The current Prologue, a magazine that is sent out several times yearly to around 16,000 members of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, includes an interview of OSF executive director, Paul Nicholson, who has been affiliated with the festival for three decad

The Shakespeare Fellowship and The Shakespeare Oxford Society

Present

The Ashland Authorship Conference

September 16-19, 2010

Ashland Springs Hotel and Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The sixth annual joint authorship conference of the Shakespeare Fellowship and the Shakespeare Oxford Society will take place in Ashland, Oregon from September 16-19, 2010. This year the conference will focus on the plays in production at the Tony Award winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year. Group tickets have been secured for the conference for three productions at OSF: The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and 1 Henry IV.

To Register by Mail

To Register Online

(To pay by credit card, please register online)

General Features of the Schedule, Ashland Authorship Conference

The program for sixth annual joint conference of the Shakespeare Fellowship and the Shakespeare Oxford Society in Ashland, Oregon features over 30 scholarly presentations and dramatic performances. This season is the 75^th anniversary of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the conference will be addressed by both Artistic Director Bill Rauch, and Executive Director Paul Nicholson. The education program features presentations directed toward the plays in production including panel discussions with actors from OSF.

On-site registration check-in will begin at 9:00 AM on September 16, and the presentation of papers will begin at 10:00 AM. The conference registration includes an opening reception with appetizers on the 16^th, buffet lunches on day two and three, and the annual awards banquet at the conclusion of the conference on the afternoon of the 19^th. For a limited time, group tickets to three OSF productions, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, and 1Henry IV, are still available and may still be purchased with conference registration until August 20, when the group order will close.

Saturday afternoon will be dedicated to performances with music provided by the lute duet Mignarda, Ron Andrico and Donna Stewart, creators of My Lord of Oxenford’s Maske. OSF all-star Robin Goodrin-Nordli will present her original show, Bard Babes, and Keir Cutler will give an encore performance of his adaptation of Mark Twain’s satire, Is Shakespeare Dead? The afternoon will conclude with a signing ceremony for the ‘Declaration of Reasonable Doubt’.

For further information or to register, consult the websites of the Shakespeare Fellowship or Shakespeare Oxford Society, or write to the local coordinator at earlees@charter.net

Click below to see:

Ashland Authorship Conference - Schedule of Presentations

Ashland Authorship Conference - Schedule for Printing

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Productions

Purchase of Special-Rate Theater Tickets

100 tickets have been reserved for the Ashland Authorship Conference for each of these three productions: The Merchant of Venice (9/16), Hamlet (9/17)and 1 Henry IV (9/18).

Registrants to the conference may order up to two tickets per production with their conference registration. Additional tickets may be available, but only by special request of the program committee. These special Group Ticket prices are $65 each. The conference group ticket order will be closed on August 20, 2010. Orders for any tickets after this date will have to be placed directly with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (www.osfashland.org , Box Office: 541-482-4331). Other plays in production at OSF during the conference include Twelfth Night, Throne of Blood, Ruined, American Night, and the musical, She Loves Me. Other activities at OSF include daily backstage tours and an exhibit of Paul Allen’s First Folio.

Options for Travel toAshland, Oregon

The Rogue Valley – Medford Airport has non-stop connections to Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is located 15 miles from Ashland. Taxis and Cascade Airport Shuttle (541-488-1998) serve Ashland.

In addition, for automobile access, Ashland is conveniently located astride Interstate route I-5, a major route running from Portland, Oregon to Sacramento, California, and beyond.

Options for Lodgings in Ashland

A block of 30 rooms has been reserved for our group at the conference headquarters hotel site:

Ashland Springs Hotel (www.ashlandspringshotel.com , Reservations: 888-795-4545).

The room rate for the 30 rooms at the special conference block is $149/night. In addition to being the site for the conference registration and presentations, The Ashland Springs Hotel is located only ½ block from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival theatres.

There are also a number of other comfortable and less expensive lodgings available in Ashland within 3-4 blocks of OSF. These include:

Bard’s Inn Best Western (www.bardsinn.com , 800-528-1234)

Stratford Inn (www.stratfordinnashland.com , 800-547-4741)

Plaza Inn & Suites (www.plazainnashland.com , 888-488-0358)

Columbia Hotel ( www.columbiahotel.com , 800-718-2530)

Attendees are urged to make their room reservations well in advance of the September 16^th opening date of the conference. This is particularly true to obtain the Special Rate at this hotel for the Ashland Authorship Conference.

A number of Bed and Breakfast establishments in Ashland with comparable room rates are also within walking distance of the Ashland Springs and theatres. These include: Winchester House, Anne Hathaway’s B&B, A Cowslips Belle, Ashland Creek Inn, Chanticleer Inn, McCall House, Shrew’s House, Iris Inn, and The Peerless Hotel. For further information consult Ashland’s Bed and Breakfast network (www.abbnet.com).

For further information about the Ashland Authorship Conference, contact Earl Showerman at 541-890-9360 or be email at earlees@charter.net.