Evren Odcikin Appointed OSF Interim Associate Artistic Director

Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Artistic Director Nataki Garrett today announced the appointment of Evren Odcikin as interim associate artistic director. Odcikin joins Christopher Acebo, OSF's associate artistic director since 2007, and others on the artistic leadership team. Along with producorial and programming responsibilities, Odcikin will also act as the artistic department liaison for resident company and other departments at OSF.

Odcikin, who reports to Garrett, assumes his artistic duties on July 29. Acebo will remain at OSF through the end of the 2019 season, but in a more limited capacity and will work closely with Garrett and Odcikin to facilitate a smooth transition.

"I've known Evren for years as a creative force and leader who has distinguished himself as an artist with deeply held community-based values essential to the building of institutional excellence," said Garrett. "OSF is one of the largest true repertory theatres in the United States. Understanding the best way to take care of the artists, volunteers and staff that uphold its level of excellence and acclaim requires a unique combination of producorial talent, strategic acumen and vision. I'm thrilled to welcome Evren onto an artistic leadership team that recognizes and champions these qualities."

Evren Odcikin is a director, producer and accomplished arts administrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Until recently, Odcikin served as director of new plays and marketing, and is currently a resident artist, at Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East. He is under commission with Leila Buck to create an adaptation of A Thousand and One Nights for California Shakespeare Theater, and has previously adapted and directed Plautus's The Braggart Soldier for Custom Made Theatre Company. He has worked all over the country, developing and directing new plays at New York Theatre Workshop, Berkeley Rep, South Coast Rep, the Lark, Kennedy Center, InterAct Theatre Company and Cleveland Public Theatre, among many organizations.

"I am deeply humbled by this appointment," says Odcikin. "OSF represents the kind of big-imagination, high-quality, and civic-minded artmaking that I've always looked for in my career. When I experienced the unparalleled scope and ambition of the festival for the first time, it felt like magic. The fact that now I get to be part of the team that makes this magic happen for others is a real honor."

Odcikin is deeply committed to bringing underrepresented stories and voices to the American stage as founder of Maia Directors, a consulting group for artists and organizations engaging with Middle Eastern stories and beyond. In arts administration, he was most recently communications consultant for KQED's Campaign 21, a multi-year, $135 million fundraising initiative launched by one of the largest public media organizations in the nation to fund innovation and expand services. Odcikin has also held high-level marketing and communications positions at American Conservatory Theater (ACT) and Magic Theatre. Born and raised in Turkey, he is a graduate of Princeton University, where he holds an engineering degree in Computer Science and a certificate in the Program in Theatre and Dance.

Odcikin will be in Ashland throughout the summer to immerse himself in the Festival during peak season, and to start building relationships throughout the company.

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