The OSF Bubble

I arrived in Ashland, Oregon a few days before the start of my fellowship. My intent was to allow myself time to becomeacclimated to the town before immersing myself in the world of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). I recently just finished an MA in Applied Theatre where developing a consciousunderstanding of the community within which one works and lives had been drilled into us. I found Ashland to be a small, but cosmopolitan in its amenities. I also found its inhabitants to be warm and genuinely curious about the outsider. Its geography is protective, beautiful and inviting. The combination of inviting folks and inspiring environment encouraged me to be open to strangers and long for aimless walks.  By the time I started my fellowship I was ready to see if my broader Ashland community observations would extend to the bubble of OSF. I found the company to be a fair reflection of the community within which it resides. My co-workers are an interesting blend of disciplines and originate from locals across the US. Their common denominator seems to be a love of theatre and a passion for OSF.I didn’t quite know what to expect of the fellowship in terms of my daily duties, but came open to whatever the experience would require of me. My first day included an orientation by the fair program manager, a thorough mind boggling tour of the OSF campus and lunch with my fellowship mentor. The lunch was a candid and relaxed dialogue that outlined expectations, responsibilities, and communication styles/systems and brought into focus a kindred spirit. My experience at OSF has been an ongoing recognition of like minds who truly believe that theatre has the power to impact lives. During my graduate studies there was often discussion about the inability of theatre to be both commercial and revolutionary. I maintained that it can and on some levels it must in order to be self sustaining and viable. I’m glimpsing at OSF that possibility in action as strong leadership seeks to find a balance between theatre that is entertaining, commercial and transformative. I’ll keep watching and probing and examining to see how this experiment unfolds.