Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents 30th Annual DAEDALUS PROJECT

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival invites the public to its 30th annual Daedalus Project, a benefit for HIV/AIDS organizations. The 2017 Daedalus Project, themed "On a Wing and a Prayer: Witnessing 30 Years," includes a full day of fund-raising activities on Monday, Aug. 21, culminating in the Daedalus Play Reading of Cabaret and the Daedalus Variety Show, which are both likely to sell out.

Since the first Daedalus Project was organized by OSF actor and director James Edmondson in 1988, the event has raised over $1.7 million for local, regional, national and international HIV/AIDS organizations. In the last 30 years, the Daedalus Project has created a tradition of remembrance, celebration and collective action for OSF's company, community and audience.

"It's an honor to participate in 30 years of generous, talented theater makers collaborating to make change," said OSF Community Producer Claudia Alick, who is directing and producing the Daedalus Variety Show. "This year's celebration reaches back to the first Daedalus and looks forward to the future. We are thrilled to be a part of an event that helps so many."

Daedalus Project activities begin at 11 a.m. with the Daedalus Bake Sale (in the Angus Bowmer Theatre), the Daedalus 'Kids Care, Too" Lemonade Stand, Daedalus Info Faire (on the Bricks) and the Daedalus Arts and Treasures Sale (in the Thomas Theatre), which will include an "Oracle Table" hosted by actor Michele Mais. The Arts and Treasures Sale also features the final opportunity to bid on the always-popular Daedalus Bears, which are inspired by the season's plays. The artists in the OSF Costume Shop have decided to retire this tradition after years of lovingly and painstakingly crafting the bears. There will be no Daedalus 5K this year.

Actor Sara Bruner will direct the Daedalus Play Reading of the musical Cabaret. The performance will take place at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. Tickets are $35 and are available online or by calling the OSF Box Office at 800-219-8161.

The Daedalus Variety Show, which always sells out the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, is the main event of every Daedalus Project. Produced and directed by Claudia Alick and emceed by actor Christiana Clark, the event will be sign-language interpreted. The Daedalus Variety Show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 21; tickets are $40-$45 and are available online or by calling the OSF Box Office.

Sales of the Daedalus t-shirt, designed by Amanda Denbeck and printed by Chris Wapniarski at Rogue Print Shop, will begin Tuesday, Aug. 15, in "the Bricks" courtyard. The sales table will be open from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily through Aug. 21.

The annual Daedalus Project is made possible by the passion and generosity of OSF company members, our patrons and our local community. Among those contributing their time and talents this year are Doreen O'Skea, Susan Whitmore, Ted Deasy, Amanda Haverick, Laurena Mullins, Marc Friedman, Alice Ly, Michele Mais, Tamra Mathias, Tasia Simon, Betsy Krausnick, Nancy Rodriguez, Elijah Goodfriend, Noah Goodfriend, Yi Shostrom, Brooklyn Williams, Spencer Claus, Emily Ota, Kate Ashworth, Tomi Douglas, Annie Paul, Laura Coe, Carol Kimball, Cassondra Fetty, Jessica Carr and Benajah Cobb.

OSF artistic associate James Edmondson had the original idea for an HIV/AIDS fundraiser 30 years ago. OSF Artistic Director Emeritus Jerry Turner named the event the Daedalus Project after the story of Daedalus from Greek mythology. Daedalus and his son, Icarus, were imprisoned in a labyrinth by King Minos, and by crafting wings from wax and feathers, Daedalus created a way out of the maze.

Founded by Angus Bowmer in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned theatre arts organization that presents an eight-month season of up to 11 plays that include works by Shakespeare as well as a mix of classics, musicals, and world-premiere plays and musicals. OSF's play commissioning programs, which include American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle, have generated works that have been produced on Broadway, throughout the American regional theatre, and in high schools and community theatres across the country. The Festival draws attendance of more than 400,000 to approximately 800 performances every year and employs approximately 575 theatre professionals.

OSF invites and welcomes everyone, and believes the inclusion of diverse people, ideas, cultures and traditions enriches both our insights into the work we present on stage and our relationships with each other. OSF is committed to equity and diversity in all areas of our work and in our audiences.

OSF's mission statement: "Inspired by Shakespeare's work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory."

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