NPR reporting on Oregon theater death threats prompt local and national response

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/27/ [login to see] /npr-reporting-on-oregon-theater-death-threats-prompt-local-and-national-response
When Nataki Garrett began to receive death threats early this year, she said her impulse was to retreat.

"When this first happened, I actually tried to isolate myself," said the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) artistic director in an interview with NPR. "The act of threatening is supposed to make you feel isolated. And it does."

But isolation isn't an option when you run one of the country's oldest and biggest non-profit theater companies.

So, a few months ago, OSF hired a private security detail to ensure Garrett's safety when out in public in Ashland, Ore. That's where OSF, which was founded in 1935, is based, and it's been Garrett's home since she took the high-profile job in 2019. "I can't go for a walk unless I let my security detail know and I plan a route," Garrett said. "It has completely upended my life."

The company said for security reasons it cannot divulge specifics about the death threats. But what was happening to Garrett was an open secret in Ashland for months – an escalation of the professional critiques and personal attacks the artistic director said she regularly faced since joining OSF. "In my first three months, I was called a "Black bitch" and followed home," Garrett said. "I had to have my housing relocated."