The University of Colorado Boulder today announced the hiring of Timothy Orr as producing artistic director of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.
Orr has been serving as interim director since February 2013 and was hired at the conclusion of a nationwide search for a permanent director.
Orr has been with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival as a performer since 2007 and joined the staff as the associate producing director in 2011.
Steven R. Leigh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which oversees the festival, said Orr was selected from an “outstanding” pool of applicants.
“I’m very pleased with the level of national interest in our festival,” Leigh said. “We’re delighted that Tim Orr will be continuing in the role of producing artistic director, and we look forward to building on our successes at CSF.”
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a professional theater company under the auspices of CU-Boulder. The festival was launched in 1958 and is one of a relative few companies to have performed the entire Shakespearean canon. It is the 2nd-oldest U.S. theater company dedicated to Shakespeare.
On Orr’s watch, ticket sales for the 2013 season rose nearly 10% from 2012, and revenue was up by 18%. It was the first time ticket sales had risen over the previous year in five years. Also in 2013, CSF produced its first profitable season since 2006. So far this year, advance ticket sales are double those of this time last year.
Orr also raised $75,000 to replace the decades-old and sometimes-failing stage lights in the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre. The new energy-efficient lights will cut electricity use by 25% and will enhance CSF’s artistic capabilities. “This summer, audiences will experience a new world of light and beauty that will illuminate our stages for decades to come,” Orr said.