our view

Across a stunning series of revelations and media coverage this year about leadership departures and long-term financial and operational challenges facing the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, it was the latest announcement by OSF, in mid-April, which landed as perhaps the bleakest bombshell.

A fundraising campaign was launched to immediately raise $2.5 million — most of it needed by this month — in order to start and save the Festival’s 2023 season from the threat of cancellation.

In kicking off the “Save Our Season. Save OSF,” fundraising effort, campaign organizers relied on that age-old show business phrase: “The Show Must Go On.”

While that fundraising drive was underway, OSF’s Board asked patrons and followers for time and patience to come up with a plan to address the long-term viability, financial stability and leadership succession planning for the future of the nearly 100-year-old festival.

Indeed, this editorial page and the community at-large have been at the edge of our collective seats, eagerly awaiting how the festival would respond. Would donors come through with the funding needed to save the 2023 season? Would the OSF board take the rapid and sweeping steps needed in planning for the festival’s next act? Would the show, in fact, go on, or was the stage about to go dark permanently for the festival, founded in 1935?

This week showed welcome signs that the promised plan for the future of OSF is coming together, that the 2023 shows can and will go on, and that the festival board is making the moves necessary to steady the organization and correct for past operational missteps.

OSF announced Thursday the $2.5 million season-saving goal had been reached and surpassed, with over $2.8 million raised so far, from more than 4,600 donors and patrons.

With this first phase of the fundraising campaign complete, the festival says it can now focus on reaching its annual fundraising and ticket sales goals, including raising an additional $7.3 million by Oct. 31, which will allow OSF to complete its season as planned.

The festival board of directors also announced the appointment of an interim executive director, Tyler Hokama, an Ashland resident, long-time business operations and technology executive, and perhaps most importantly, a nearly 20-year patron and attendee of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

In announcing Hokama’s position, OSF Board Chair Diane Yu said, “[Hokama] has been active in the Ashland community, including serving on two regional theater company boards and advising local businesses for years. He will help us in numerous ways — to revamp our finance operations; develop a more sustainable business model; foster relationships with local businesses, audiences, and donors; and strengthen our fragile infrastructure.”

Given the gravity of what the community has learned in recent months about the major operational and financial challenges facing OSF, the decisions and announcements this week by the festival board in reaching initial fundraising goals, along with the appointment of well qualified interim leadership, it does indeed appear the show can and will go on, and there’s a successful path forward for OSF for many more years to come.