The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has announced that it has received a donation of $4.5 million from a group of donors and will rename its New Theater as the Thomas Theatre, in honor of the late longtime OSF Development Director Peter D. Thomas.
The donation comes from a group comprised of The Goatie Foundation, Roberta and David Elliott, and Helen and Peter Bing and answers a challenge issued when the lead donor for the construction of the New Theatre passed on the opportunity to name the theater, requiring only a significant donation from another donor.
The gift will go to support the OSF Artistic Opportunity Fund as well as the creation of a new rehearsal center housed in the current OSF production building in downtown Ashland. This center will be named in honor of theater designer Richard L. Hay, a 55-year veteran of the company and executive director William Patton, who died in January 2011.
