The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has announced the launch of a $2.5 million emergency fundraising campaign to prevent layoffs and complete its 2023 season.

The Show Must Go On: Save Our Season, Save OSF campaign, which aims to address a funding gap between May and July of this year, must raise $1.5 million by June for the current season to continue. The theater, like others across the country, has been navigating financial hardship since reopening from the closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires. In addition, OSF announced the cancellation of this year’s Christmas production to enable staff to focus all resources on the 2023 repertory season.

OSF also launched a gift campaign to help secure and sustain the theater’s future; the 2024 season is on hold pending the results of the fundraising efforts. Committed gifts include $10 million over multiple years from the Hitz Foundation, $2 million from the Mellon Foundation, and $5 million in individual pledges. In December, the OSF Endowment Board released $4.5 million in endowment funds.

“OSF is a national treasure and the board is hopeful that this campaign will produce the needed funds to enable us to keep offering world class art to our audiences,” said OSF board chair Diane Yu. “We are facing difficult scenarios based on a post-pandemic reality, but we are doing everything we can to prevent these scenarios from happening. Our hope is that everyone whose lives have been touched by OSF and values powerful theatre-making will help ensure its survival.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Simon Skafar)