offstage events
The authentic Festival Experience encompasses a rich offering of offstage events to enliven your visit. Click on the links below for more information about each event.
backstage tour
This walking tour explores the history, design and technology of repertory theatre, and what it takes to produce a play. Visit OSF's theatre auditoriums and areas behind the Elizabethan Stage. Reservations are required; please include tour reservations with your ticket order. OSF Members who receive complimentary tour tickets must also make reservations. Note: The walking tour includes a flight of stairs between each stop, totaling six flights of stairs with 15-minute intervals of sitting in between. The tour includes indoor and outdoor spaces, so plan to dress accordingly. Adult tickets are $13, with youth (ages 6-17) tickets available for $9.
A stairless tour is available with at least three days notice. To order stairless tour tickets, please call (800) 219-8161 or (541) 482-4331.
February 29 - November 3 10:00 a.m.
Check availability and find more information
Back to top
cultural connections
At OSF, we believe the inclusion of diverse people, ideas, cultures and traditions enriches both our insights into the work we present on stage and our relationships with each other. Learn more about some of our programs designed to reach out to diverse audiences.
More Information
Back to top
daedalus project
The Daedalus Project, OSF’s annual AIDS/HIV Benefit, marking its 25th year, features a famously lively variety show on the Elizabethan Stage, August 20 at 7:30 p.m., and an onsite auction.
Check schedule and availability
Back to top
feast of will
Celebrate the opening of the Elizabethan Stage with a festive barbecue dinner and entertainment in Lithia Park. Friday, June 15 at 6:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Ashland Lions. $15 (no discounts).
Check schedule and availability
Back to top
festival noons
There’s more opportunity to learn about the Festival then ever before! On Wednesdays and Fridays, attend a lecture from a theatre scholar, practitioner or OSF director. On Thursdays, join an Education staff member for a Preface Plus, designed to give you more information on the plays in our season. (Check back for the specific play each Thursday Preface Plus will address). On Saturdays, the entire family can watch or participate in special demonstrations, workshops or forums, from presentations on Japanese taiko drumming to Renaissance dance. Tickets are $9; members $8; youths 6-17, $7. A complete list of Festival Noon events will be published on the website.
June 19 - September 2, every Tuesday through Sunday.
Check schedule and availability
Back to top
green show
Enjoy a vibrant and diverse community of performance artists comprised of both national and local talent on the Festival Courtyard Stage. Performed nightly from June through early October before the evening plays.
Get more information
Back to top
members' post-matinee discussion
Get an insider's look into an OSF production by attending one of these very popular discussions led by an OSF company member. Interested non-members welcome! Discussions are free and begin shortly after selected matinee performances.
Get more information
Back to top
palo alto chamber orchestra
The renowned youth orchestra from Palo Alto, California, celebrating its 43rd anniversary season, performs a special concert on the Elizabethan Stage. Monday, June 25 at 8:00 p.m. $14 ($12 OSF, JPR Listeners' Guild members, seniors, $6 students).
Check schedule and availability
Back to top
play reading
OSF has scheduled two play readings to date:
On Saturday, March 24 at 10:00 am in the Angus Bowmer Theatre, OSF will stage a reading of Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector, adpated by Oded Gross, and directed by the Phil Killian Fellow in Directing, Nelson T. Eusebio III.
Tickets: $9; members $8; youths (6-17) $7.
OSF also will present a staged reading of Dustin Lance Black's '8' on Sunday, August 5 at 8:30 pm in the New Theatre. The reading is among those sponsored by American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact.
All tickets for this reading are $5.00 and proceeds will be donated to AFER.
Learn More
Back to top
prefaces
Resident Teaching Artist David Eric Thompson delivers a preface.
Photo: Jenny Graham
Before attending the production, learn more about the story, themes and characters of the play (All tickets $6.50).
Prefaces for Henry V, The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa and As You Like It are offered before each performance between June 14-Sept. 4 from 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.
To order a Preface click on a play title above.
Back to top
spring festival noons
OSF directors, scholars and guest lecturers from around the country share their insights about the plays, the playwrights and theatre in general. Tickets are $9; members $8; youths 6-17, $7. Check back for a complete list of lecturers.
Carpenter Hall, Saturdays at Noon: March 3 - May 19.
Check schedule and availability
Back to top
park talks
Spend an hour with actors, directors and other company members of OSF who share their knowledge about the Festival and theatre in general, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Park talks are part of our Festival Noons program. They are held at noon on Tuesdays and Sundays from June 19 – September 2 in the Bill Patton Garden. Admission is free, no tickets required.
Park Talks Schedule
Back to top