She touched on themes we spoke about when she was hired, and again at the height of the pandemic, and sounded remarkably upbeat, resolute, and clear that she’s in this for the duration. I spoke to Garrett last night about the challenges she’s faced and the adjustments she’s made. The festival has announced a Restructure, Reframe, and Revitalize (3Rs) Strategy, which will focus the next few years on shifting and modernizing administrative systems that no longer serve the organization, including finance, information technology, human resources, marketing, and development. The release also reported on steps OSF already took throughout the 2022 season to offset structural deficits and the pandemic’s impact on operational costs, investments, ticket sales, and donations, and noted some of the funds it has in place to stabilize for the future: a $10 million multi-year grant from the Hitz Foundation, and $4.25 million the OSF board has decided to release from its endowment for operating expenses. “I will be forever thankful that David was fearlessly optimistic from his very first day working to bring OSF forward to vitality while celebrating its glorious past.” “I am very grateful to David for all the work he’s done,” Garrett added in a statement. It has been my great privilege to work alongside Nataki and with such an exceptionally talented and dedicated staff and board.” “These years have also been rewarding because of the opportunity I had to get to know and witness the incredibly talented people who dedicate their lives to this company. “These past two and a half years have been among the most challenging times in OSF’s history-from COVID, to the Almeda Fire, to the ongoing racism and threats to members of our community, to inflationary challenges,” Schmitz said in a press release. (Pre-pandemic seasons at OSF included as many as 11 productions.) And this year’s season is down to six in-person productions, down from last year’s eight. This restructuring comes with other announced changes: 12 layoffs and seven employee furloughs, as well as a stop or delay on hiring for 18 open positions. Meanwhile Anyania Muse-hired last summer as managing director of IDEA People, Culture, and Operations-will serve as interim chief operating officer, with oversight of finance, audience experiences, and education. Artistic director Garrett will take on the role of interim executive artistic director, which gives her oversight of company’s artistic, development, and marketing departments. Executive director David Schmitz, who joined the company near the beginning of the pandemic, will step down, as will development director Amanda Brandes. As part of an overall downscaling, which has included cutbacks in programming, a leadership restructuring has been announced. Crucial summer performances were canceled due to COVID, the now regular wildfire season took its toll, overall attendance was down, and, to make things egregiously worse, artistic director Nataki Garrett received death threats and had to travel with a security detail.Īs the influential nonprofit theatre considered its 2023 season and future, it was clear that changes would be needed, and now they’ve come. ASHLAND, ORE.: There’s no getting around it, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) had a rough 2022.
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