OSF to Launch 45th Anniversary School Visit Program Tour

This autumn marks the 45th anniversary tour of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's School Visit Program (SVP), which sends OSF actors directly to schools throughout the Western United States. Over 100 schools will host actors this fall.

In October, November and December, teams of actors will tour schools throughout Oregon, Washington, California and Kansas, engaging students from diverse backgrounds through live performances and active workshops.

OSF founder Angus Bowmer created the School Visit Program in 1971 as a way to reach a wider audience. Over the years OSF has reached over 2 million students in over 7,000 schools in 12 western states. In addition, 34 schools from Oregon are part of the School Visit Partnership Program, which provides teachers with professional development and classroom lessons. Actors are also in residence at Partnership schools for two to five days depending on the size of the school.

"As we celebrate the 45th anniversary season of the School Visit Program, the world is also marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death," said Joan Langley, OSF Director of Education. "I can think of no better way to honor the legacy of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's namesake playwright than to continue inspiring the next generation of theatre audiences and artists by bringing dynamic, participatory art directly into schools."

Five actor teams will tour the Western United States: Christiana Clark and Jeremy Gallardo (Calif.), Cedric Lamar and Erin O'Connor (Calif. and Kansas), William Elsman and Amy Lizardo (Eastern Ore. and Wash.), Domonique Champion and Annie Paul (Calif. and Ore.), Kaileela Hobby and Armando McClain (Partnership, Ore. and Wash.) and Kristin Hammargren and David Huynh (Partnership, Ore.).

Actor teams are preparing two different performance options. One is an abbreviated version of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, while the literature program will celebrate Shakespeare's legacy and explore the relevancy of his work by pairing scenes from Shakespeare's plays to scenes from modern plays that deal with similar issues.

"We are excited to teach our Shakespeare workshops as well as sharing our two shows, Julius Caesar and Shakespeare Smackdown, with so many students," Champion and Paul said. "The fact that we get to teach and perform Shakespeare in the students' own schools just makes it that much more unique and special!"

The 2016 School Visit Program and School Visit Partnership Program are funded by generous grants from The Ford Family Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation, The Lamb-Baldwin Foundation, Helen Clay Frick Foundation, The Sharkey Foundation, Starseed Foundation, Steven and Karen Tyler and The Bowmer Society.

OSF offers many programs for students, including: classes and workshops which introduce and explore the plays for visiting school groups; the Summer Seminar for High School Juniors, a two-week intensive theatre camp for students between their junior and senior year; the Bowmer Project for Student Playgoers, providing support for local teachers through teacher training and curriculum support and free tickets for participating students to designated performances throughout the year.

For more information about OSF educational programs, contact Monisa Victrum at 541-482-2111, ext. 414, or monisav@osfashland.org. To inquire about bringing SVP actors to your school in 2015, contact Katherine Gosnell at 541-482-2111, ext. 244, or kathg@osfashland.org.

Founded by Angus Bowmer in 1935 and winner of a 1983 Tony Award for outstanding achievement in regional theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents an eight-month season of 11 plays that include works by Shakespeare as well as a mix of classics, musicals, and new works. The Festival also draws attendance of more than 400,000 to almost 800 performances every year and employs approximately 575 theatre professionals. In 2008, OSF launched American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle, a 10-year cycle of commissioning new plays that has already resulted in several OSF commissions finding success nationwide.

Photo: Domonique Champion and Annie Paul rehearse for their 2016 School Visit Program tour, during which they will perform for and work with students in California and Oregon. Photo by Jenny Graham, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

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