that reflect, in part, on the immigrant experience; a new adaptation of Jane Eyre; and an indie-rock musical about a man with green, scaly skin. Bond emphasizes that since he arrived at OSF in the 1990s, the festival has worked toward “providing a platform for all voices” and isn’t going to shy away from that work now. “All the world is a stage,” Bond says. “So let’s bring the whole world to the stage and to our audiences and on our staff. “The factions that are particularly vocal these days are working against democracy and working against inclusion on some crazy levels. Our school kids are not being allowed to learn actual history. Books are banned. It’s a very difficult time. It was extremely unfortunate and really, really unacceptable, a lot of the comments being made and attacks that happened to my predecessor and to Oregon Shakespeare Festival,” he adds. “I think those were drawn out through a political dialogue that’s going on nationally — and I assume locally — that is igniting a lot of those voices. And it’s a shame. It’s, anti-American, it’s anti-democratic, in my opinion. So my hope is that we are going to continue to be inclusive and equitable and welcome all sorts of voices.” A Jefferson Public Radio analysis of OSF’s finances quotes Yu as saying the festival has historically received as much as 80% of its revenue from ticket sales for plays. That figure, according to Liam Kaas-Lentz at Portland Center Stage, is unusually high; it’s more common for theater companies to get 50% to 60% of their revenue from ticket sales. And that reliance on ticket sales, it appears, has placed OSF in a particular bind. Last fall the festival’s then-executive director, David Schmitz, told The Oregonian that attendance for the 2022 season was 46% lower than it was in 2019. And even before COVID hit, OSF —which has two open-air theaters — faced the challenge of worsening air quality due to wildfire smoke. In 2019 The Oregonian reported that the 2018 season had ended with 26 performances either canceled completely or moved indoors due to smoke, with $2.3 million in losses resulting in 16 layoffs. OSF is, of course, not alone. Peter Bilotta, executive director of Chamber Music Northwest and treasurer of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon, says performing arts organizations are struggling all the way across the board. “For almost any concert, play, dance performance or other performing art activity that’s occurring right now, typically, we’re seeing audiences at about 60% to 70% of what we saw pre-pandemic,” Bilotta tells OB. He doesn’t see the sector recovering quickly. “The psychological impact of the pandemic, as well as several years of lower attendance, mean that we have a lot of catch-up to do. It’s not something that, instantaneously, people will start coming back post-pandemic,” Bilotta says. “It will take three to five years to get back to attendance levels that we were seeing back in 2018 and 2019.” In August Portland’s Artists Repertory Theatre announced it was canceling its 2023-24 season due to a lack of funds. The statement in part blames state legislators for failing to pass House Bill 2459, which would have appropriated more than $22 million in aid for arts and culture organizations. It included a line item of $5.1 million for OSF; Ashland-based playwright Octavio Solis submitted written testimony in support of the bill. Bilotta says while Oregon is a leader in terms of per capita participation in arts and culture, public funding for the arts in the state is “almost an afterthought.” While Bond doesn’t control OSF’s purse strings, he emphasizes that the festival would work on moving forward “in a sustainable way.” That includes strategic planning sessions for dealing with wildfire smoke as well as meetings with donors and board members to talk about how OSF will move into the future. “It’s too soon for me to say exactly how we’re going to solve it,” Bond says. “But we’ve got some of the greatest minds in American theater looking at this. We have many challenges that we are facing, but I want people to know that we are strong, that we have an amazing group of patrons and community members and artists and artisans that are committed to this place. And I feel very strongly that the state of Oregon, that the country, that our local folks here are going to do whatever they can to keep this place going.” We have many challenges that we are facing, but I want people to know that we are strong, that we have an amazing group of patrons and community members and artists and artisans that are committed to this place.” TIM BOND, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 26
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