As I’ve said before, we’ve been going to Ashland for a long time. Here’s a guest post
69 productions of Shakespeare and 64 non-Shakespeare (through 2008)
Our visits to Ashland started in 1987 – on a vacation trip through Oregon with our two children (9 and 11 at the time), we decided to pull off in Ashland to check out the festival we had heard about. We stopped for dinner, and happened on to the Green Show on the bricks. We enjoyed the ambiance, the dinner (though I can’t remember which restaurant), and period instruments and dance.
We decided to return the next year – and came up for a weekend, seeing Henry IV, Part I. When it was over, our son was excited – and couldn’t wait until next year to see what happened next.
And we did come back the next year – moving up to two Shakespeare plays, and Cyrano – which remains one of my favorite performances at Ashland. We have been back every year since. We usually go for a week – seeing plays Tuesday or Wednesday through Saturday, before returning to the Bay Area.
This year marks two milestones for us. For the first time in our 22 years of going to Ashland, they are producing Henry VIII. When we watch it in August, we will have seen productions of all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays at Ashland (plus another play, Two Noble Kinsmen, which he may have written). We have been to 69 productions of Shakespeare and 64 non-Shakespeare productions at the festival as of last year – the counts going up by 9 plays this year.
Our trip started out with just the four of us. But over the years it has expanded. Some years it has included my mother, my sister and her husband, my other sister, three nieces, my sons wife, boyfriends, and our two granddaughters. We sometimes go to the same plays – other times have different preferences. We usually eat dinner together – often grab our lunch and gather in the park. There is shopping, and usually a visit to my sister-in-law’s horse ranch. There have been bike rides and raft trips. The milestone this year is taking my youngest niece and my oldest granddaughter to their first plays. They will start with two – a comedy, Much Ado About Nothing in the outdoor theater, and The Music Man.
I was disappointed when I heard that this years productions included The Music Man. It seems inappropriate – I don’t think of Ashland as a place for musicals (though they have done a few over the years). But then I realized how perfect it would be as one of the first plays here for the girls.
Our planning starts in October (or at least my planning). I get the schedule – and start looking at which plays I want to attend, and thinking of the time of year. The best weather is often in June, opening weekend is fun – with the Feast of Will, and the excitement of attending opening night –as well as usually a couple of previews. But June often gets complicated for scheduling with school, graduation, weddings. August has been great. We remember some evenings when we sat in the Elizabethan theater in shirt sleeves – and others when we sat in the rain. I also have to take in to account when various plays open and close. There are often one or two that we just have to see.
After targeting some plays – and some weeks – I have to find out who will be coming – and what plays they want to see. I eventually pick a week based on our schedule – but also the schedule of plays – sometimes one week just doesn’t work because a given play doesn’t have enough performances – or they conflict with other plays.
Then I have to get final agreement – in November – for a summer vacation. That is so that I can order the tickets during the early membership ordering period. Before the New Theater opened – there were plays in the very small Black Swan. If I didn’t order as a member – I couldn’t get tickets. So we now order tickets on the first morning we can. We always get every play we want – and always have incredible tickets.
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