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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us February 19, 2005 OSF opens its 2005 preview set By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Locals, theater regulars from out of town and even a few lucky college students visiting Ashland descended on the first Oregon Shakespeare Festival preview show Friday night. Patrons queue up for tickets to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's first preview show of the season. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings The first patrons of the year lingered in the courtyard and bounced through the Tudor Guild gift shop in anticipation of the sold-out performance of "Richard III" launching the 2005 season. The season officially begins Friday, Feb. 25. "My friends and I got the last four tickets at the rush," said Alex Garnett, a 21-year-old junior at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., who was in town for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the Northwest Drama Conference this week at Southern Oregon University. "We're all theater majors and we're just starting to study Shakespeare again." The foursome hadn't planned on attending the show, but lucked out at the ticket booth and scored entry into their first OSF production. They hoped to glean some knowledge from watching the experts Friday night. "We're just really interested in it at this point," Garnett said. "This is one of the best places in the States (to see it)." Still, most planned ahead to see the preview show. Ashland resident Donna Affolter has been coming to the festival since she moved to the city 14 years ago. She enjoys the preview performances because they've been kind of a local secret for years and the tickets are less expensive. "We get to see the plays early," Affolter said. "If we like them, we can see them again." But the crowd isn't locals-only anymore. Even out-of-towners made arrangements to catch the preview weekend performances. For example, the Finlayson family made the five-hour trip from Davis, Calif., to see two shows this weekend. "It just happened to be Presidents (Day) weekend," said Andy Finlayson, who came to OSF with his wife and two children, ages 10 and 12. He's been to four plays in the past and his wife has seen two, but Friday night marked his children's first experience at the festival. "The 12-year-old's excited," Finlayson said. "The 10-year-old's just OK with it." Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams