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About Southern Oregon miner. (Ashland, Or.) 1935-1946 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1949)
I I g^akrajirarratt Jratiual ^nitufuir ^rrlintt *1lt& SouH te/m û i& ja n NEWS REVIEW Voi. 16 No. 22 Shakeipearean Festival Section —Ashland Southern Oregon N ew s Review Thursday, August 4. 1949 Formerly the Southern Oregc Miner 10c per Copy 1949 Shakespearean Festival Dates Aug. 2*24 5 Ashland Theatre Only One of Its Kind in the World Wardrobe of English Actor Added to Shakespearean Dressing Rooms Here One of the most tangible proofs of the widespread fam e of the incident. There is no record of Oregon Shakespearean Festival the parts he played in the fol It William Shakespeare could is the m any letters received from lowing years, but he visited the retu rn to life this m onth and all parts of the country about the United States, appearing in Old visit the Souhem Oregon town of program , some m erely express English comedies, chiefly in the Ashland, the chances are th at he ing interest, and approval, others eastern cities. would feel as completely at home expressing a desire to offer more Plays Rip van Winkle as if he was nt Stratford-on-the substantial encouragem ent to the A t the age of fifty he was Avon some 350 years ago. venture. starred as Rip van W inkle, using For, in Ashland, he would find Early this year, Angus Bowmer. Mr. Jefferson’s script, and Mr. one of the few truly Elizabethan production director of the Fes Jefferson’s clothes which were theaters in the w orld—so true a tival, received this letter from given him by a friend of that reproduction th at it m ight well Grosse Point Farms. Michigan: great actor who also adm ire be the Old Globe th eater of his him. U nfortunately these tre a s "Dear Sir, day. ures were destroyed in a G erm an This letter is w ritten in all The new Elizabethan theater in blitz. good will. Some tim e ago I Ashland is the realization of a read an article in the New Goes To H aym arket dream of Angus Bowmer, a Then followed three years at York Times about the re Southern Oregon College profes m arkable theatre in Ashland, His Majestys th ea tre w ith H er sor and student of Shakespeare. Oregon. bert Beerholm Tree, after which The th ea ter has been rebuilt d u r My father was an actor and he joined C y n i M aude a t the ing the past th ree years in prep the H aym arket theatre. A tour I have in my possession sev aration for a yearly festival of through A ustralia came next eral wigs and o ther useful Shakespeare’s works, as great as playing repertoire. On returning things th a t rt would please any ever presented during his hom e he accepted an offer from me to donate to your w ard lifetime. F rank Robertson . . . and then robe departm ent should you The Oregon Shakespearean cam e with him to Am erica in care to receive them. Festival, which was started in 1909. Here he rem ained until his Sincerely yours,, 1935 as a p a rt of A shland's death, appearing w ith Mr. Man- Lenora Thom as” Fourth of Ju ly celebration is Mr. Bowmer replied th a t the tell, Olga Nethersole, M argaret taking place for th e th ird tim e th eatre would be most grateful Aiglin and m any others. since the w ar, this August. It for the costum e gift, and asked Played Polonius was revived in 1947, following In 1919 he became a m em ber The Oregon Shakespearean Festival's new ensigne, completed Miss Thomas for inform ation on six years of w artim e activity. The of Mr. W alter H am pden’s com her fathers work as an actor. Hei this year, is based on Shakespeare’s coat-of-arms, which he in town of Ashland has been buz answ ering letter is quoted below pany and m ade a delghtful Po herited from his mother’s family the Ardens. To this crest zing w ith activity for months, in “Allen Thomas was English: lonius, a very drunken Porter, a was appropriately added a spray o f mountain ash sent by Mrs. preparation for the festival which he was born in the seaport city proud Brabantio, and a most this year is gaining an in tern at Rose Robinett, a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival of Bristol. At the age of ten he garrulous grave-digger. ional scope Association. Fifty-three years in the pro was sent to boarding school at Five Plays Slated Clifton b u t being adventuresom e fession fo und'him still eager for The arrangement o f the design was suggested by Edwin Farmer, Five of S hakespeare’s plays he ran aw ay to sea a year la parts; two weeks before his professor o f the art department at Stanford University, and it will be presented in their origin ter, as cabin-boy on a sailing death he w rote: ‘I hope soon to was executed in a linoleum cut by Standish Mitchell of Palo Alto. al form, starting August 2 w ith ship bound for A ustralia. He play F riar Laurence; the lines The ensigne will be used on programs, and on various souvenir "Romeo and Ju lie t.’’ O ther spent four years before the mast are most beautiful. I shall enjoy articles such as envelope seals stickers, etc. to be handled largely plays to be given include “Rich before his distressed fam ily were him .’ ” by local merchants. These souvenirs are expected to be popular "Allen Thomas Room" ard II,’’ “M idsum mer N ight’s able to get him home. remembrances o f the conjunction of Shakespeare and Ashland. S tarting this year, the th ea tre ’s D ream ,” "O thello” and the well Becomes Actor known “Tam ing of the Shrew .” Being quite unfit now for costum e room w ill be know n as (Continued on page 2) In all each play will be present school or college, he was appren ed several tim es w ith the final perform ance concluding the fest ticed to a local photographer, but ival on Aug. 24. was not content to follow that A n unusual sidelight to the calling. A chance m eeting with festival is th e fact th a t w ith the Mr. Jam es Jacready Chute, m an Elizabethan theater, the plays ager of the P rince’e Theatre, led m ay be presented as Shakespeare to his being engaged for ‘gen originally w rote them . Bowmer eral u tility ’ w ith the stock com points out th a t through the years pany, a sm all beginning to a long Shakespeare's plays have been career. For here young Allen rew ritten m any tim es to m eet the received a thorough grounding m any changes in th ea ter designs, in the legitim ate theatre and u ntil the present day versions gradually rose to the position of are a far cry from the originals, Juvenile lead. He also discovered a t least as far as the actual stag th a t he possessed a good baritone ing is concerned. voice and a fine sense of com Idea B om In '35 edy. The idea for this S hakespear Joins Opera ean Festival was horn in the m id A tour of English opera on the thirties. w hen Angus Bowmer C ontinent occupied him next, and first glim psed the alm ost forgot on his re tu rn he was chosen bn ten rem nants of the old Chau- play Touchstone at the form al op taqua building standing near the ening of the then new Shaftes- entrance to A shland's Lithia bry theatre, friend Robert Man- Park. tell being th e Orlando. On the CAROL ELLER In years gone by, the C hauta first n ight the new ly fashioned DR. MARGERY BAILEY ANGUS BOWMER uqua building, in rea lty a cem ent curtain being used refused to go In charge of special dancing d u r Of Stanford University, who is a w all encompassing nearly an acre, D irector of the Shakespearean up, but the production had a ing the Festival, Miss Eller comes (Continued on page 3) member of the Festival faculty. Festival m ost successful ru n despite the to Ashland from San Francisco. By Doyle D. Seely (0rrtjun S’liakraiifarvan Jrattual Aaanriattuu k
