Shakespeare in Performance: Person

Angus L. Bowmer

ANGUS L. BOWMER, Founder and Producing Director of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, has been an essential force in the organization's steady growth from a small civic event to a theatre of international recognition. From the origination of the idea through the trials of expansion, he has maintained a dynamic association with all phases of the Festival. During this same period he has:\served as Professor of Drama at Southern Oregon College, pioneered in the organization of combined college-community theatre production, served on the Board of Directors of the Northwest Drama Conference and as Vice President of the National Association of Community Theatres, and produced in Ashland the professional Vining Repertory, a successful modern repertory theatre. Mr. Bowmer's contribution to the theatre was marked this spring when the Ford Foundation awarded him a $10,000 grant for the continuation of his Shakespearean studies and as additional assistance in the formation of experienced acting companies. Only ten American directors received this honor. In February, Mr. Bowmer produced Oregon's 100th "Birthday Party" at the State Capitol in Salem, an impressive production that officially launched the State's Centennial celebration.

contributor information not available — Added 2008-11-14

ANGUS L. BOWMER, Founder and Producing Director of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, has been the vital force in the organizations steady growth from a small civic event to a theatre of international recognition. It was his creative inspiration and work which culminated in the Festivals birth in 1935. He is a Professor of Drama at Southern Oregon College and is on the Board of Directors of the Northwest Drama Conference. A life fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters, Mr. Bowmer is a frequent lecturer on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan theatre. The Ford Foundation honored Mr. Bowmer with a grant for continuation of his Shakespeanian research via a six-month study of Shakespearean production in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Mr. Bowmer produced the Vining Repertory Theatre season in Ashland and has been honored by the University of Oregon with its award for Distinguished Service. His directing and acting have gained for him wide recognition. Especially noteworthy is his interpretation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice seen on the Festival stage in eight different productions.

contributor information not available — Added 2008-11-14

Angus L. BOWMER, Founder and Producing Director of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, has been a key factor in the theatre's development since its beginning in 1935. From the origination of the idea through the trials of establishment and growth, Mr. Bowmer has maintained a dynamic association with all phases of the Festival. During this period he has also served as Professor of Drama at Southern Oregon College, pioneering in the organization of combined college and community theatre production, and as producer in Ashland of the Vining Repertory, a successful professional modern repertory theatre. At the University of Washington, as a student of B. Iden Payee, his enthusiasm for Shakespearean staging in the Elizabethan style was first aroused, leading eventually to Ashland's truly unique production method. Founding and furthering the Festival is probably Mr. Bowmers signal contribution to the Theatre, but he has also been active through the years as a director and actor. His numerous characterizations here include Hamlet, Shylock, Falstaff, and many striking appearances in such challenge small parts as Justice Silence in Henry IV Part 2. Mr. Bowmer has served on the Board of Directors of the Northwest Drama Conference and as Vice President of the National Association of Community Theatres.^

contributor information not available — Added 2008-11-14

ANGUS L. BOWMER, Founder and Producing Director of the Festival, is also Professor of Drama at Southern Oregon College. Born in Bellingham, Washington, Mr. Bowmer attended Bellingham Normal School, working his way by alternating a year of study with a year of teaching school. He transferred to the University of Washington, where he obtained his Bachelor degree, and, while earning his Masters degree, studied under B. Iden Payne, who first fired him with enthusiasm for Elizabethan staging of Shakespeare. While his founding and nurturing of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival will probably stand always as his greatest contribution to the American Theatre, Mr. Bowmer also pioneered in organizing combined college and community theatre productions and in forming in Ashland a professional winter repertory company, whose successful career was ended only by the destruction of the theatre by fire. Mr. Bowmer has served on the Board of Directors of the Northwest Drama Conference

contributor information not available — Added 2008-11-14

ANGUS L. BOWMER is the Founder and Producing Director of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. It was his creative inspiration and effort which brought about the Festivals 1935 birth and its amazing and continuing growth. As a student of B. Iden Payne at the University of Washington, he began to develop an enthusiasm for Elizabethan staging styles. It was this active interest in returning Shakespeares plays to the kind of stage for which they were written that led eventually to Ashland^s unique production method and to its present fame in the field. Dr. Bowmer, a Professor of Drama at Southern Oregon College, has made recent appearances as guest lecturer, director, and performer at Portland State College and Oregon State University. Honored by the University of Oregon with its Award for Distinguished Service and saluted in the spring of 1965 by the Oregon State Legislature, Dr. Bowmer has received an honorary degree from the University of Portland,

contributor information not available — Added 2008-11-14