In the Oregon Shakespeare Festival mission statement, we talk about our productions being deepened by the kaleidoscopic energy of rotating repertory. A major factor in that energy is the variety of our three spaces. The New Theatre demands intimacy and allows for any audience configuration except that of a presentational proscenium arch; the Bowmer ensures that the world of the play and the world of its audience are gently blended into one continuous room; and finally, the Tudor façade of the Elizabethan is its own majestic visual statement, defying any scenic gesture that doesn’t celebrate its existence. The Elizabethan’s Allen Pavilion rewards the actor’s naked voice reaching all 1,200 audience members without amplification, staking a commitment to the actor’s craft that is without parallel in our field these days.

In fact, our three theaters have only one thing in common: they were all designed by OSF veteran and American master Richard L. Hay, each with loving attention to the actor and audience relationship that is at the heart of any theatrical endeavor.

I was drawn to OSF as an artist and an artistic leader in part because of the power of our spaces, and I am moved by how the remarkable photographs in this book attempt to unlock the heart of their mysteries.

-Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival