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OSF to scrap Exhibit Center Festival will convert space on Main Street for education By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced plans Wednesday to scrap its Exhibit Center, known for its colorful costume displays in the window at Pioneer and Main. After seeing fewer visitors attend the exhibits in recent years, OSF officials have decided to make better use of the 1,000-square-feet of space, said Director Paul Nicholson. The space will be remodeled into a Welcome Center and classroom. "We�ve seen a significant decline in attendance to the Exhibit Center, despite what many of us consider to be a significant improvement to the displays," Nicholson said. The center, a downtown window-peeking feature since 1981, logged up to 14,000 visitors in peak years, Nicholson estimated. Recently, annual attendance has slipped to fewer than 5,000, a decline OSF officials attribute to the theater�s high percentage of repeat show-goers, many of whom stopped visiting the Exhibit Center over the years. Other programs, however, have picked up in popularity, Nicholson said. "Many people don�t know this, but we have the largest theater education program in the country," he said. OSF actors visit about 365 high schools across the West, reaching some 230,000 students each year. Also, more than 50,000 people � mostly high school students � attend the festival�s on-site educational programs annually. Programs include backstage tours, workshops, lectures and post-show discussions. Many of the festival�s on-site programs are held in rented space around town rather than on the OSF campus, Nicholson said. This year, spaces the festival had been renting, including the Hillah Temple and the privately owned Ashland Town Hall, are no longer available. The need for space prompted the decision to do away with the Exhibit Center, Nicholson said. Officials hope the center�s remodel, budgeted at less than $20,000, will allow OSF�s educational programs to continue at this year�s rate and possibly expand, he said. The new education center will provide space for student workshops, classes and discussions. The Welcome Center will offer patrons daily event schedules, access to the festival�s Web site, archival information, video footage, maps and brochures. The remodel is scheduled to begin in November and the Welcome Center is set to open with the festival�s 2001 season in March. "It will be an attractive space," Nicholson said. "It will give us a much stronger presence on Main Street." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA