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Backstage tours give insider's look at Oregon Shakespeare Festival Tours give insider's look at one of the largest theaters in the country Comment By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Peeking into corners behind the Oregon Shakespeare Festival curtain illuminated the theater experience for Barbara June and Karen Sewell. “You would appreciate so much more,” June says. “The information just flows.” The Salem residents saw “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Pericles” and “Guys and Dolls” — a perfect progression — staying in Ashland after the plays because friends gave them passes to a Thursday morning backstage tour. Purchasing a $20 ticket, $14 for ages 6 through 17, through the festival box office is all it takes to feel like a theater VIP for roughly an hour and 45 minutes. Members of the OSF company — actors and those who work behind the scenes — hosted 190 backstage tours for 9,252 visitors last year, says Amy Richard, media and communications manager. Two complimentary tickets are among the perks of donating at least $300 to OSF. The insiders’ look mingles the festival’s 80-year history with insights about current and upcoming shows. Intimately involved with day-to-day OSF operations, tour guides narrate the development of each season, from play selection and casting to the artistic vision with all its tangible contributions — sets, costumes and props. “At the festival, we’re never focused on one play at a time,” says actor Rex Young, explaining that the casting process is well underway in late April for plays that won’t open until February the following year. Summer ushers in open-air performances at the festival’s 1,190-seat Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Although not as technically versatile as OSF’s two indoor stages, the Allen is a flurry of set-building activity in the month before 2015’s outdoor productions — “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “Antony and Cleopatra” and “Head Over Heels” — are due to open. “We’re one of the largest theaters in the country,” Young says. “We have three different venues to tell stories in.” Scripts for “the eyes and the ears backstage” can be more detailed than Shakespearean dialogue, as production assistant Molly Norris explains. Crews change complex costumes in less than 30 seconds, erase full face makeup in just over two minutes and line the Thomas Theatre lobby with 22 laundry baskets to corral actors’ wardrobes, stashed out of sight during intermission. Meanwhile, 500 or more technical events — lighting and sound — set the pace of each show, Norris says. Juggling so many responsibilities requires stage managers to cultivate personalities akin to emergency-room doctors, Norris says. One of the most taxing tasks is changing over sets from matinee to evening performances. Taken out in small parts about 250 times per season, set pieces are steel-reinforced for durability, says Norris. Four complete sets are stored below the Angus Bowmer stage in configurations that allow crews to access them quickly and efficiently. “It’s a little like playing ‘Tetris’ backstage,” Norris says. As components of the “Fingersmith” set roll around overhead, the tour descends into the Bowmer’s green room, offering a glimpse of how actors spend time between scenes. They may vie for space to practice sword-fighting or playing music, Norris says, or choose to unwind by reading or meditating in another room nearby. “Everyone’s a little bit different in their process.” Beginning at 10 a.m. most days (except Mondays) at the Thomas Theatre, tours may sell out weeks or months in advance. Availability can be verified at www.osfashland.org . Reach freelance writer Sarah Lemon at [email protected] . By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 29, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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