Gabriella Calicchio is The New Executive Director For Oregon Shakespeare Festival
ASHLAND, Ore — After searching for two years that saw fundraising concerns followed by leadership changes for the almost 90-year-old Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland, the company announced on Tuesday that a new executive director has finally been hired.
New Executive Director Announced By Oregon Shakespeare Theatre
In the OSF announcement of a new executive director, the production company indicated that Gabriella Calicchio is taking the place of Tyler Hokama- the interim executive director since June 2023. Calicchio has wanted to work for OSF since spending her honeymoon in Oregon over two decades ago.
OSF Artistic Director Tim Bond in a statement Calicchio’s extensive background in the arts and her passion for theatre- combined with her infectious spirit make her the ideal OSF partner.
Selected after a national search, Calicchio has over 25 years of experience in the arts, including as managing director of Minneapolis’ nonprofit Children’s Theatre Company, an organization she led through the 2008 economic recession.
From the Bay Area, Calicchio was formerly the executive director and founder of the Marin Cultural Association and also worked as an executive at other theater and cultural institutions which include The Walt Disney Family Museum.
Having spent the last decade supporting the arts in a government role as the director of cultural services and executive director of the Marin Cultural Association in California, Calicchio is keen to be back at the heart of an active theater company.
With several staff departures and layoffs within the Ashland theater company, the new executive director will spend the next few months working closely with Hokama and senior staff while familiarizing herself with the role.
New Leadership At OSF
David Schmitz, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s previous executive director, stepped down early last year as the company faced major financial difficulties. Like several other theater companies post-pandemic, OSF has struggled with funding and declining audiences.
Calicchio said she anticipated improvement and had noticed patrons and donors becoming more excited about returning to the scene when looking into the position. She had already looked at OSF’s financials.
She said things look healthier than in 2023 when OSF was still recovering from a pandemic-era drop-off in attendance. She plans to make getting intimate with the finances a priority to understand what is available, where the company needs to go, and the plans it needs to put in place to get there.
Calicchio said the company raised more than $2.7 million in two emergency fundraisers in 2023 which allowed the year’s season to continue as planned.
OSF is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2025 with a full lineup of shows and a return of a rotating repertory style of theater. She said, “My sense is that the organization is on an upward trajectory,” she said. “It’s right at the precipice of going over the top.”