Oregon Shakespeare Festival Launches Arts Management Fellowship

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has announced the creation of the Paul Nicholson Arts Management Fellowship, in honor of the 33-year career of OSF Executive Director Emeritus, Paul Nicholson. The fellowship is part of OSF's FAIR (Fellowships, Apprenticeships, Internships and Residencies) Experience Program, which provides more than 50 professional development opportunities annually.

FAIR Experience Manager Sharifa Johka said: "The Nicholson Fellowship will serve as an excellent example of OSF's commitment to extend opportunities to a diverse and dynamic cadre of professionals. By creating and expanding opportunities of access at the highest levels of our organization, it further supports FAIR's mission of inclusion and equity, both within OSF and throughout the field of American theater. These are principles that Paul Nicholson supported and I look forward to honoring that legacy."

This seven-month fellowship is designed to provide a career-enrichment opportunity to an outstanding professional who is poised to use the experience to launch a career in arts management and/or is positioned to use this experience to bolster an existing career as an arts leader. The chosen Fellow will work with OSF Executive Director Cynthia Rider and will be tasked to coordinate and lead complex projects that include multiple administrative departments.

"I look forward to supporting a unique experience in theatre management for the first Nicholson Arts Fellow," Rider said, "and I am equally excited about what the fellow will give to OSF. We know from our experience with FAIR that the aspiring professionals who come to OSF bring great vitality and fresh perspectives to our work. Paul Nicholson mentored and supported the development of so many dedicated theatre professionals during his career, and I am privileged to see the legacy of his impact on the field continue through this fellowship named in his honor."

Artistic Director Bill Rauch added: "I feel fortunate to have worked alongside and learned from Paul Nicholson in my first six years as artistic director. Paul is one of the greats in our field, an ambitious and brilliant man who leads with an open heart, huge curiosity and a tremendous love of our art form. I cannot imagine a more meaningful way to honor his ongoing legacy than to offer young theatre managers this opportunity for deep engagement with the complex and committed administrative side of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival."

OSF's FAIR Experience Program is committed to diversity and inclusion, to providing access to diverse candidates from around the world, and to achieving equity within OSF and in American theatre. FAIR participants receive training in technical and leadership development skills because the program expects participants to be the future leaders in the field. Individuals new to theater or with a history in the art form are encouraged to participate. One need not be a student to apply.

The fellowship will begin March 31, 2015 and will conclude on Nov 8, 2015. The deadline to apply is February 1, 2015. For more information, visit our website at www.osfashland.org/FAIR or email fair@osfashland.org.

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