Jackson County Oregon Oregon Shakespeare Festival
From early spring until late October, Ashland in southern Oregon hosts a rotating repertory theatre season, with Shakespeare outdoors, a musical indoors, and a new play in a smaller room. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is not a fair: it has no midway, livestock, exhibition hall, or single gate.
Jackson County’s government layer names Medford as the county seat and places the festival at Ashland. Medford never hosts this festival, and Ashland is never the county seat.
About the Season in Ashland
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a professional non-profit repertory theatre company that produces its own seasons, and no fair board, county body, or separate presenter appears as its organiser. Its history layer describes it as among the oldest and largest professional non-profit theatres in the nation. OSF is a short form, never a separate organisation, while Oregon Shakespearean Festival is the history layer’s 1935 born-as form only.
Three theatres share one downtown campus in Ashland: the Angus Bowmer Theatre, the Thomas Theatre, and the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, earlier called the Elizabethan Stage and renamed in 2013. The festival’s published address, in expanded form, is 15 South Pioneer Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520.
Quick Facts
| Point | What the record shows |
| Event | Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a repertory theatre season in Ashland |
| Host town | Ashland, Oregon, on a downtown theatre campus |
| County seat | Medford, Oregon, which does not host the festival |
| Campus address | 15 South Pioneer Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520 |
| 2025 season envelope | March 7 to October 26, 2025, nine productions |
| 2026 season envelope | March 13 to October 25, 2026, ten productions |
| Admission form | Per-production, per-seat tickets in zone ladders, fenced by season |
| Free programme element | Green Show, free outdoor programme only |
How the Festival Began
The festival’s own history page dates its founding directly to 1935, and this article follows that direct statement rather than calculating a year from any anniversary. Its history layer states that the festival was founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer, while the 2025 announcement layer uses the shorter form Angus Bowmer, and those two forms are kept apart here. No year here is derived from the ninetieth anniversary, a season count, or the 1935ers tier name.
For a useful comparison, see the Hood River County Oregon Fair Festival for another county festival.
Before the festival, Ashland had a Chautauqua tradition, a predecessor story, not the festival’s own founding. Its first Chautauqua building was erected in 1893 and enlarged in 1905. A dome-covered structure replaced it in 1917, fell into disuse in the early 1920s, and was torn down in 1933, while the cement walls remain standing today, surrounding the Elizabethan Stage later renamed in 2013.
Angus L. Bowmer, a young teacher from Southern Oregon Normal School, proposed a festival of two plays within the walls alongside the City of Ashland’s Fourth of July celebration. The City advanced a sum not to exceed four hundred dollars for the 1935 project, and funds from the State Emergency Relief Administration, known as SERA, provided a construction crew to build the stage. The history layer states that the Oregon Shakespearean Festival was born on July 2, 1935, with Twelfth Night, that it presented The Merchant of Venice on the third and Twelfth Night again on the fourth, and that reserved seats cost one dollar, with general admission of fifty cents for adults and twenty-five cents for children. Tim Bond is Artistic Director in the announcement layers, never the organiser name, while Julius Caesar in 2025 was produced in association with upstart crow collective, a co-production credit for that production only. Licensing bodies in production layers are rights licensors, never organisers.
What to Expect From a Repertory Season
The 2025 and 2026 programmes, year by year
The 2025 announcement, billing the season as the ninetieth-anniversary Homecoming season, lists nine productions, and the 2025 envelope is March 7-October 26, 2025, never a single festival week. Bowmer, 2025: Julius Caesar, March 7-October 26; The Importance of Being Earnest, March 8-October 25; Jitney, March 9-July 20; Shane, July 31-October 25. Thomas, 2025: Fat Ham, March 11-June 27; As You Like It, April 16-October 25; Quixote Nuevo, July 9-October 24. Elizabethan, 2025: The Merry Wives of Windsor, May 30-October 12; Into the Woods, May 31-October 11.
The 2026 announcement lists ten productions, with an envelope of March 13-October 25, 2026, and its outdoor Elizabethan runs span only June 5-October 11 at the outermost. Bowmer, 2026: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, March 13-October 25; Come From Away, March 14-October 24; A Raisin in the Sun, March 15-July 19; Yellow Face, August 5-October 23. Thomas, 2026: You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World, April 16-August 21; King Hedley II, July 16-October 24; Smote This, August 27-October 24. Elizabethan, 2026: The Taming of the Shrew, June 5-October 11; Henry IV, Part One, June 6-October 10; Emma, June 7-October 9.
The 2027 list, without a season span
A 2027 season exists in the festival’s rolled-forward pricing page and its 2027 member programme layer, but no 2027 season-announcement span was extracted, so no 2027 opening or closing date is stated here. The 2027 pricing-layer list names, for Bowmer: Hamlet, A Doll’s House, A Locomotive For Murder, Purpose; for Elizabethan: The Comedy of Errors, Shrek The Musical; for Thomas: What the Constitution Means to Me, The Winter’s Tale, Frida, A Self Portrait.
The free Green Show, kept in its place
The Green Show is a free, family-friendly outdoor programme in the festival’s own Green Show layer. That layer describes it as running from June to September, while its applicant questions give May to September for Tuesday to Saturday evenings at six thirty, and those wordings stand unmerged here. A 2026 secondary layer fixes the 2026 run at June 12-September 26 on the Bricks, Tuesdays through Saturdays at six thirty. The Green Show is an ancillary programme, never a mainstage production, and its free status is never extended to the ticketed productions. Prefaces, the pre-show talks, are a member priority-access benefit in the membership layers, with no price or schedule extracted.
Planning Your Visit
Tickets in 2026, zone by zone
Admission is a per-production, per-seat theatre ticket, in zone ladders fenced by season and theatre group, never averaged into a single ticket price. Prices below are given in the order previews, Tuesday and Sunday evenings, and all other times, per person, including a five-dollar Venue Support Fee, subject to change and availability. For 2026 Bowmer and Elizabethan shows together: zone A plus, one hundred two, one hundred twenty-one, one hundred forty-one dollars; zone A, seventy-five, eighty-seven, one hundred seven dollars; zone B, fifty-five, sixty-two, seventy-four dollars; zone C, forty-one, forty-four, fifty-one dollars. A plus seating exists in the Elizabethan and Bowmer theatres only. For 2026 Thomas shows: zone A, eighty-nine, one hundred five, one hundred twenty-five dollars; zone B, sixty-one, sixty-eight, eighty dollars; zone C, forty-one, forty-four, fifty-one dollars. For the 2026 Thomas solo show Smote This: zone A, sixty-nine, eighty-one, ninety-nine dollars; zone B, forty-seven, fifty-two, sixty dollars; zone C, thirty-one, thirty-four, forty-one dollars.
Tickets in 2027, priced differently
The 2027 ladders, from the festival’s rolled-forward ticket-pricing page, differ in structure from 2026: in 2027 Bowmer is priced separately from Elizabethan, unlike the combined 2026 table. For 2027 Bowmer shows: zone A plus, one hundred two, one hundred twenty-three, one hundred forty-four dollars; zone A, seventy-five, eighty-nine, one hundred nine dollars; zone B, fifty-five, sixty-three, seventy-five dollars; zone C, forty-one, forty-five, fifty-two dollars. For 2027 Elizabethan shows: zone A plus, one hundred two, one hundred twenty-five, one hundred forty-five dollars; zone A, seventy-five, eighty-nine, one hundred ten dollars; zone B, fifty-five, sixty-four, seventy-six dollars; zone C, forty-one, forty-five, fifty-two dollars. For 2027 Thomas shows: zone A, eighty-nine, one hundred eight, one hundred twenty-nine dollars; zone B, sixty-one, seventy, eighty-two dollars; zone C, forty-one, forty-five, fifty-two dollars. No standard ticket price for 2025 is stated here, because no festival-side 2025 pricing table was found, and the 2026 ladder is never back-dated to 2025. Youth pricing in 2026 gives twenty percent off zones A, B, or C for ages six to seventeen, may not be combined with other offers, and excludes zone A plus.
Groups, members, and the wait list
Group pricing in 2026, for groups of fifteen or more, with savings up to twenty percent in that layer, is separate from the public ladders. Bowmer and Elizabethan group, 2026: zone C, thirty-four, thirty-six, forty-two dollars; zone B, forty-five, fifty-one, sixty dollars; zone A, sixty-one, seventy-one, eighty-seven dollars; zone A plus, one hundred two, one hundred twenty-one, one hundred forty-one dollars. Thomas group, 2026: zone C, thirty-four, thirty-six, forty-two dollars; zone B, fifty, fifty-five, sixty-five dollars; zone A, seventy-two, eighty-five, one hundred one dollars. Thomas solo-show group, 2026: zone C, twenty-six, twenty-eight, thirty-four dollars; zone B, thirty-nine, forty-three, forty-nine dollars; zone A, fifty-six, sixty-six, eighty dollars. Member money in the 2027 programme layer is again separate: 1935ers members may purchase one thirty-dollar ticket per show, plus a five-dollar Venue Support Fee, in zones B or C, all season, starting December 2, 2026, with a member discount of ten percent, and Season Ticket Insurance at fifty dollars per year as an optional member product, never a season pass. No public season-pass price was found, so none is invented here. The wait list in 2026 costs five dollars per ticket, non-refundable, and is free for Patron-level members and above. Classes in the 2027 member layer, including a four-hundred-dollar class-only figure, are member-programme money, never ticket prices.
Food, parking, and where to stay
Concessions are confirmed in the Bowmer and Elizabethan lobbies and the Thomas upstairs lobby, opening forty-five minutes before performances, with a reusable souvenir cup required to take a beverage into a theatre. That layer publishes no prices. Parking money is unverified on the festival side. Festival camping is undocumented in every festival layer fetched, and the campus offers no camping or overnight stay in the record.
A Sample Three-Day Theatre Itinerary
A first visit works best around two or three chosen productions. On a first afternoon, take in a Green Show performance on the Bricks, then a Bowmer Theatre evening. A second day could pair a Thomas Theatre matinee with an Elizabethan Theatre evening, and a third day could return to the Bowmer Theatre.
Comparing the Two Documented Seasons
The 2025 and 2026 seasons share a shape and differ in title. Both open in March, run into late October, and use the same three theatres. The 2025 bill leans on Shakespeare titles alongside Into the Woods, Jitney, Fat Ham, Shane, and Quixote Nuevo. The 2026 bill keeps Shakespeare present through A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and Henry IV, Part One, but adds Come From Away, A Raisin in the Sun, and Smote This.
Checklist for a Theatre Visit
- Choose productions from the announcement for the year of travel, noting each theatre and run first
- Decide on a zone for each production separately, since 2026 and 2027 ladders differ
- Treat the Green Show as a free outdoor extra, never as a substitute for a ticketed seat
Beyond the Festival Grounds
Ashland is part of the visit, even without fairgrounds beyond the theatres. Quarantined here, with nothing imported from them, are the Jackson County Fair and Jackson County Expo at Central Point, the Utah and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals and every other Shakespeare festival or company, the Ashland Independent Film Festival and other Ashland events, Southern Oregon University performances, the Oregon Cabaret Theatre and other Ashland theatres, outside events renting these theatres, the Britt Festivals at Jacksonville, Medford venues, and the historic Chautauqua as a predecessor rather than the same event. Resale, tour-package, and aggregator layers are excluded entire.
Why This Season Matters
A repertory season matters because one company can present old and new work side by side. The 2025 bill pairs Shakespeare with August Wilson, Oscar Wilde, and a musical revival, while the 2026 bill pairs Shakespeare with Lorraine Hansberry, David Henry Hwang, and a contemporary musical. Its own history dates the founding to 1935, and the walls surrounding the outdoor theatre carry a predecessor story reaching back to a Chautauqua building of 1893.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the festival in Medford or Ashland?
The festival is in Ashland, at 15 South Pioneer Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520, on its downtown theatre campus. Medford is the Jackson County seat and does not host the festival. Jacksonville was the historical first seat in a historic-map layer only, with Medford selected in 1927.
How is admission charged if there is no festival gate?
Admission is charged as a per-production, per-seat theatre ticket, with zone ladders fenced by season and theatre group. There is no gate charge and no festival pass in the record.
Is any part of the festival free?
The Green Show is free as an outdoor ancillary programme in its own layer, with a 2026 run from June 12-September 26 on the Bricks. That free status belongs to the Green Show alone.
Can visitors camp or stay overnight on the festival campus?
No camping, recreational vehicle parking, or overnight stay on the campus is documented in any festival layer fetched. Town lodging is separate.
What to Expect From the Next Jackson County Oregon Oregon Shakespeare Festival
How often is Jackson County Oregon Oregon Shakespeare Festival held?
The festival is a recurring annual repertory season, presented each year from spring through late October, with each season made up of separate production runs.
When is the next Jackson County Oregon Oregon Shakespeare Festival?
The next season after the documented 2026 envelope is the 2027 season named in the festival’s rolled-forward pricing page and its 2027 member programme layer, with a member on-sale date of December 2, 2026, for 1935ers tickets. No 2027 opening or closing date is stated here, because no 2027 season-announcement span was extracted.
Will the dates change?
Season envelopes are set by each year’s own announcement, so the opening and closing dates and the individual production runs should be checked against the announcement for the year of travel. The pricing layers warn that prices and dates are subject to change and availability.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival rewards a visitor who plans by production rather than by a single festival date. Choose a year, read its announcement theatre by theatre, and pick zones with the ladder for that year in hand. Medford remains the county seat, while Ashland, at 15 South Pioneer Street, remains the town where the season actually happens.
