Tim Bond will begin as artistic director Sept. 1; Evren Odcikin will lead in the interim

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced Thursday afternoon it has selected former OSF assistant artistic director Tim Bond as artistic director for the festival, effective Sept. 1.

Evren Odcikin, associate artistic director and director of artistic programming, will serve as interim artistic director until Sept. 15, providing an overlap transition period when Bond arrives. Bond and Odcikin will collaborate on planning for the 2024 season.

Bond succeeds Nataki Garrett, whose resignation, announced May 5, was effective May 31. Garrett, OSF’s sixth artistic director, joined the company in 2019.

Bond served as an associate artistic director at OSF for 11 seasons, 1996 to 2007, and was the first person of color in that role for OSF. He was mentored under former artistic director Libby Appel while at OSF. Bond has deep roots in southern Oregon, and raised his family in Ashland.

“I am honored to return to OSF to serve as artistic director during these challenging times,” Bond said in a news release, which was embargoed for public release until 1 p.m. 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.”

Odcikin, in a news release, said, “OSF is a very special place, and I am honored to be asked to serve in this new capacity.”

As artistic director, Bond will manage and lead all artistic and production staff; select and curate season offerings; set the artistic vision for the organization; and co-lead OSF alongside interim Executive Director Tyler Hokama and the organization’s leadership team. He will report to OSF’s Board of Directors.

Bond spoke with Ashland.news Thursday morning via Zoom from his Bay Area home.

Asked about his philosophy as an artistic director, Bond described his approach as one that builds bridges, is inclusive and that places value on William Shakespeare plays, as well.

“I think theaters need to be places of belonging,” Bond said. “Welcoming, being inclusive of different voices and perspectives and cultures and the interconnectivity of those together tell the human story. And the human story is what we do.”

“We deal with what makes us human and connected,” he added. “I look for plays that have great language in them, poetry and are heightened, even if they are realistic plays, they still can be in that mode. August Wilson’s plays are certainly that way.”

Bond directed an August Wilson play at OSF last season.

During his time with OSF, Bond directed 12 productions, promoted equity and inclusion efforts throughout the company, and created the FAIR Program, which cultivates the next generation of theater artists and administrators from diverse backgrounds. Bond, whose theater career spans more than 30 years, has been serving as artistic director for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley since 2020, according to OSF. Coming back to Ashland for him is akin to coming home.

Bond started his career in Seattle in 1984 with Seattle Group Theatre, where he directed more than 20 productions, many that were West Coast and world premieres. In addition to his previous role at OSF, he is an internationally known director and educator with past leadership roles as producing artistic director at Syracuse Stage, artistic director at Seattle Group Theatre, and full professor and head of the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington School of Drama, according to an OSF news release.

“I like plays that have great themes, larger themes, that are tapping into large universals but also really celebrating the specific voices and cultures of the writers,” Bond said.

“Shakespeare has huge ideas in those plays and really sets the table for the rest of the shows every season.

He aims for at least 30% of the shows to be Shakespeare plays, but also would like to have family-friendly musicals on stage as well. Overall, he aims for “huge variety” in programming.

“We have to figure out budgetarily how to fit all that back together again as we’re rebuilding our audience, but Shakespeare will be a very key component to what we do, and the other shows around the Shakespeare (plays) will also tap into large themes,” Bond said.

Extensive experience in theater

Bond’s resume speaks for itself.

He’s directed nationally and internationally at Market Theatre, Baxter Theatre Centre, Guthrie Theater, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep, BAM, the Wilma Theater, Arena Stage, Alliance Theatre, GEVA Theatre Center, Cleveland Play House, Indiana Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, PCPA, Arizona Theatre Co., Portland Center Stage, Dallas Theater Center, A Contemporary Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Paul Robeson Theatre, and Seattle Children’s Theatre.

Bond is also the recipient of two Backstage West Garland Awards, two Syracuse Area Live Theatre Awards, and a Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum Award. Recent credits include acclaimed productions of “Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer” (TheatreWorks), “How I Learned What I Learned” (OSF, Seattle Repertory Theatre), “Gem of the Ocean” (TheatreWorks), “The Children” (Seattle Rep), and “Pass Over” (A Contemporary Theatre).

Bond will collaborate with Odcikin on programming for the 2024 season.

Odcikin has overseen the production of five seasons, and helped guide the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermath of the devastating Almeda fire and multiple leadership changes, according to OSF.

“My focus for the last year has been to support the OSF artists, crews, and staff as we worked relentlessly to secure the 2023 season and I launched the programming process for the 2024 season,” Odcikin said in a news release. “I look forward to continuing that work over the next few months as Tim Bond returns to OSF. Following that, I’m excited to focus on my own artistry as a director and writer — something that has taken a back seat over the last four years.”

Since 2019, Odcikin has overseen the programming and producing of all in-person programming at OSF, including repertory productions and the Green Show. He has shepherded 32 productions at OSF, including the world premiere of the company’s first holiday show, “It’s Christmas, Carol!”; world and West Coast premieres of new works by Kirsten Childs, Mona Mansour, Dominique Morisseau, Qui Nguyen, Karen Zacarias, Amir Nizar Zuabi, and reimagined classics by directors such as Shariffa Ali, Lili-Anne, Brown, Nataki Garrett, Kent Gash, Henry Godinez, Tiffany Nichole Greene, Rosa Joshi, and Dawn Monique Williams, among others.

As a director and writer, he has worked at OSF, Guthrie Theater, A.R.T., Woolly Mammoth, PlayCo, New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center, Berkeley Repertory, South Coast Repertory, the Lark, Kennedy Center, the Civilians, InterAct (Philadelphia), Cleveland Public Theatre, TheatreSquared, Magic Theatre, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread Productions, TheatreFirst, and Playwrights Foundation among many others, according to OSF’s news release.

OSF Board Chair Diane Yu expressed confidence in Odcikin to serve in an interim artistic director role until Bond comes aboard.

“The Board of Directors is immensely grateful to Evren for stepping up so efficiently and effectively to keep the artistic work at the festival on an even keel and at our customary high levels of excellence during the current transition period,” Yu said in a news release. “He has exerted considerable efforts to ensure that the artists, crews and staff are well supported as the 2023 season continues to unfold. He has been a steady presence with audiences, donors, and partners since he started at OSF, but especially in the last two months. We are most fortunate to have him as our interim artistic director.”

‘The fundraising mode is going to be constant’

Yu spoke with Ashland.news via phone Thursday morning regarding fundraising efforts and how the new appointments can only help the organization.

“Theaters around the country are in a nonstop fundraising mode,” Yu said. “I think we all realize that contributed income is going to help keep us going, that ticket revenues and other revenues are helpful.”

“The fundraising mode is going to be constant, and we will do it with a good heart, because we believe it’s for a great cause,” she added.

In an article published by Oregon ArtsWatch on June 28, OSF was noted as among numerous arts organizations that were denied funding by the Oregon Legislature this year.

“Particularly of note in the legislative session was the rejection of funding for seven major cultural institutions that in addition to their artistic achievements are key economic players in their regions: the High Desert Museum in Bend, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, and Portland’s Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Symphony, Portland Art Museum, Portland Opera, and Portland Center Stage.

“Requests totaled $11,837,497, ranging from $683,550 for Oregon Ballet Theatre to $5,110,350 for the financially imperiled Shakespeare Festival, which for more than 85 years has been a major contributor to the economy of Southern Oregon,” the article added.

Yu noted that funds provided through the state and federal governments can be helpful to OSF, and have been so in the past, but do not provide annual funding.

Yu shared concern about the denial of funds, but also gratitude for the state’s consideration of funding.

“Of course it would’ve been fantastic if we had been able to receive a portion of that HB 2459 bill that was supporting cultural and other performing institutions,” Yu told Ashland.news. “The decision they made was to limit it to smaller venues.

“We understand there are tough decisions that have to be made and we have appreciated past support,” she added. “It would’ve been great to have that kind of support front the state. We do know we have a major role in helping drive the economy in Southern Oregon and, at least for that reason, we appreciated their consideration of us because we do play a pretty broader part in the success of the whole (Southern Oregon) economy.”

Yu said there are “several million” more dollars to raise but declined to put a number on it because she said the target for fundraising is moving.

OSF has met and exceeded its $2.5 million goal so far, and has raised at least $3 million of its desired $10 million goal.

“Between very good ticket sales and money generally coming in, the (fundraising) target is gradually shrinking,” Yu said. “The number I’m focusing on in the immediate future is $3 million, but we will need much more than that by late fall in order to have a great 2024 season. We haven’t finalized what we are going to do yet in 2024, so that number is a little bit to be decided, depending on how many plays we think we could put on and … what the productions will look like. So, we will need several million regardless right away or reasonably soon, and we would like to finalize those plans for ‘24 and then we’ll know what our target is then.”

She said OSF is currently short-staffed on the development side of the organization, which plans fundraising efforts, but hopes to build back that department.

“Until we do, it’s a little hard to imagine we would have the people power to put on something of a major scale like a big gala,” she said. “But there will be fundraising activities throughout the year and some of them we hope will raise a good amount of money in one or two days.”

With Bond coming on board, Yu is hopeful that he and Hokama working together will inspire confidence in donors, both new and current donors and those who have given in the past.

“An artistic director’s job involves multiple facets,” Yu said. “You have of course the art itself, helping to select or choosing the plays, the productions, the directors, the casts; overseeing all of those artistic operations, and managing the staff, to articulating the kind of artistic vision and communicating that, working as a co-leader with the executive director, working closely with the board of directors … helping with fundraising, and long-term development plans, and also having a strategic eye to where OSF should be pointing in the future.”

It’s no small task, but Yu and the Board of Directors believe Bond is the right person for the job.

“It takes both time and lots of energy and experience to do all of those things well, so we are excited about his eagerness to take on all of those different kinds of responsibilities,” Yu said.

“Both Tim (Bond) and Tyler Hokama demonstrate that kind of calm confidence, steadiness of commitment, and a sense of purpose,” she added. “Those characteristics will be extremely valuable as they weather the storms that we still have, and I think they will also be reassuring, comforting and encouraging to others because they do have the ability to stay calm even though there’s still some crisis. But I feel we are moving on to a better chapter … of OSF’s history that will lead to that greater stability.”

Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].