The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the latest institution to make tough financial decisions amid the coronavirus outbreak and ensuing economic downturn.
The southern Oregon theater company announced Friday that it will lay off the majority of its staff, and will reduce its 2020 season to two months, aiming for a September reopening. In all, roughly 400 people will lose their jobs, and five of the festival’s 11 productions will be cut entirely this year.
About 100 staff will stay on, though many will now be doing the work of two or three people, artistic director Nataki Garrett said. Those who remain will be involved in development, marketing and other jobs that will be needed when production resumes.
“The times are, for lack of a better word, they’re scary,” Garrett said. “I am driven to make sure that the theater is here on the other side.”
The Ashland-based theater company opened its 2020 season March 6, three days after Oregon’s first coronavirus case was confirmed. On March 12, following Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s initial ban on large gatherings, the theater canceled all shows through April 8.
Now, productions won’t resume until Sept. 8, at the earliest, eliminating one of the region’s primary attractions for summer tourism.
The truncated season is expected to last through Nov. 1, and will include six shows: “Bring Down the House, Parts I and II,” “The Copper Children,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “The Tempest.”
All other shows will be canceled, including the Green Show, an annual mainstay that is offered to the public for free. Anyone with tickets to canceled performances can receive a refund, donate the money to the theater, exchange the ticket for a show in the fall, or receive a voucher for the next year.
Some of the canceled productions may return for the 2021 season, but Garrett said the festival will also need to consider what kind of theater the world will need following a global pandemic and a contentious presidential election.
“A season tells a story of the time,” she said. “Listening to the heartbeat of our culture and reflecting the lives of our culture is going to be imperative.”
With one eye to the future and another to the present situation, Garrett – only one year into her tenure as artistic director – has had to make difficult decisions that will affect the lives of hundreds of people, while carrying the weight of an 85-year-old institution.
It’s not the first time the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has run into turmoil. During World War II, all productions ceased from 1941 to 1946. More recently, the festival has been hampered by years of severe wildfires in southern Oregon. In 2018 alone, wildfires forced 26 performances to move or cancel altogether, resulting in $2 million in losses and forcing 16 layoffs.
Garrett said leaders are determined to see the institution survive this crisis as well.
“We had to make some really tough decisions to save the theater so there’s something to come back to,” Garrett said. “It’s a heavy, heavy lift and I feel it. I recognize how important it is.”
