OSF Media update ... for all!

Chuck and I are in the New Theatre lobby with a ton of media types (most of us sipping coffee, me with an iced latte). I think I'm the only one with a laptop. Chuck and I feel youngish.

There's a rainbow behind us outside, and Marketing Director Mallory Pierce is introducing a rep from U.S. Bank, which amazingly is still sponsoring the OSF. U.S. Bank rep says "The plays are here to keep humor and vigor alive in Southern Oregon."

More after the jump.

Here we have exec dir Paul Nicholson* and artistic dir Bill Rauch, and they're taking questions. The focus is supposed to be on the economy, but there could be other topics, Nicholson says.

Nicholson says that the budget assumed a 2.5 percent drop, but as they started getting numbers in terms of contributions and membership returns, realized it was likely that they would be dealing with larger than that, and took $7 million out of budget for this year. Assuming 6 or 7 percent down, so they are now where anticipated being.

The R-G's Bob Keefer (thanks for doing my work, Bob!) asks Bill what's different on stage than what we would have seen? Rauch says "Budget is still about same size or larger than it was in Libby's final season."

Bob asks for more specifics. Rauch says retirement matches were cut back across the board. Could have been live music in another couple of productions without budget cuts (we saw both with live music yesterday). Higher number of actors doing three shows.

A reporter asks is support for actors and wellness program scaled back. Nicholson says reviewed positions slated to fill, didn't fill, and FTE count is down significantly this year.

Reporter: Increasing advertising budget?
Paul R: Trying to be smarter with money we've got. We market broadly, so advertising up and down West Coast hasn't been effective. We've been doing aggressive targeting. Have about 100,000 email addresses, enables us to reach out quickly and comparatively inexpensively to broad selection of audience.

Pierce (not Amy Richard, as I had thought earlier) notes new advertising campaign called "Stay Closer, Go Further" (you can probably see that in the ad to the right on the blog, but I swear *that is not why I am blogging this!*).

Rauch says it's an opportunity to dig deeper, look at values and make sure whatever you're doing is connected to your mission.

Nicholson says that the new artistic team gave opportunity to "test each other's mettle in a proactive way ... when we've really been put in a corner and are trying to work our way through it."

He also says the OSF has "occupied a pretty unique place in the hearts of people who have been coming here for so long." Across country, other theaters are having to prep to cut way more than OSF.

Reporter: What about added funding in NEA stimulus package?
Bill Rauch: Delighted. Whether OSF sees extra funding or not, thrilled that statement says arts do stimulate economic activity.
Nicholson notes that 40 percent of that is going to state funding institutions, so that will help.

Reporter: If you only have one night, which one to see?
Rauch: All of them! (laughter)
He won't respond specifically. Says they do rely very much on word of mouth. It's not just about audience going with what they know, but responding to what they hear about the art on the stage.

Pierce says Shakespeare "continues to be the draw for first-time theatergoers who come here." She calls Shakespeare "the gateway drug."
One of biggest artistic risks is The Music Man, but it's selling well.

Reporter: vision for season seems grand. Will we see smaller shows next year?
Rauch: "Eleven two-character plays?" (laughter)
He says that if they reduced the variety, that would be a disaster. "How much are we honoring the milestone of our 75th anniversary? How are we moving it into the future?" Also, he says "I'm really tearing out my hair on this one. March 13 is the season announcement, and it's really coming right down to the wire. We want to create a season that honors our 75th anniversary and is mindful of the economy."

Nicholson: Organization has built a base & we recognize that in crafting the season, if we scale everything back, we limit the interest and ability of ppl who travel 300-400 miles to be here. "That's the balancing act that we've got, how do we weigh the celebration aspects and be responsible with our resources and be vibrantly attractive to people who've come to support us?"

Reporter? I've lived through two depressions, and theater is vital. Theater is a bird's-eye view of what life is about, and it's how we learn to cope.

Murmuring of happy agreement among reporters. Nicholson says OSF working with hospitality industry to find opportunities of people to stay. Nicholson says "Under normal circumstances, price isn't a huge factor in people's determination if they want to see art or not." He quotes an NEA study. "We want to believe our work is accessible to anybody who wants to come through."

Rauch: C-section seat prices slashed to $20, Flex passes for local community, local business flex passes, and we have the 1935 program, people that age can get tix for $19.35 (SERIOUSLY? I am aged out! BARELY!).

Mallory Pierce says there's the Players for people ages 13-18.

Dorothy Velasco asks how did they get to use Howie Seago, a deaf actor who plays Professor Hill's best buddy in Music Man (which was amazing, the signing/speaking interplay with Michael Elich playing Hill).

Rauch talks about how he always wanted Seago to be part of the OSF, and Seago is in three diff plays. He recorded signs on DVD and Michael Elich learned them. They had to get permission from Meredith Wilson's widow to do a combo of signing/talking. It changed massively once they got on stage. He says "It's been so moving, how it affected the process." Local high school girl, also part of company, is also hearing-impaired.

Reporter: Is there a theme?
Rauch: Do you see one? (Laughter)
We did pick Henry VIII, Equivocation and Macbeth to talk to each other. He loves having Macbeth and Music Man as long-running plays.

Bob again: Where did you get inspiration for color in Music Man?
Rauch: Slowly this idea began to bubble up. Marian keeps saying "Look how it's changed." So what is it that leaves everybody changed by the end? I felt there was never any physical manifestation of that change in other productions I saw. Began to bug me as audience member.

Reporter: What do you want to keep coming back to, recurring projects?
Rauch: Can I talk about this? Nicholson isn't sure.
"I worked on something in college where we took Shakespeare's Macbeth, Euripedes' Medea and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and did them all at the same time." Also did it in LA in 1998 and at Yale Rep in 2002.

A question about Death and the King's Horseman.
Rauch: Part of what appealed to me, question of how people from one part of the world related to people from other parts of the world felt urgent to me. Is a difficult, dense text, a difficult one to produce well, but I believe in the play, and I'm proud of what we've done.

Soyinka was not directly involved. Had an artistic consultant, Segun (who's in the lobby, suddenly) who is close to Soyinka. Segun says, "It's a privilege to work in it this way because I have had long-term relationship with the play, Yesterday, I wished the playwright would come see this. His text, his language was very clear. Choices were very specific and clear; I think this company did a good job with it. I've known him a long time; he wants specifics." There's still room for the theater to be creative and make choices. "I think we found an intelligent and creative blend in this production."

DV: I wanted reassurance that you will return to August Wilson.
Rauch: Yes, we have done 6 of the 10, and we are committed to doing the rest in years to come. Will strike a good balance and keep producing them.

Reporter: Young actors and actresses, how does that work?
Some are from Ashland, Medford or a little further. Children 11 and under are double-cast, so Winthrop is played by two little boys, likewise the three little witches in Macbeth are double-cast. 50 percent of performances are matinees, so too much school to miss. Teens in the play, however, are not double-cast. Those teens have signed up for 120 performances of Music Man.

One last question:
Reporter: When little monster critters/giant freaky baby heads came out of cauldron, people behind us screamed, and the people involved in this must have been gratified?

Rauch: I brought my 8-year-old to dress rehearsal, and he put his jacket over his head. I said, "Is this scary, honey?" and he said, "No, I'm just scratching my nose!"

That's it for now!

*Live blogging=possible problems/mistakes #1. You confuse the last names of people and call Paul Nicholson "Richardson." Fixed now. Whoops.