Please join me in welcoming Tim Bond as OSF’s new Artistic Director!

Dear OSF community,

As some of you may know, Tim is a familiar face and friend of OSF. Last year, he directed August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned here, and long before that, he served as Associate Artistic Director for OSF for 11 seasons, from 1996 to 2007. He has also maintained a home here in Ashland—so in every sense of the word, this is a homecoming for Tim. He will be joining us in his new role on September 1. 

Tim has been serving as the Artistic Director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley since 2020. In addition to his work for OSF, his recent credits include the acclaimed productions of Gem of the Ocean (TheatreWorks), The Children (Seattle Repertory Theatre), and Pass Over (A Contemporary Theatre). He is an internationally known director and educator with past leadership roles as Producing Artistic Director at Syracuse Stage, Artistic Director at Seattle Group Theatre, and full Professor and Head of the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington School of Drama. 

“I am honored to return to OSF to serve as Artistic Director during these challenging times. I care deeply about this company and the Ashland community, and will be devoting my immediate focus on restoring, healing, and reinvigorating this national artistic treasure as it embarks on its 89th season.”
–Tim Bond

I also wanted to announce that Associate Artistic Director and Director of Artistic Programming Evren Odcikin will serve as Interim Artistic Director through September 15, allowing an overlap with Tim’s start date. The Board of Directors is immensely grateful to Evren for stepping up so efficiently and effectively to keep the artistic work at the Festival on an even keel and at our customary high levels of excellence during the current transition period. He has exerted considerable efforts to ensure that the artists, crews and staff are well-supported as the 2023 season continues to unfold. He has been a steady presence with audiences, donors, and partners since he started at OSF, but especially in the last two months. We are most fortunate to have him as our Interim Artistic Director during this transitional period.

Thank you, as always, for your support—without which we could not have made it this far. I am hopeful Tim’s leadership and artistic vision can help us reach OSF’s 90th anniversary and usher in another nine decades of unparalleled theatremaking.

Sincerely,
Diane Yu 
OSF Board President