OSF Spring FESTIVAL NOONS Begin 3/4

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has unveiled its 2017 Spring Festival Noons schedule, with a range of events that includes the March 4 conversation "The Past is Always Present: Luis Alfaro as a Citizen Artist," with guest dramaturg Tiffany Ana López, and back by popular demand, a live demonstration of scenic painting techniques with Festival scenic artists on May 6.

In addition, Amrita Ramanan, OSF's Director of Literary Development & Dramaturgy, will lead the conversation "Opinions, Fact and Imagination: How Historical and Personal Narrative Intersect in OSF's 2017 Season" on April 8.

On selected Saturdays, the Festival's Education department will continue its popular Preface series with 45-minute in-depth introductions to the world of a play. On March 11, April 1, April 29 and May 13, the Preface will be for Henry IV, Part One. On March 18 and 25, and April 15 and 22, the topic will be Julius Caesar.

"Festival Noons are wonderful opportunities to further your understanding of the plays and dialogue with theater artists from all backgrounds and modalities," says OSF's Associate Director for Engagement Rob Goodwin. "As with all of our 'Engage' offerings, we aim to provide context and pull threads from the works on the stages to promote community engagement and dialogue."

Tickets for Festival Noon events are $12 for adults, $10 for OSF members, and $8 for youth ages 6-17. Visit osfashland.org, call (800) 219-8161 or stop by the OSF box office at 15 S. Pioneer Street in Ashland to purchase tickets.

Founded by Angus Bowmer in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned theatre arts organization that presents an eight-month season of up to 11 plays that include works by Shakespeare as well as a mix of classics, musicals, and world-premiere plays and musicals. OSF's play commissioning programs, which include American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle, have generated works that have been produced on Broadway, throughout the American regional theatre, and in high schools and community theatres across the country. The Festival draws attendance of more than 400,000 to approximately 800 performances every year and employs approximately 575 theatre professionals.

OSF invites and welcomes everyone, and believes the inclusion of diverse people, ideas, cultures and traditions enriches both our insights into the work we present on stage and our relationships with each other. OSF is committed to equity and diversity in all areas of our work and in our audiences.

OSF's mission statement: "Inspired by Shakespeare's work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory."