Bill Rauch says he’s leaving the best theater in America. That’s just one observation from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s outgoing artistic director.
Monday evening, Bill Rauch was interviewed before a live audience, onstage at Southern Oregon University by Jefferson Public Radio’s Geoffrey Riley. After 12 years in Ashland, Rauch is headed to New York.
When asked about OSF’s groundbreaking work in the field of equity, diversity and inclusion. Rauch said he was just building on the efforts of previous artistic directors.
"We’ve tried to continue to amplify the importance of that work, in terms of being a theater of the 21st Century," he said. "And not only reflecting who we are as a nation, but who we are becoming as a nation."
Under Rauch’s leadership, OSF has gained a reputation as a national leader in showcasing the work of women, LGBTQ artists and artists of color.
Rauch will leave in August to assume leadership of the new Ronald O Perelman Center for Performing Arts, being built at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Nataki Garrett, most recently acting artistic director at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, is Rauch’s successor.
