OSF Executive Director steps down after 17 years.

Paul Nicholson of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival will leave after 17 years as its executive director in December 2012, the OSF said Friday.

Nicholson, who ran the company during a time of heady artistic and commercial growth, called the OSF "one of the premier theaters in the United States," but he said it was time to hand over the reins.

During his tenure, Nicholson saw the festival grow in membership from 2,000 to 18,000, expand its annual audience from 240,000 to 410,000 and increase the budget from $2.6 million to more than $30 million a year.