Shakespeare-Oxford Society

The sixth annual joint authorship conference of the Shakespeare Fellowship and the Shakespeare Oxford Society will take place in Ashland, Oregon from September 16-19, 2010. This year the conference will focus on the plays in production at the Tony Award winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Group tickets have been secured for the conference for three productions at OSF: The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and 1 Henry IV.

The conference will convene at the Ashland Springs Hotel. Already a number of outstanding scholars, authors and theatre professionals have committed to presenting at Ashland, including Professors Daniel Wright, Felicia Londre, Ren Draya, Roger Stritmatter, and Chris Duval. OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch and Executive Director Paul Nicholson will both address the conference, and Robin Goodrin-Nordli will perform her comedic Shakespeare heroine composite, Bard Babes. Keir Cutler will present his wonderfully satiric production, Is Shakespeare Dead? and award-winning musicians Ron Andrico and Donna Stewart, who produced My Lord of Oxenford’s Masque, will also perform their music during the authorship conference.

Other presenters will include OSF’s James Newcomb, Tom Regnier on Hamlet’s law, Bonner Cutting on Shakspere’s Will, Bill Farina and Tom Hunter on The Merchant of Venice, Michael Cecil on Lord Burghley, plus Hank Whittemore, John Hamill, Paul Altrocchi, Richard Whalen, Frank Davis, Katherine Chiljan, Ramon Jimenez, Earl Showerman, John Shahan, Marie Merkel, Sam Saunders, William Ray, and Cheryl Eagan-Donovan. The conference will feature panel discussions with OSF actors after each show and include a signing ceremony of the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt.

Proposals for conference papers are still being accepted. The sponsoring organizations are both dedicated to academic excellence, and guidelines for presentation of papers for the joint conferences are posted on the websites of the Shakespeare Fellowship and the Shakespeare Oxford Society. First-time presenters should consult these guidelines before submitting a proposal. Paper proposals should be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 250 words and brief biography. Preference for the 2010 conference will be given to papers which address the authorship question in relation to the Shakespeare plays in production at OSF. To submit a paper, contact Bonner Cutting, John Hamill or Earl Showerman. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2010.

Ashland Authorship Conference registration is $200 and includes all sessions at the Ashland Springs Hotel, an invitation to the opening reception, buffet lunches and the conference awards banquet. Daily registrations are also available for $50 per day. On-line registration may be secured through the websites of the sponsoring organizations. Registration by personal check made out to the Ashland Authorship Conference is now available and should be mailed to:

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Productions

100 tickets have been reserved for the Ashland Authorship Conference for each of these three productions: The Merchant of Venice (9/16), Hamlet (9/17) and 1 Henry IV (9/18). Registrants to the conference may order up to two tickets per production with their conference registration. Additional tickets may be available, but only by special request of the program committee. Group Ticket prices are $65 each. The conference group ticket order will be closed on August 20, 2010. Orders for any tickets after this date will have to be placed directly with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival www.osfashland.org, Box Office: 541-482-4331). Other plays in production at OSF during the conference include Twelfth Night, Throne of Blood, Ruined, American Night, and the musical, She Loves Me. Other activities at OSF include daily backstage tours and an exhibit of Paul Allen’s First Folio.

Travel & Lodgings in Ashland

The Rogue Valley – Medford Airport has non-stop connections to Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is located 15 miles from Ashland. Taxis and Cascade Airport Shuttle (541-488-1998) serve Ashland. A block of 30 rooms has been reserved for our group at the Ashland Springs Hotel www.ashlandspringshotel.com, Reservations: 888-795-4545). The room rate for the conference block is $149/night. The Ashland Springs Hotel is located only one block from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival theatres. There are a number of other comparable and less expensive lodgings available in Ashland within 3-4 blocks of OSF. These include:

Bard’s Inn Best Western www.bardsinn.com 800-528-1234 Stratford Inn www.stratfordinnashland.com 800-547-4741 Plaza Inn & Suites www.plazainnashland.com 888-488-0358 Columbia Hotel www.columbiahotel.com 800-718-2530

A number of Bed and Breakfast establishments in Ashland with comparable room rates are also within walking distance of the Ashland Springs Hotel and theatres. These include: Winchester House, Anne Hathaway’s B&B, A Cowslips Belle, Ashland Creek Inn, Chanticleer Inn, McCall House, Shrew’s House, Iris Inn, and The Peerless Hotel. For further information consult Ashland’s Bed and Breakfast network www.abbnet.com. For further information about the Ashland Authorship Conference, contact Earl Showerman at 541-890-9360 or email at earlees@charter.net.

To register by mail CLICK HERE. To register on the internet CLICK HERE.