Featured speakers include festival’s interim executive director and board chair
By Marilyn Hawkins, American Association of University Women
With the close of this year’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival, organizers will host a free public program about the festival’s future from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3, at the Ashland Public Library.
The community discussion, dubbed “Rebuilding the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Part 2,” is a part of the Big Ideas program series, hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Ashland Branch and Jackson County Library Services.
Featured speakers will include Rudd Johnson, OSF Board Chair, and Javier (Javi) Dubon, OSF’s interim executive director. Their talks will focus on what goes into sustaining a destination theater, with a peek into operations, festival economics, updates on the 2025 season, and its future.
Former president and endowment trustee
Johnson is a past festival president and a past endowment trustee. He is the founder and principal of Crown Hill Consulting, a strategic human resource firm. He has also worked as Harry & David’s executive vice president and chief human resources officer, and as the vice president of human resources for Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas.
Interim executive director
Dubon is OSF’s interim executive director. He also manages marketing and sales for the festival, including brand, ticket sales, and communications. Dubon took on those tasks during a period of critical transformation for the festival. Since joining OSF in 2022, he has played a key role in rebuilding audience trust, growing revenue, and reshaping how the organization connects with its community.
A classically trained saxophonist, Dubon began his journey in the arts through music. His theater work spans a range of producing and presenting institutions, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Auditorium Theatre, Classic Stage Company, and Texas Performing Arts.
Dubon earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in fine arts and leadership from the Theatre School at DePaul University.
Email Ashland.news associate editor Steve Mitchell at stevem@ashland.news.
Related story: One brick at a time: Rebuilding the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Nov. 14, 2024)
