Oregon Shakespeare Experience

Join us fall term 2023 for this exciting trip!

What is it?

Are you interested in deepening your understanding of Shakespeare’s works? Would you like to travel to beautiful Ashland, Oregon September 14-16, 2023 for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) and enjoy a weekend of plays, discussions and other exclusive OSF experiences, including a backstage tour?

CGCC Community Education Program is facilitating the trip to the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. 

Important Dates

  • Application Deadline: August 14, 2023
  • Mandatory Orientation for OSF Field Trip: Tuesday, September 12, 2023, 5:00-6:00 pm at HRC (Zoom or In Person)
  • Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) Field Trip Dates: Arrive to Ashland on Thursday, September 14th  between 3:00-4:00 p.m. Leave Ashland on Saturday, September 16th at 4:00 p.m.

Field Trip Itinerary

Course Payment Information

  • Cost: $349 for double room/ $399 for single room
  • Course fee payment must be paid in full at the time of registration, on or before August 14th, 2023
  • Refunds, minus Course Storm fees, will be issued prior to August 14th, 2023.

No refunds will be issued after August 14th, 2023

Registration Process

  1. Apply online here on or before August 14th, 2023. 
  2. Register for either single or double accommodations at CGCC Course Storm on or before August 14th, 2023. 

What plays will we see?

Links lead to information from OSF about each play:

Romeo and Juliet - One of the most famous stories of young love explodes with intense passion in this contemporary production--as two star-crossed lovers from two different families and backgrounds sacrifice all to be together. Artistic Director Nataki Garrett sets her first Shakespeare production at OSF on the West Coast and explores the financial and class divisions of our current time through this beloved tale. 

Twelfth Night  - Shakespeare's hilarious yet heartbreaking tale of unrequited love takes over the Allen Elizabethan stage! A ship is wrecked on the rocks: Viola is washed ashore but her twin brother Sebastian is lost. Determined to survive on her own, she steps out to explore a new land. In a production by Dawn Monique Williams (The Merry Wives of Windsor) inspired by early Blues and Jazz greats like Bessie Smith, music is the food of love and nobody is quite what they seem. 

Rent- In this Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, a group of young artists fights for justice and visibility during the AIDS crisis, drawing strength from the beautiful bonds of friendship and chosen family. With its profound message of joy and hope in the face of uncertainty, this iconic musical reminds us to measure our lives with what truly matters--loves. 

OSF Activities

  • OSF Backstage Tour
  • Twelfth Night Discussion facilitated by an OSF company member
  • Romeo and Juliet discussion facilitated by instructor, Katy Jablonski 

Where will we stay?

Lodging at Southern Oregon University (SOU): Cox Hall on Southern Oregon University Campus. See Room Layouts here.
All rooms are double occupancy

Included in Instructional Fee Not Included in Instructional Fee
Tickets for OSF performances Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner - Friday and Saturday
Admission to OSF Discussion/Student Behind the Curtain Tour/Instructor Lecture Transportation to Ashland
2 nights lodging at SOU Insurance
Dinner Thursday, September 14th at 5:00pm  Spending money for incidentals

Instructor Bio

Katy Jablonski has been an instructor at Columbia Gorge Community College for nine years. She has taught many courses from Pre-college to Writing 122. In 2016, she finished her MA of Literature studies during a study abroad experience at Lincoln College in Oxford, and was awarded her degree from Middlebury College’s Breadloaf School of English. While in Oxford, she studied under renowned Shakespearean scholars Helen Barr and Emma Smith. She was able to share her knowledge and insight about Shakespeare studies with CGCC students by creating two Shakespeare courses that covered the early and later plays. This year to align with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival she has combined the two courses and created ENG 203: Introduction to Shakespeare. She is excited to make  Shakespeare more accessible by providing this opportunity to see his plays performed in Ashland!