The Play's the Thing

	Drama Queen
Photo: David Cooper

All the world's a stage -- and that's certainly true of Ashland, Ore., home of the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

This small town on the Oregon-California border is an arts hub that draws close to 400,000 visitors each year. Celebrated for its Victorian charm, vibrant Main Street and lively downtown, Ashland ranks among the 100 Best Art Towns in America, according to author John Villani's book on the subject.

Besides the festival, performing arts flourish in Ashland throughout the year with productions by the Oregon Cabaret Theatre and concerts by the Rogue Valley Symphony. During the summer, downtown Lithia Park's Butler Band Shell hosts Ballet in the Park every Monday and Music in the Park every Thursday.

Visual arts add to the excitement, with close to 100 galleries and working studios that are showcased monthly in the First Friday Art Walk sponsored by the Ashland Gallery Association.

Another highlight is the Schneider Museum of Arts and the Center for Visual Arts on the campus of Southern Oregon University.

At the Starbucks on East Main Street, the buzz is about which play you've seen and which are still on your list. Everyone's a critic, and it's impossible to avoid being drawn into the conversations at nearby tables. It's not unusual to see actors among the clientele -- and they're often gracious about answering questions and even providing autographs.

If you can tear yourself away from the downtown scene, Ashland Wine Tours will introduce you to the beauty and diversity of the surrounding Rogue and Applegate Valleys and their award-winning wineries.

And the nearby Waterstone Mineral Springs Spa will pamper you from head-to-toe.

There's even more performing arts. Fifteen miles from Ashland, in Jackson, Ore., the Britt Festivals presents dozens of summer concerts featuring world-class artists in classical music and dance, as well as jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, world, pop and country music.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival

OSF's three-theatre complex imbues downtown Ashland with a sophisticated, yet unpretentious, atmosphere that originated with the Chautauqua movement, which brought culture and entertainment to rural areas of the country in the late 19th century.

Ashland was a hugely popular stop on the circuit, hosting speakers including William Jennings Bryan and Susan B. Anthony, and performers including John Phillip Sousa.

The OSF experience runs from February through October each year, featuring 12 classic and modern plays.

The 600-seat Angus Bowmer Theatre, which opened in 1970, currently serves as the main all-season performing space.

The 350-seat New Theatre replaced the revered Black Swan Theatre in 2002, providing greater seating capacity and the flexibility of arena, avenue and three-quarter thrust seating configurations.

In 1959, performances began at the 1,200-seat Elizabethan Stage, patterned on London's 1599 Fortune Theatre and open to the sky.

The theatre was encircled in 1992 by the state-of-the-art Allen Pavilion, which has allowed the OSF to keep up with contemporary standards for acoustics, sight-lines and technical capabilities.

I first discovered Ashland and the OSF in 2002 and have returned every season since. It's easy to see three or more plays over a long weekend, and if you have the stamina, pre- and post-performance lectures and discussions.

The backstage tours are another treat -- definitely worth doing each season.