In August 2019, Nataki Garrett assumed the artistic directorship of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a premiere regional theatre that has served as a launching pad for such recent works as Paula Vogel鈥檚 Indecent, Lynn Nottage鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning Sweat, and the Robert Schenkkan dramas All the Way and The Great Society. Having previously served as associate dean at CalArts, Garrett continues to live by her philosophy as an educator: Being at the top isn鈥檛 about transmitting mastery, but discovering how one can be of service.
As one of the few women of color in leadership roles in the American theatre, this idea of service includes fighting the kinds of biases Garrett has faced her entire career. 鈥淚 believe my role is to be a ladder,鈥� says Garrett. 鈥淧art of what I鈥檓 doing here is to provide a sturdy platform, a foundation for the next generation of theatre artists.鈥�
One of the reasons Garrett was attracted to OSF is that the theatre, previously under the leadership of Bill Rauch, already has a foundation of equity, diversity, and inclusion. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to be codified,鈥� says the artistic director. 鈥淚 can have my own ideas about how to move through those tenets and I can place the kind of pressure that I feel is important, because they鈥檝e been doing this for so long. They鈥檙e prepared for a greater deal of complexity.鈥� This baseline allows Garrett to have an expansive artistic vision when it comes to diversity and inclusion鈥攕he鈥檚 able to focus on the things she鈥檚 passionate about, such as inviting younger theatregoers to fall in love with theatre.
鈥淭heatre wasn鈥檛 created in a segregated space; the commodification of theatre has segregated it鈥攅specially generationally,鈥� says Garrett. 鈥淚f we want to shift that, we have to shift our mindset.鈥� At OSF, she loves to observe high school audiences and see how their experience of a show impacts the older theatregoers in the crowd. Garrett hopes audiences engage cross-generationally, enthusiastically and frequently. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so OK to engage. Or even just feel each other鈥檚 energy and breath together. To get out of this cocoon,鈥� says Garrett. 鈥淲e鈥檝e spent 50 years privatizing that moment, making it a singular, forced perspective.鈥�
Garrett鈥檚 vision doesn鈥檛 stop there. In the next few years, she plans to push technology-driven initiatives, like the launch of a digital archive and an OSF app. She鈥檚 also developing a residency for artists across different mediums as well as forging an alliance of West Coast theatres. As she marches toward her one-year anniversary, Garrett continues to think about OSF鈥檚 expansion and catalyzing larger shifts in the American theatre.
