Angus L. Bowmer (September 25, 1904 – May 26, 1979) was the founder of the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 cen ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. During his tenure as artistic director, he produced all 37 of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's plays and performed 32 Shakespearean roles in 43 separate stagings.

Biography

Angus Livingston Bowmer was born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, on September 25, 1904. He was the only child of Charles C. Bowmer (born August 19, 1880, Nevada; died February 1967, Portland, Oregon) and Florence "Flora" Priest (born Dec 1880, Wisconsin; died June 5, 1958, Portland, Oregon).http://museum.bmi.net/Picnic%20People%20A.L/Bowmer,%20Wm.htm retrieved 2007-08-05 He moved with his family at least twice, living in

Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, Skagit County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and include ...

, in 1910 and

Oak Harbor, Washington Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915. History Oak Harbor - otherwise kn ...

, by 1920. He graduated from the Washington State Normal School at Bellingham (now

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

) in 1923.http://alumni.wwu.edu/AlumniRecognition/distinguished.shtml retrieved 2007-08-05 Bowmer attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in the 1930s, acting in at least two of its Shakespeare productions, ''

Love's Labor's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions a ...

'' and ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerni ...

'' under guest director

Ben Iden Payne Ben Iden Payne (September 5, 1881 – April 6, 1976), also known as B. Iden Payne, was an English actor, director and teacher. Active in professional theater for seventy years, he helped the first modern Repertory Theatre in the United Kingdom, was ...

, an Englishman whose ideas for neo-Elizabethan staging of Shakespeare's plays provided inspiration later in Bowmer's life as he began producing the plays that became the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In 1931, Bowmer was invited to become an instructor in English at Southern Oregon

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

, a predecessor to

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...

, in Ashland, Oregon. Bowmer married Gertrude Butler prior to enlisting in the Army July 20, 1942, where he served as a

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

. After serving his country and returning to Oregon, Bowmer organized theater activities in Ashland and continued teaching at the college until he retired in 1971. Bowmer befriended Fred C. Adams who came to Ashland to observe the festival's operations prior to Adams founding the

Utah Shakespearean Festival The Utah Shakespeare Festival is a theatrical festival that performs works by Shakespeare as their cornerstone. The Festival is held during the summer and fall on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, United States. Awar ...

in 1961. Bowmer remained active in the festival until his death in 1979. His wife, secretary, assistant, and festival hostess, Gertrude Butler Bowmer, died August 19, 1994.

Beginnings of the Shakespeare Festival

The remains of an old

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua bro ...

building in Ashland's

Lithia Park Lithia Park is the largest and most central park of Ashland, Oregon, United States. It consists of of forested canyonland around Ashland Creek, stretching from the downtown plaza up toward its headwaters near Mount Ashland. Its name originates fr ...

gave Bowmer the idea of staging Shakespeare plays on an outdoor Elizabethan stage. In 1935 he persuaded the government of Ashland to revive the tradition of

July 4th Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed ...

celebrations with an important addition: a Shakespearean Festival. The

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

helped construct a makeshift Elizabethan stage on the Chautauqua site and Bowmer, college students, teachers, and Ashland citizens mounted two plays,

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

and

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

, for three performances. Bowmer directed and played the roles of

Shylock Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'' (c. 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity form the climax of the ...

and Sir

Toby Belch Sir Toby Belch is a character in William Shakespeare’s ''Twelfth Night''. He is Olivia's uncle. Character Sir Toby is an ambiguous mix of high spirits and low cunning. He first appears in the play's third scene, when he storms onto the stage ...

. Several hundred people attended the First Annual Shakespearean Festival. When Bowmer died in 1979, the OSF had performed Shakespeare's entire canon twice.

Bibliography

*Bowmer, A. L. (1932). ''Andrew Jackson; an historical drama in nine scenes''. *Bowmer, A. L. (1933). ''Angus Bowmer scrapbook''. *Bowmer, A. L. (1934). ''Oregon diamond jubilee: official program''. .l: s.n.*Bowmer, A. L. (1975). ''As I remember, Adam: an autobiography of a festival''. Ashland: Oregon Shakespearean Festival Association. *Bowmer, A. L. (1978). ''The Ashland Elizabethan stage: its genesis, development, and use. Shreds and patches, chapbook 1''. Ashland, Or: Oregon Shakespearean Festival Association. *Bowmer, A. L. (1979). ''Acting and directing on the Ashland Elizabethan stage. Shreds and patches, chapbook 2''. Ashland, Or: Oregon Shakespearean Festival Association.

Awards

*1961, the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

''Distinguished Service Award''. *1964, ''Edith Knight Hill Memorial Award'', for outstanding contribution to Oregon, by Portland Professional Chapter

Theta Sigma Phi The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry. History Theta Sigma Phi The Association for Women in Communications began in 1909 as Theta Sigma Phi (), an ho ...

*1974, presidential appointee to the ''National Council of the Arts'' *1977, the First Annual ''Governor's Award for Significant Contributions to the Advancement of the Arts in Oregon'', a joint resolution by the

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

*2000, Western Washington University, ''Alumni of the Century''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowmer, Angus L. American theatre directors People from Ashland, Oregon Southern Oregon University faculty Western Washington University alumni 1904 births 1979 deaths Male actors from Oregon 20th-century American male actors