DESCRIPTION
Position Overview:
Your primary responsibilities are to ensure that the half of OSF productions and their respective artistic teams assigned to you by the Properties Manager have all their Prop needs fully supported as well as providing support for additional company projects as needed each season. You are responsible for the acquisition of all props and shop materials needed to achieve that goal. You are expected to do so within the schedule and with the budget you develop in collaboration with, and under the constraints provided by, the Properties Manager. You will distill information from artistic into actionable tasking for Prop Artisans. You鈥檒l collaborate with the Properties Manager to maintain and develop a positive and productive shop culture.
All OSF employees are expected to respect diverse ideas, races, genders, sexualities, abilities, cultures, and religions, contribute to working in an anti-racist social justice theater, and value Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA).
Organizational Background
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) was founded in 1935 in Ashland, OR, and has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned theatre arts organization that presents a rotating repertory season of up to 10 plays and musicals, including illuminating interpretations of Shakespeare, other enduring classics, and new works. OSF productions have been presented on Broadway, internationally, and at regional, community, and high school theatres across the country. OSF received the 1983 Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and is one of the largest nonprofit theatres in the nation with three stages, including an outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre.
Statement of Purpose
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival creates world-class theatre, revealing our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, and inspiring a love of our art form for current and future generations.
Company Values
- We are committed to working toward inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, creating a space of belonging for all audiences and employees鈥攖hrough concrete actions and systemic improvements.
- We nurture and support our artists, attracting and retaining diverse, innovative talent across the organization.
- We believe in the transformational power of collaborative artmaking and performance.
- We recognize the importance of responsible stewardship of resources and sustainable business, financial, and environmental practices.
- We serve the public good and engage with and respect our community of artists, audiences, staff, local citizens, patrons, donors, and the greater theatre community worldwide.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions**):
- Ensure all OSF productions and their respective Artistic teams assigned to you have all their Prop needs fully supported to the best of OSF capabilities.
- Coordinate and develop relationships with the props staff to ensure timely and efficient workflow of projects.
- Models and supports the IDEA values of OSF by:
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- Demonstrating inclusive behavior and creating an environment of belonging.
- Maintaining a safe and anti-racist working environment
- Recognizing micro-aggressions and interrupting othering behaviors.
- Manage the delivery and transfer of props to theatres and rehearsal halls, and back to the shop for repairs and notes. This means comfortably driving company vehicles including a box truck.
- Ensure that your assigned shows scenery gets dressed for tech and all performances in line with the shows artistic vision while remaining under the constraints of the Rep and its necessary changeovers.
- Maintain clear, collaborative, and abundant communication with the Properties Manager
- Assist Properties Manager in developing and maintaining daily work lists and build calendar.
- Assist in organizing and distributing specific show information to the properties crew.
- Strikes and restores props when rehearsals and productions end and packages, labels, and archives props for productions which may be remounted.
- Track prop shop expenses in conjunction with Properties Manager.
- Help lead the development of a positive shop culture, that ensures a safe, efficient work climate for artisans to work happily at the highest possible level.
- Help support the staff as they strive to learn new skills, techniques, and aspire for promotion and craft mastery.
- Work on specific projects as assigned.
- Monitor and self-regulate appropriate working hours. Report to Properties Manager when you believe more than 52 hours are required in a week.
- Adjust schedule to align with necessary tech hours. Note that this means switching to a evening schedule for the weeks of the year that we are teching in the Elizabethan Theatre.
Other Duties and Responsibilities:
- Repairs and maintains properties shop spaces, tools and equipment.
- Completes research and shops online as requested.
- Attends company, department, shop meetings, I.D.E.A. training and safety trainings as assigned.
- Pick up and deliver supplies
- Assist in prop Rentals by: Pulling, restocking, and answering emails.
- Engage with OSF patrons
- Support Marketing and Development efforts.
- Mentor colleagues as requested.
- Performs other related duties as assigned by managers.
Supervision Received:
Properties Manager
Qualifications & Skills:
REQUIRED:
Education: Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Theatre Arts or equivalent experience.
Work Experience: Minimum three years鈥� experience working as a Props Professional, managing Props/Scenic fabrication staff.
Physical Ability:
Must be able to: Lift and move materials and equipment weighing up to 75 pounds, wear fall arrest harnesses, wear respirator, frequently lift, load/unload vehicles and move furniture, regularly squat and maintain position while assembling projects, regularly crawl and kneel while assembling projects, regularly reach above shoulders to assemble overhead projects, regularly climb and work from ladders and personnel lifts, occasionally climb vertical ladders, stand and walk for up to 8 hours.
Shop Structure: our shop is headed by the Properties Manager supported by an Associate Properties Manager, a Principal Props Artisan and 5 Prop artisans.
Associate Props Manager Essential Skills and Qualifications
- Ability to communicate in an efficient and clear manner to ensure understanding of the work needed to support OSF productions.
- Sewing Skills including experience with hand sewing, home and industrial machines, using a Serger.
- Carpentry skills including experience with all basic hand tools, chop saws, table saws, routers, belt sanders and all standard shop tools.
- upholstery skills.
- Able to read a construction drawing.
- Skills in fabricating paper props including experience with Photoshop, Word, Illustrator, using printers, plotters, vinyl cutters, and using a variety of different printing materials.
- Basic electrical skills including making simple props light up.
- Scenic painting skills including experience painting props and painting wood to look like wood.
- Basic carving and sculpture skills with a variety of materials.
- General crafting skills.
- Finish skills, a full understanding of what a finished product looks like. Not leaving splintered rough edges, loose threads, or obvious visible defects.
- Skill in working both independently and collaboratively with members of all departments to ensure proper development, completion, and installation of props.
- Knowledge of period and style.
- Ability to maintain a positive work environment by communicating and behaving in a positive manner with all artists and staff from a variety of experience levels and backgrounds.
- Able to support the Principal Props Artisan in the construction and execution of Props
- leadership abilities, such as navigating difficult conversations with employees, managing disappointment and frustration with last minute changes in direction, establishing firm fair instructions when artisans are in dispute, or being the driving force behind a positive shop culture.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills.
- Good organization and time management.
Special Hours Requirements:
Whenever needed to ensure primary duties are accomplished. For Elizabethan Tech this means switching to a evening schedule.
PREFERRED: CNC programming or 3D Printing knowledge and experience.
Salary range: $62,400 - $78,000
DURATION
Sep 1, 2025 -
SALARY
$62,400.00 – $78,000.00
per year
