Vincent Dowling- CURRICULUM VITAE –SUMMARY

Vincent Dowling was born to Irish parents in Dublin on September 7^th, 1929. He is a Lifetime Associate Director of The Abbey Theatre, The National Theatre of Ireland, a former Artistic Director, later Producing Director in North America. He led the company on its first visits to the Soviet Union, Hong Kong, Brighton, Florence International Festivals, and, in 1990 the Abbey ’s first national tour of America in thirty- five years. Earlier, he served The Abbey Theatre from 1953 to 1976 as an actor, director, Deputy Artistic Director, and Director of the Experimental Theatre. From 1976 through 1984, he was Artistic and Producing Director of The Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Ohio where he directed, produced or acted in Shakespeare or other classical works. In 1977 he discovered Tom Hanks, brought him to GLSF, and gave him his Equity card. Tom returned for two more seasons, and credits Dowling with “teaching him everything he needed to know about the theatre” Vincent has, also, directed at a number of America’s leading professional resident theatres and in London’s West End. On three State occasions at President Reagan’s White House, as well as, in New York, Dublin and on Provincial tours he has performed his own One- Man Shows. Dowling presented the first ever production by an American company of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby in Chicago and Cleveland. He won an Emmy for his PBS TV production and direction of THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD. The cast was headed by Colm Meaney, Bairbre Dowling, Aideen O’Kelly, and Larry Gates. The music was by The Chieftains.

He has held Distinguished Visiting Professorships at The University of Missouri, Kansas City; Western Michigan University; California State University; Loyola University in Chicago; and The College of Wooster in Ohio. His extensive lecturing circuit includes political, religious, academic, and cultural venues. His public lecture-The Present Irish Agony- An Artist’s Perspective- on the history of the English presence in Ireland, including the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland, was published in PERSPECTIVES by William Jewell College in the 1973.

Dowling has received Honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts from John Carroll University in Ohio, Westfield State College in Massachusetts, and The College of Wooster. He was the first winner of the prestigious “Wild Geese” Award. Other honors include Loyola Mellon Humanitarian Award; The Cleveland Irish-American Archives Award, and The Cleveland Arts Award .

Dowling has had professional productions of his plays at Missouri Repertory Theatre -1974, ( his own version of Chekov’s Cherry Orchard), The Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, and The San Diego Old Globe - 1978 ( Do Me A Favorite*), The Miniature Theatre of Chester- 1996 ( The Upstart Crow), and directed his own adaptation of Lysistrata by Aristophanes at California State University in 1975. He has also written and performed his own One Man Plays- Wilde About Oscar, and the autobiographical-Another Actor at the White House and Playwrights, Poets, Pubs and Presidents.

Vincent frequently presents his own poetry and the poetry of others in public recitals. His autobiography ASTRIDE THE MOON published by Wolfhound Press was published in 2002 and Vincent is currently working on his second book due to be released by Kent State University Press in the Fall 2005.

He is the Founder and President of The Miniature Theatre of Chester, an Equity company in it’s twelfth season, and for a decade he served on The International Artistic Directorate of London’s Shakespeare Globe Theatre.

Vincent Dowling has devoted his professional life to the belief that live theatre is a need in the human condition. To serve that end, he has brought The Abbey Theatre, Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, The Miniature Theatre of Chester, The Missouri Rep., not only to the great theatre cities of the world, but to small cities, towns, and villages throughout Ireland and the United States from 1950 to the present day.

10/7/03