The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has chosen Tim Bond as its new artistic director. He will take up the role on September 1, 2023.
Bond previously served as OSF’s associate artistic director for 11 seasons, from 1996 to 2007. He has been working as the artistic director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley since 2020. Last year, he directed August Wilson’s one-man performance “How I Learned What I Learned” for OSF.
“I am honored to return to OSF to serve as Artistic Director during these challenging times,” Bond said in a press release from OSF on Thursday. “I care deeply about this company and the Ashland community, and will be devoting my immediate focus on restoring, healing, and reinvigorating this national artistic treasure as it embarks on its 89th season.”
Bond takes the helm during a difficult financial period for OSF. Reduced ticket sales during the pandemic and several seasons of wildfires has the company still “in recovery mode,” according to OSF Board Chair Diane Yu. In April, the company announced it needed to raise $2.5 million or shut down the 2023 season. They met the goal, but in June, announced they would need another $7.3 million in order to complete the season.
OSF’s previous artistic director Nataki Garrett resigned from the organization in May.
Associate Artistic Director and Director of Artistic Programming Evren Odcikin will serve as interim artistic director until Sept. 15, allowing for an overlap with Bond’s start date.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that OSF board member Octavio Solis became interim artistic director after Garrett's resignation. Rather, Solis was helping find a replacement for that role.
