Oregon Shakespeare's Green Show Season Kicks Off Today

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) begins a new season of free, family-friendly, multicultural Green Show performances today, June 3. Offered six nights a week outdoors, the 2014 Green Show season runs June 3 through October 12 and features local, national and international acts.

The 2014 Green Show lineup, including more local acts than ever, opens June 3 with music by Patchy Sanders and poetry by special guest Pistachio. View the full calendar of performances here. Shows begin at 6:45 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday nights, on the new Courtyard Stage located on the Bricks between the Allen Elizabethan Theatre and the Angus Bowmer Theatre.

"Our show is a gift from OSF to our community and from our community to OSF. It's a rich, fun exchange we are all lucky to participate in," said Green Show curator Claudia Alick, OSF's associate producer, community. "Our process starts with listening to our collaborators - the artists working on our plays, administrators and production staff who support us, and the local neighbors we work alongside. That's how we choose the best acts that resonate with who we are and what we are doing."

OSF will present 116 different shows featuring hundreds of artists, with several of the acts relating thematically to the work on OSF's stages. A few highlights include:

• Partnering with Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) on "Do More with Your Dog!" for opening night of The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Presentation of Ashland Conservation Commission's "Conservationist of the Year" award, with eco-entertainer and illusionist Steve Trash.
• Connecting with the Britt Festival to present some of their guest artists, such as instructors from their ukulele camp, classical/jazz musicians Project Trio, and Time for Three.
• The return of guest artists from this season's plays-such as Justin Ellington (music designer for The Comedy of Errors) and David Molina (music designer for The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window)-who will be creating collaborative shows.
• Other returning friends include musicians from 2012's The White Snake and frequent acting company member G. Valmont Thomas.
• Additional matinee shows for CultureFest in September, with UNIVERSES, Heiwa Taiko, Phoenix Sigalove and the Four Directions, and multicultural breakdance troupe Versa.
• Celebrating our all-female production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona by highlighting great female groups such as Chickspeare (all-female improvisation troupe), Blue Lightning (all-female band), and female dancers presented by Full Circle Productions.

The Green Show is a curated outdoor performance series at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with a commitment to excellence, access, and opportunity. The season is programmed with the goals of providing balance, diversity, high quality performance and thoughts of resonance with the communities of our audience and our plays onstage throughout each week. More information is available here and on the Green Show Facebook page.

Pictured: Wild Zappers performing for the Green Show in 2013. Photo by Jenny Graham.