Her parents wanted her to become a doctor but Rosa Joshi had other ideas; now she’s OSF’s associate artistic director

By Jim Flint for Ashland.news

Rosa Joshi was supposed to be a doctor and get a steady job with a reliable income. But a love of Shakespeare, sparked by a reading of “The Tempest” when she was in a Kuwait secondary school, led her in a different direction.

Today she is the associate artistic director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

“It was a huge disappointment to my parents that I did not go to med school,” she said. “As economic immigrants who wanted to create a better life for their children, it must have been devastating to think that I was entering what was in their minds such an unstable career.”

Joshi’s father was an orthopedic surgeon and her mother raised a family in multiple countries and homes.

“It is a testament to their love and belief in me that they supported my decision to become an artist. Now they are hugely proud of me and the work I do,” she said.

She credits her secondary school teacher, Phil Clymer, for bringing theater to life for her.

“I remember learning how the text told you what was going on physically in the scene without any stage directions,” she said. “It seemed like magic to me.”

He also helped her understand how the sound of words fed the meaning.

“It’s where I learned what poetic devices were and how they uncovered emotion and action,” she said.

Born in Kathmandu

Joshi was born in Kathmandu, left when she was 3, lived in England, Scotland and Kuwait, and came to the U.S. for university. She has lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Washington, California and now Oregon.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and theater at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and an MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Along the way she was professor of theater at Seattle University for 22 years, and served as guest faculty at the University of San Diego, Cornish College for the Arts, Hong Kong University and Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.

She is a co-founder (2006) of upstart crow collective in Seattle, a company dedicated to producing classical works with casts of women and nonbinary people.

Having directed in four previous seasons at OSF, Joshi this year is the dramaturg for “Macbeth,” opening March 29 at the Angus Bowmer Theatre, with preview performances on selected dates through Wednesday, March 27. She will direct “Coriolanus,” opening July 27 at the Thomas Theatre with previews beginning July 23.

She was first invited to OSF by former Artistic Director Bill Rauch to direct “Henry V” in 2018.

“So much was satisfying about that experience — how welcome I felt and how committed to the artistry and storytelling everyone was,” she said.

She was impressed by how diverse the cast was. Out of 12 actors, 10 were people of color.

“I had not experienced that ever in any play, never mind a Shakespeare play,” she said. “And to have that experience at a major regional theater was hugely significant.”

Biggest OSF challenge

While that play will always be special to her, the most challenging and rewarding experience at OSF was directing “Bring Down the House” in 2020.

“I got to bring the work of my company, upstart crow collective, to a major national theater and direct a rarely produced epic political war play.”

It encompassed everything that she loves about making theater and directing Shakespeare especially.

“The two-part adaptation featured taiko drumming and a rotating cast of formidable, brilliant women and nonbinary people,” she said. “It engaged the imagination with abstract staging and epic storytelling, and broke open who these plays can speak to and who gets to tell these stories on stage. It was really a dream come true.”

“Bring Down the House” saw the stage light of four performances before it was shut down by the pandemic.

An extensive career journey

Her journey as a director has included several notable experiences. Among them were internships at the Juilliard School and Williamstown (Mass.) Theatre Festival (WTF), stage managing and assistant directing off-Broadway for four years before going to grad school, a stint as a directing fellow at WTF, and self-producing her own work in New York City.

She moved to Seattle after grad school and began working at small independent theaters. Her first professional gig there was “Twelfth Night” at New City Theater.

“I did everything,” she said. “I directed it, produced it, designed and built it, wrote the press release, designed and produced the poster. So, producing has always been a big part of my identity as a director.”

She joined Northwest Asian American Theatre in 1997 as a producer and eventually as interim artistic director. In 2000, she joined the faculty of Seattle University, where she became a tenured full professor of theater and also served as chair of the department of performing arts and arts leadership.

History as teacher

Joshi has had an ongoing interest in Shakespeare’s history plays. For that reason, she is especially pleased to have the opportunity to direct “Coriolanus.”

Why are people fascinated with looking back at history, especially at a history that is not directly ours?

“I think it’s because these plays reflect on and teach us about our current historical moments,” she said.

“Something I’m always thinking about in these plays is the character of our leaders. We need to examine who is leading us, what is motivating them, and why they make the decisions they do. For me, these political war plays of Shakespeare confront those questions.”

Joshi is excited to work with OSF’s performing company.

“Part of my role is company development, and I love working with actors,” she said. “That will be very fulfilling.”

“I’m also excited to be part of (OSF Artistic Director) Tim Bond’s vision for the future of the company,” she added. “It’s a real honor to be working for such an inspirational leader who has such a deep connection to this company and this community.”

For more information about OSF’s 2024 plays and to purchase tickets, go to osfashland.org.

Curtain Call is a periodic column profiling people involved with the Rogue Valley performing arts community. Reach writer Jim Flint at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.