The Seattle Times: The famed Oregon Shakespeare Festival that attracts tourists from around the world said Tuesday that it lost $2 million this summer because wildfire smoke forced it to cancel more than two dozen outdoor performances.
The organization will have an indoor venue next season for smoky days as an alternate to its award-winning outdoor theater and will shift its outdoor season back a week to avoid the worst of the wildfire season, said Julie Cortez, the festival’s spokeswoman.
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Being from the east coast, I have never experienced anything remotely like a wildfire. I think I underestimated how much of an effect they have on surrounding communities, even if those communities are not the ones on fire. I knew there was a lot of smoke as a result of the fires, I just had no idea it was in such a large quantity that it could shut down so many events for so long. It is a shame that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival had to cancel so many outside performances, and that they may have to move indoors for future ones, to avoid the smoke. Their outdoor theatre is beautiful, and certainly part of the spectacle that is seeing an Oregon Shakespeare Festival production for audience members. Hopefully the Festival will be able to recover quickly and easily - $2 million is a lot to lose, so I wish them the best.
What a sad problem to face as an outdoor theater venue. I am shocked to hear about just how many performances were canceled and to hear how those numbers compared to past seasons. I think its a great idea to have an alternative indoor space just in case the smoke is as bad as it was this summer, but I also think it is disappointing that a theater who prides themselves on being able to present an authentic Shakespeare experience to their audiences is loosing out because the affects of climate change. I think it is important for our industry to remember how we can be affected by climate change and really take a look at the amount of non-reusable resources we consume in the industry.
It is always upsetting to here about something like this. As a non-profit, I can imagine that money is often tight for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It is extremely unfortunate that something like a wildfire can cause so much non-physical destruction to something like a theater company. Being from Los Angeles, wildfires are something I have become very used to. On top of being just a resident of LA, work closely with our county fire department during wildfire season. While often they are started by natural causes, they are so destructive due to humans encroaching more and more on wildlife and previously undeveloped areas. This is what makes them so bad. In areas that have not been touched by humans, like large areas in Montana and the Dakotas, you see large wildfires that are left to burn and not fought, something that is very good for the environment. This is just one step in a natural process that keeps out forests healthy. This is just another unfortunate casualty of humans footprint on earth .
Such a pity! Having events cancelled is much an issue for the sports world with thunderstorms destroying the game for the day. This is slight to nonexistent in the world of theatre, even in outdoor theaters in the summer. I know some people in California and have seen from their social media just how widespread of an effect fires can have, especially the smoke which anyone who has ever built a fire know how adherent its stench is to your clothes and hair. But like Samantha said I have never had an experience with a wildfire, being from Chicago I only know about Tornadoes and Blizzards. Any impact on theaters is a huge blow to all of us because it stifles the presence of theater to begin with. But on that note has this honestly never happened before? Natural disasters are not something we invented they have always been. I thought for sure it rains all the time in the northwest how do they deal with that? I am not being snarky I just figured they would have planned ahead by now. Though the reassuring thing is that they are now planning for the worst for the next season. I know from Susan how great the OSF is so I want them to succeed so much as a vital theatre company in the US.
I have read a previous article about the impact that Hurricane Florence had on theatres in the south-east and now it is a wildfire in Oregon that seems to be wreaking havoc. It is bizarre to think about how natural disaster can affect live theatre. The stage depends on the loyalty of patrons to succeed and when obstacles are put in place it separates the casual theatergoer with the dedicated patron. While nobody should put their own lives in danger to attend a performance, it is so important to the industry that audience numbers continue to rise or, at the very least, remain consistent. What is happening in Oregon is tragic, a loss of 2 million dollars is a substantial effect on any industry let alone an independent theatre festival. This has also acted as a learning experience for the festival, next year, they plan to open an indoor venue in hopes of a more constant attendance. The indoor venue may not be as picturesque but it does offer a sort of insurance in case of poor weather.
This article is upsetting because it reminds us of how much of an effect climate change is having on our lives. We definitely brought some of these issues on to ourselves, by not taking care of our environment. I feel bad, however, that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has lost so much because of it. Non-profits in general are constantly trying to maintain the right numbers just to be able to stay open. There is no doubt that losing a substantial amount of money, like the OSF did, could shut down a non-profit. I really hope this doesn't happen to them, and it seems like they have good plans for the future to ensure some more security for themselves. I love the fact that they typically use an outdoor theatre to try and reproduce the theatre that audiences during Shakespeare's time would have sat/stood in, but I think it's a very smart idea to open an indoor venue for situations where the outdoor theatre is not usable.
Wildfires are something that affects our country greatly. Right now California is having huge issues with this and I did not know that this happened in Oregon. no one in the article mentioned if anyone got physically hurt which is great, however the theatre lost over 2 million dollars. For anyone in theatre or for a theatre company to lose 2 million dollars is extremely hard. This theatre has it even worse as it is an outdoor theatre so not only are they losing money they are unable to do the work. this past summer with the fires being as bad they canceled more shows than in the past 5 years. I’m glad that the theatre company will start later next summer in anticipation of wildfire season. I hope that they are able to regain the money lost and that they will not be in any sort of jeopardy because of this.
I read the article posted a few weeks ago about the health affects of the smoke crisis at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, so it is interesting to read about this issue from a more logistical side of things. Losing two million dollars in ticket sales is no small thing for a theatre non-profit. According to their last available 990 form this makes up about 10% of OSF's typical amount of annual ticket revenue, and this could potentially mean cuts institution wide. For this reason I think that it is a very generous thing that OSF is only selling as many tickets as they can accommodate in their alternative indoor space, as it shows that they are prioritizing their audience over any kind of revenue. I hope that they are able to return to their outdoor space again next year, but if the weather trends continue of they have been then this may mean a permanent shift for this historically outdoor institution.
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