“Dave, on our way to Portland, I’d like to scatter my mother’s ashes on the Shakespeare stage in Ashland”
“You what, Michelle?”
“You heard me. My mom adored Shakespeare. I’d like to scatter her ashes at a place she loved.”
I first visited the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) back in my 20s. As an English major, I found the experience to be quite delightful. Here was a recreation of an Elizabethan stage – in Oregon! –where I could attend excellent renditions of the Bard’s greatest plays without flying all the way to London or Stratford-upon-Avon.
A regional repertory theater founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer, the OSF is actually quite a bit more than just Shakespeare. Between five and eleven plays are offered in daily rotation, six days a week, in its three theaters. During the festival’s 6-month run, you can attend 800-850 matinees and evening performances, ranging from classic to contemporary plays. On my first visit, I recall seeing a very modern version of The Merchant of Venice, with the characters dressed in sleek leather outfits straight out of the Matrix. Cool!
It wasn’t until much later, however, on my second visit to Ashland, that I was charged with fulfilling my friend Michelle’s secret, almost-Shakespearean mission: scatter her mom’s ashes – on the main, Elizabethan stage!
Thankfully, this didn’t have to happen during an actual performance!
Along with our two friends, Wade and Elise, Michelle and I book a guide morning tour of the theater. Our tour leader takes us all around the venue, explaining in detail how a play might be staged in Shakespeare’s time. We sit in the orchestra seats. We sit in the balcony. And finally, we step onto the stage itself.
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! I pull Michelle aside and ask:
“Have you got the ashes?”
“Yes, in this jar”
“Are you going to do it?”
“I don’t know. I can’t just toss them on the wooden stage. The actors will slip – on Mom!”
“Well, what are you going to do then?”
“I think I’m just going to toss them into this planter. Close enough!”
Which is exactly what she does.
Here’s hoping that Michele’s mom is enjoying her private box seats at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. (If the bushes in the planter don’t block her view, that is.)
(What is our responsibility to the dead? Quite a lot, I should think. Do I believe ghosts and specters are actually watching our every move, waiting to see if we fulfill their last wishes? Meh. I’m not a big believer in poltergeists. But I do think we should keep our word whenever we agree to do something, especially when it comes to the wishes of people nearing death. Chances are their last request is something they’ve thought about for a really long time. It’s infused with longing, regret and nostalgia. If we agree to take on such a challenge, we should actually carry it out. Out of respect, yes, but also to demonstrate to ourselves that, no matter how uncomfortable we feel, we do what we say we’re going to do. Good karma carries forward! If you could be sure your last wishes would be honored, what final mission would you have someone do for you?)