Some of you may know my old friend and current roommate Susan. Fewer of you know that Susan, who has an MFA in theater, spent several years as part of the acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. The, ahem, world-reknowned company. I have lots of fond memories of visiting beautiful Ashland to see her plays, so how could I not stop by on my way to Eugene?
Below, a sign in the courtyard between the three main theaters lets you know what's on that day.
The performance space that made Ashland famous is its outdoor Elizabethan theater, which holds 1,200 Shakespeare lovers.
I was lucky enough to get there after the doors had opened but a full hour before the afternoon matinee was starting. On the stage, the set for Cymbaline.
Ashland offers more than drama. It also sports a rare spring that produces lithia water, a naturally occurring earthly beverage that contains lithium and allegedly has great health benefits. Hmmm...perhaps related to the psychiatric benefits of lithium? In the plaza near Lithia Park, behind the theaters, a set of fountains bubbles endlessly with lithia water.
Apparently, lithia water hasn't won everyone over. I watched as a teenage girl had a few good slurps, made a face, and went over to a nearby ordinary drinking fountain. "I want some regular water now," she said. Maybe she doesn't need the same lithia benefits the rest of us might appreciate.
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