Ashland, OR — The Oregon Shakespeare Festival invites the public to our 32nd annual
Daedalus Project, a benefit for HIV/AIDS organizations. The 2019 Daedalus Project, themed “Heart and Home,” includes a full day of fund-raising activities on Monday, September 16, culminating in the Daedalus Play Reading of
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and the Daedalus Variety Show, which are both likely to sell out.
Since the first Daedalus Project was organized by OSF actor and director James Edmondson in 1988, the event has raised over $1.8 million for local, regional, national and international HIV/AIDS organizations. In the last 32 years, the Daedalus Project has created a tradition of remembrance, celebration and collective action for OSF’s company, community and audience.
“Daedalus is one of the most heartfelt traditions we have at OSF, for the last 32 years we are able to take a moment and honor those that we have lost and help support those who are living, breathing and fighting this horrible disease,” said Mandy Younger, OSF stage manager and Daedalus producer. “I feel so immensely honored to be able to participate in these rich decades-long traditions with incredibly talented theatre artists.”
For the second consecutive year, Daedalus Project activities kick-off with its newest sister charity event,
Dungeons & Dragons & Daedalus. This epic charity event, with all proceeds going to the Daedalus Project, will be held at the Hay-Patton Rehearsal Center from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 15.
Register online.
Several more Daedalus Project activities continue starting at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 16, with the Daedalus Bake Sale (in the Angus Bowmer Theatre); the Daedalus Arts and Treasures Sale (in the Thomas Theatre); the Daedalus Info Faire with tables set up by HIV/AIDS organizations and IATSE Local 154, and various performance acts by OSF company and community members on the Green Show stage, scheduled from 11a.m to 7p.m.
The Arts and Treasure Sale takes place in the Thomas Theatre from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a wide range of items for sale including costumes, props, meals with actors, and the return of the immensely popular Daedalus Quilt—representing all the shows of last year.
The Daedalus Play Reading this year is
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, book by John Cameron Mitchell, music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. The performance will take place at 2:00 p.m. on September 16 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. Tickets are $35 and are available
online or by calling the OSF Box Office at 800-219-8161. This the brainchild of the immensely talented OSF actor Eddie Lopez, who is not only starring in but also directing the piece. He will be joined by Amy Lizardo, with the band made up of Jane Lui, Dan Sherrill, Moses Villarama, and Abraham Kim.
The Daedalus Variety Show, which returns to the Allen Elizabethan Theatre this year, is the main event of every Daedalus Project. It will be produced and directed by Ben Pelteson and Brent Hinkley and emceed by William Thomas Hodgson, with acts ranging from comedic musical numbers to the ever so important witnessing led by
Kimberley Jean Barry. The Daedalus Variety Show begins at 7:30 p.m. on September 16; tickets are $45 and are available
online or by calling the OSF Box Office.
Sales of Daedalus t-shirts, designed by Craig Stewart and printed by Custom Ink, with tie-dyed shirts printed by Moxley Media Printing, will begin Friday, September 13, in “the Bricks” courtyard. The sales table will be open from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily through Monday, September 16. Shirts available
online this year, as an opportunity to support Daedalus no matter where you live.
OSF Artistic Associate James Edmondson had the original idea for an HIV/AIDS fundraiser 32 years ago. Artistic Director Emeritus Jerry Turner named the event the Daedalus Project after the story of Daedalus from Greek mythology. Daedalus and his son, Icarus, were imprisoned in a labyrinth by King Minos, and by crafting wings from wax and feathers, Daedalus created a way out of the maze.