ASHLAND, Ore. (January 11, 2023) – As part of a restructuring strategy aimed at aligning its business model with its vision and realities of the post-pandemic market, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) announces emergent changes in leadership, staff, and programs. David Schmitz announced his decision to step down as executive director, effective immediately, as part of OSF’s restructuring to ensure that the artistic and business sides of the organization can be brought into further alignment. Amanda Brandes will also be stepping down as Director of Development mid-February. During this transition, Artistic Director Nataki Garrett, will be stepping in as Interim Executive Artistic Director, overseeing artistic, development and marketing. In addition to her current role as Managing Director of IDEA People, Culture & Operations, Anyania Muse will be stepping in as Interim Chief Operating Officer, taking on finance, audience experiences and education. She will report to Garrett.
“We are grateful for David’s contributions to OSF and his leadership under very challenging times at OSF,” says Diane Yu, OSF Board Chair. “We have experienced Nataki’s leadership through crisis many times before, but most notably during the pandemic when she took on the responsibilities across the organization to help OSF survive. I have no doubt that she, along with other members of the leadership team, will lead this organization through this transition period and into a place of stability and success.”
“These past two and a half years have been among the most challenging times in OSF’s history—from COVID, to the Almeda Fire, to the ongoing racism and threats to members of our community, to inflationary challenges, to rebuilding the company coming into 2022,” says Schmitz. “These years have also been rewarding because of the opportunity I had to get to know and witness the incredibly talented people who dedicate their lives to this company. It has been my great privilege to work alongside Nataki and with such an exceptionally talented and dedicated staff and Board. I also treasured the opportunity to get to know and work with members of OSF’s incredible donor base as well as Ashland’s business community.”
“I am very grateful to David for all the work he’s done,” says Garrett. “I will be forever thankful that David was fearlessly optimistic from his very first day working to bring OSF forward to vitality while celebrating its glorious past. I was privileged to witness David’s expert work in advocating for federal funding, while stewarding numerous connections and relationships within Ashland and working to ensure that OSF remained a collaborative and supportive partner in this interdependent community. We have been lucky to have him here for a time and I look forward to witnessing all of the ways he will impact the theater field.”
The announced changes also include 12 staff separations and 7 employee furloughs, as well as putting a stop or delay on hiring 18 open positions. These decisions come after OSF took several bold actions throughout the 2022 Season and in advance of the 2023 Season to offset inherited structural deficits and the pandemic’s impact on operational costs, investments, ticket sales, and donations – including reducing the number of shows per season, decreasing the number of weeks it offers performances, and diversifying its offerings. While these efforts provided short-term solutions, OSF realizes it must invest in a strategy that will impact the long-term success of the organization.
In November, OSF secured a $10 million multi-year gift from The Hitz Foundation, at $2 million per year for five years. In addition, OSF has received $1.5M in pledges. In December, the OSF Board made the decision to release $4.25 million from its endowment to help support operating expenses. These important pledges of support set up the next step in OSF’s Restructure, Reframe, Revitalize (3Rs) Strategy, which will focus the next 12-24 months on shifting and modernizing administrative systems that have existed since the inception of the OSF's charter that are no longer serving the organization. The OSF Leadership is looking to build an economically sustainable business model by making necessary investments in Finance, IT, Human Resources, as well as Marketing and Development departments. The goal is to recommit to centering artists and their work so that they can continue to deliver the best theater in the nation, and to continue investing in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access as OSF has for 87 years.
Regarding the Revitalization strategy, Garrett acknowledges that OSF has launched similar strategies in the past and emphasizes the difference and unique urgency in this case. “This idea of revitalization is not new to OSF, but the extended pandemic recovery is forcing us to look at it in a different way,” she says. “We spent part of the pandemic focused on restructuring artistic and production practices. We now have an opportunity to turn our eye to parts of our organization that support our artistic efforts and invest in systems that will uplift our Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Marketing, and Development departments. We must shift our business model in a way that works successfully in this post-pandemic paradigm.”
OSF Leadership worked with its Board of Directors on the creation of a Strategic Plan, which is part of its efforts to implement systemic change. That plan includes several pillars and a restating of OSF’s Vision, Values, and Purpose to be in alignment with its IDEA-centered approach to theatre and its systems.
Through its strategy, OSF seeks to thoughtfully diversify its artistic offerings, manage resources to offset pandemic losses, generate new resource opportunities both in earned and contributed revenue, and shift its operations to be in fiscal alignment. Included in this strategy will be the launch of an $80 million campaign during the first quarter of 2023 to build capacity and help fund operations at OSF.
“We are revitalizing our business model so we can provide a strong foundation that supports our purpose,” says Muse. “And that purpose is clear: To expand access to the transformational power of art and performance.”
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About Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) expands access to the transformational power of art and art-making. A global entity and an ever-evolving container for the future that responds to changing tides, the organization is committed to co-liberation through radically inclusive, accessible, and collaborative practices. OSF centers and nurtures artists and multimodal, multidisciplinary work. OSF was founded in 1935 and has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned theatre arts organization that presents a rotating repertory season of up to 8 plays and musicals, including both classics and new work. OSF productions have been presented on Broadway, internationally, and at regional, community, and high school theatres across the country. In 2020, the organization launched O!, its new digital stage featuring performances of groundbreaking art and mind-expanding discussions that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. O! attracts more than 10,000 views per month from audience members in over 50 countries. Learn more at osfashland.org.
Credits
OSF's work is possible thanks to the extraordinary generosity of its supporters. OSF is deeply grateful for the contributions of generous individuals, foundations, corporate partners, and government agencies. For an up-to-date list of donors or information on how to support, visit osfashland.org.
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