I checked out back programs and figured out my first attendance at
the Oregon Shakespeare Festival was in 1952 - in the days of student
actors and uncomfortable wooden planks to sit on. We - my husband an I -
stayed in Jackson Hot Springs cabins those first years. We brought his
mother down one summer - I don't know how she felt about it though she
certainly took it all in stride.
We probably missed out for ten years and then, rebooted. Regular attendance for a good forty. And then I've been going up on my own for close to ten years now: Have flown in from San Jose via Portland, direct flight from San Francisco, Amtrak and Greyhound.
This year I traveled via Shawns' RideShare, the best and least expensive of the lot. Bay area to Southern Oregon via van: going up, thirteen of us, two cats and a dog. Coming back, fourteen of us. Good group and good driving. Sixty bucks for nine hours, including pit stops enroute. Twenty dollars extra for individual pick-ups/drop-offs. Otherwise, it is one of the preselected meeting points from Santa Cruz,San Jose, Mountain View, San Francisco, San Rafael, ElCerrito, onto to Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass.
It all started with Navy vet Shawn's personal commute from his home in Ashland to his employment in San Jose. Others heard of his regular road trip and joined him. Then the light blub went off and it became the Employment. And it seems to be damned successful. He is now expending to Portland.
Anyway, onto to Plays! Arrived Monday afternoon, the day OSF is dark but found, to my delight, there was a benefit reading of August Wilson's Radio Golf, whch was an unexpected pleasure. . The other plays I saw was Wilson's Two Trains Running,the precusor to Radio Golf; Robin Hood, a wild frothy bit of stage craft in the outdoor theatre, sans Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn; Taming of the Shrew set in Italian country western style and a two piano version of My Fair Lady, a marvelous way to end my series. As always, all the productions were superb.
In between, I went to whatever lectures and discussions were available, including one on MidSummer Night's Dream, which I didn't see. Barely found time to shower and eat. As usual, I stayed at The Columbia Hotel, several blocks from the theatres and my rideshare pickup. It is decorated in a homey Victorian manner; I stay in a facilities-down- the-hall-room though they did have ensuite rooms.
I ate at several usuals: Greenleaf, Brothers and Martino's. Not fancy but quick and good. No shopping: no time and after a recent move, found I have more than enough stuff. The two mornings were spent at the library's internet. The library is going through fiscal problems and likely cutbacks. Bummer.
Ashland continues to be one of my favorites places, one I've often considered moving to. There is a charm abut the place, despite the influx of Californians and tourists. Had I I been there for the Shakespeare before May's Great Move , I could have foresworn Palo Alto for Southern Oregon. But didn't happen.
But now there is the RideShare which could see me visiting up north more frequently.
We probably missed out for ten years and then, rebooted. Regular attendance for a good forty. And then I've been going up on my own for close to ten years now: Have flown in from San Jose via Portland, direct flight from San Francisco, Amtrak and Greyhound.
This year I traveled via Shawns' RideShare, the best and least expensive of the lot. Bay area to Southern Oregon via van: going up, thirteen of us, two cats and a dog. Coming back, fourteen of us. Good group and good driving. Sixty bucks for nine hours, including pit stops enroute. Twenty dollars extra for individual pick-ups/drop-offs. Otherwise, it is one of the preselected meeting points from Santa Cruz,San Jose, Mountain View, San Francisco, San Rafael, ElCerrito, onto to Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass.
It all started with Navy vet Shawn's personal commute from his home in Ashland to his employment in San Jose. Others heard of his regular road trip and joined him. Then the light blub went off and it became the Employment. And it seems to be damned successful. He is now expending to Portland.
Anyway, onto to Plays! Arrived Monday afternoon, the day OSF is dark but found, to my delight, there was a benefit reading of August Wilson's Radio Golf, whch was an unexpected pleasure. . The other plays I saw was Wilson's Two Trains Running,the precusor to Radio Golf; Robin Hood, a wild frothy bit of stage craft in the outdoor theatre, sans Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn; Taming of the Shrew set in Italian country western style and a two piano version of My Fair Lady, a marvelous way to end my series. As always, all the productions were superb.
In between, I went to whatever lectures and discussions were available, including one on MidSummer Night's Dream, which I didn't see. Barely found time to shower and eat. As usual, I stayed at The Columbia Hotel, several blocks from the theatres and my rideshare pickup. It is decorated in a homey Victorian manner; I stay in a facilities-down- the-hall-room though they did have ensuite rooms.
I ate at several usuals: Greenleaf, Brothers and Martino's. Not fancy but quick and good. No shopping: no time and after a recent move, found I have more than enough stuff. The two mornings were spent at the library's internet. The library is going through fiscal problems and likely cutbacks. Bummer.
Ashland continues to be one of my favorites places, one I've often considered moving to. There is a charm abut the place, despite the influx of Californians and tourists. Had I I been there for the Shakespeare before May's Great Move , I could have foresworn Palo Alto for Southern Oregon. But didn't happen.
But now there is the RideShare which could see me visiting up north more frequently.
