Oregon Shakespeare Festival Education Events
15 S. Pioneer Street, Ashland, OR 97520
About
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Education Events includes the solo show Smote This, described as a sharp and hilarious performance. In this production, actor Rodney Gardiner follows his own story as he attempts to abandon God after being devoutly raised as an undocumented Black boy in 1980s Miami. The piece contains profanity, sexual references, remembrances of being beaten as a child, and a comedic look at growing up in a very religious family, and has an approximate running time of 60 minutes with no intermission.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
• Schedule: Approximate running time of each performance is 60 minutes with no intermission.
• Price: 2026 tickets on sale now. Prices start at $31.
Smote This is described as humorous and poignant, focusing on loss and growing up as a Caribbean Black immigrant, and was received warmly by the community in 2024. In the show, Rodney Gardiner embodies himself at various ages, his family members, and other characters, both biographical and fanciful, with the story centered on legacy, belonging, faith, and fatherhood. The production moves between the worlds of an LA comedy club and the Black American church, the Turks and Caicos Islands of his childhood, the Miami of his adolescence, and the present time, and explores his personal history as an undocumented immigrant with a chronically ill father and a mother who supported the family as a domestic worker in the context of national history involving immigration, the war on drugs, racial injustice, and police brutality.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival offers a Study Guide, Prefaces, Post Show Talkbacks, and a Campus Tour connected to its productions. The organization states that it is committed to accessibility, recognizes the needs of persons with disabilities, and strives to make its facilities and productions accessible to all. The Thomas Theatre, where this production is staged, is outfitted with an elevator to the theatre level.
The leadership and creative team for this production includes Rodney Gardiner as Playwright and Performer; Raz Golden as Director; Alice Choo Risser as Costume Designer; Valerie Pope as Lighting Designer; Joshua Horvath as Sound Designer; Micah J. Stieglitz as Projection Designer; Paul James Martin as Properties Designer; Sarah Lozoff as Creative Consultant; U. Jonathan Toppo as Fight Director; Rocío Mendez as Intimacy Director; DeWanda Smith Soeder as Cultural Competency Consultant; Hal Day as Production Stage Manager; Vera Conrad as Production Assistant; Elia Livovich as FAIR Stage Management Assistant; Bettina Mueller-Tuescher as Lead Producer; Michael K. Maag as Production Manager; Liz Lanier as Support Producer; and Finlay Kuester and Chris Schweiger as Understudy Production Stage Managers. Staff credits note that “*” indicates a Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and “**” indicates an AEA Professional Theatre Intern.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a public charity as outlined in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The lead sponsor for this production is the Hitz Foundation, the production sponsor is Samuel Dakin and Skye Taplin Dakin, and the production partner is Bill and Holly Marklyn.
Last updated August 17, 2026.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
• Schedule: Approximate running time of each performance is 60 minutes with no intermission.
• Price: 2026 tickets on sale now. Prices start at $31.
Smote This is described as humorous and poignant, focusing on loss and growing up as a Caribbean Black immigrant, and was received warmly by the community in 2024. In the show, Rodney Gardiner embodies himself at various ages, his family members, and other characters, both biographical and fanciful, with the story centered on legacy, belonging, faith, and fatherhood. The production moves between the worlds of an LA comedy club and the Black American church, the Turks and Caicos Islands of his childhood, the Miami of his adolescence, and the present time, and explores his personal history as an undocumented immigrant with a chronically ill father and a mother who supported the family as a domestic worker in the context of national history involving immigration, the war on drugs, racial injustice, and police brutality.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival offers a Study Guide, Prefaces, Post Show Talkbacks, and a Campus Tour connected to its productions. The organization states that it is committed to accessibility, recognizes the needs of persons with disabilities, and strives to make its facilities and productions accessible to all. The Thomas Theatre, where this production is staged, is outfitted with an elevator to the theatre level.
The leadership and creative team for this production includes Rodney Gardiner as Playwright and Performer; Raz Golden as Director; Alice Choo Risser as Costume Designer; Valerie Pope as Lighting Designer; Joshua Horvath as Sound Designer; Micah J. Stieglitz as Projection Designer; Paul James Martin as Properties Designer; Sarah Lozoff as Creative Consultant; U. Jonathan Toppo as Fight Director; Rocío Mendez as Intimacy Director; DeWanda Smith Soeder as Cultural Competency Consultant; Hal Day as Production Stage Manager; Vera Conrad as Production Assistant; Elia Livovich as FAIR Stage Management Assistant; Bettina Mueller-Tuescher as Lead Producer; Michael K. Maag as Production Manager; Liz Lanier as Support Producer; and Finlay Kuester and Chris Schweiger as Understudy Production Stage Managers. Staff credits note that “*” indicates a Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and “**” indicates an AEA Professional Theatre Intern.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a public charity as outlined in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The lead sponsor for this production is the Hitz Foundation, the production sponsor is Samuel Dakin and Skye Taplin Dakin, and the production partner is Bill and Holly Marklyn.
Last updated August 17, 2026.
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