Bill Bowers (born April 16, 1959) is an American

mime artist A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a theatrical medium ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. As an actor, mime and educator, Bill has performed throughout the

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 territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and Asia. He is a Movement for Actors Instructor at NYU Tisch School for the Arts and also teaches at the

William Esper Studio The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is often referred to as the best-kno ...

and the Stella Adler Studio in NYC.

Early life

Bill was born in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork ...

and graduated from Montana's

Rocky Mountain College Rocky Mountain College (Rocky or RMC) is a private college in Billings, Montana. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. In fall 2013, the college had 1069 enrolled students. It is affiliated with the ...

with the Dean's Cup, President's Award, and was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

. After graduation, he headed east to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

where he continued his collegiate studies and earned an MFA from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

's prestigious

Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers. Mason Gross offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Theater, Digi ...

. In 2001 Bowers was awarded an Honorary Ph.D. from Rocky Mountain College, and was invited to give the Commencement speech in 2011. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his solo performances, and also named Artist of Eminence by the University of Wyoming in 2009. In 2011 Bill was awarded the Glidden Fellowship at Ohio University. Bill was named Artist in Residence at the All For One Theatre, and also at the Harold Clurman Center for New Works in Movement and Dance for 2015-16.

Career

Bowers appeared on Broadway as Zazu in Disney's ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'', and Leggett in ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...

''. After studying with the legendary mime

Marcel Marceau Marcel Marceau (; born Marcel Mangel; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", and he performed professionally worldw ...

, Bowers became a mime full time. Bill's autobiographical play ''It Goes Without Saying'', opened Off Broadway in 2006 at the

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Rattlestick Theater is a non-profit off-Broadway theater based in the West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional b ...

, and enjoyed a sold-out, extended run. Since that time ''It Goes Without Saying'' has been presented throughout the U.S, and has received numerous awards, including Best Production at the United Solo Festival, International Fresh Fruit Festival, and the Dallas/Fort Worth Critics Forum. In 2013, ''It Goes Without Saying'' received numerous five star reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh Scotland, and was rated an audience favorite in the festival. In 2014 Bill was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Thespis Festival in Kiel, Germany, one of the world's largest festivals. He continues to garner rave reviews and top honors at festivals in Estonia, Serbia, Macedonia, Norway, and Korea. His solo work, ''Beyond Words'', premiered in New York City in the Fall of 2011 a
Urban Stages
ref name=NYT /> and is now being presented throughout the U.S. ''Beyond Words'' also received strong reviews and was named Best Solo Performance in th
United Solo Festival
and the Best Encore Performance in 2015, as well as the International Fresh Fruit Festival. In November 2013, the show finished a short run in New York City at the Cherry Lane Theatre. ''Beyond Words'' was also featured in the New Masculinities Festival in NYC. In 2009 he premiered his ensemble play, ''Heyokah/Hokahey'' at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. ''Heyokah/Hokahey'' has also been produced in Colorado, Montana, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festivall in Scotland. Bill's original mime shows, ''Night Sweetheart'', ''Night Buttercup'' and ''Under A Montana Moon'', were produced Off Broadway and received critical raves. ''Under A Montana Moon'' has been performed all over the world, from Romania, to Macedonia, Japan and Norway. Bill has performed on the stages of Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, and the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. Bill's newest solo play, ''All Over The Map'', premiered Off Broadway in April 2016, produced by All For One Theatre. With director Scott Illingworth, he created an ensemble play inspired by the Dalton Trumbo novel, ''Johnny Got His Gun'', developed with the support of the Harold Clurman Center for New Works in New York City. ''Johnny Got His Gun'' was most recently produced by the NYU Tisch Graduate School of Acting. Bill is currently developing a new solo work for New York City Childrens Theatre, to premiere in 2019. His regional theater credits include The Berkshire Theater Festival, The Denver Center Theater,

Cincinnati Playhouse The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a regional theatre in the United States. It was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that p ...

, George Street Playhouse, Montana Rep, Two Rivers Theater, Paper Mill Playhouse.

Other work

Bowers can be seen in the feature film, ''

Two Weeks Notice ''Two Weeks Notice'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence and starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. Although critical response was mixed, the film was successful at the box office. Plot Lucy Kelso ...

'', starring Sandra Bullock and

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

. His television credits include '' The Meredith Vieira Show'', '' All My Children'', '' One Life to Live'', ''

Remember WENN ''Remember WENN'' is a comedy-drama television series that aired from 1996 to 1998 on the cable channel American Movie Classics. Created and written by Rupert Holmes (with music also by Holmes) and set at the fictional Pittsburgh radio station ...

'', '' Law & Order'', and Disney's ''Out of The Box''. While on Broadway, he was featured on ''

The Rosie O'Donnell Show ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on May 22, 2002. This talk sh ...

'', ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'', and the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s. The PBS News Hour featured a short documentary about Bill in 2017, as part of an ongoing series called Brief But Spectacular.

Personal life

Bowers is gay. He is married to costume designer and supervisor Michael Growler.

References

External links

Personal website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowers, Bill Male actors from Montana Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Living people American mimes Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development faculty People from Missoula, Montana Rocky Mountain College alumni Rutgers University alumni 1959 births