On my last full day in Ashland, in the morning I went on a backstage tour. This was fascinating. Not only did I get to see the inner workings of all 3 theaters, but I also discovered how complex it is to actually execute a show. By luck, my group’s guide was Jeffery King, the same actor I’d been impressed in seeing in major roles in two plays on Tuesday. OSF does around 800 shows every year, and sells around 400,000 tickets. There is an acting staff of 90-100, and additional artistic staff of another 450. Putting on so many plays in rotating repertory is an amazing challenge that takes an army.
After a brief break, I headed back over to the Thomas Theater. The last day of plays couldn’t have ended any better. I saw an amazing production of King Lear. They have two different actors rotating the role of Lear, and the production I saw featured Michael Winters, the actor who had starred in Gilmore Girls as Taylor Doose. The Thomas Theatre was setup in arena / theater-in-the-round style, and is only 6 rows deep, so it is very up-close and intimate. The acting was outstanding, and the production very moving. I’m so glad I got to see this. Interestingly, after the play, when I came out of the gift shop I ran into the lead actor, leaving in shorts and a straw hat looking like just another tourist.
The first play of this visit was the amazingly powerful and moving A Streetcar Named Desire, and the last play was a similarly moving and powerful King Lear. This visit certainly sold me on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.