World-renowned director and actor Vincent Dowling conducts auditions for the upcoming School of Theatre and Dance production of The Winter’s Tale this spring. Photo by Jeff Glidden, ‘87 VISITING DIRECTOR SERIES Read more about the Roe Green Visiting Director Series, which brings world-renowned talent to Kent State's School of Theatre and Dance. Don't miss The Winter’s Tale and other spring 2006 theatre and dance productions, featured in the School of Theatre and Dance spring schedule.

A Touch of Winter in Spring
Guest director brings Shakespeare to
Kent State

by Lisa Lambert, M.A. '05

World-renowned director and actor Vincent Dowling will direct Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale this spring for Kent State’s School of Theatre and Dance, as part of the Roe Green Visiting Director Series.

Dowling is a lifetime associate artistic director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Locally, Dowling is remembered for his contributions of nearly a decade (1976–84) as the producing director of the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland. In 1997 Dowling presented Kent State with a collection of various materials from his years at the festival, including scripts, production notes and related items, such as video recordings of interviews with Dowling and sound recordings of plays performed during his tenure. In 2003 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the university for “his lifelong career in theatre and his global contributions to the arts,” according to the citation.

Dowling has played more than 100 major roles in his 45-year professional career, most of them in Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. He also has appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival and in productions in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City, New York, Florence, London and Paris. He is the founding and artistic director of the Miniature Theatre of Chester, Mass., as well.

“We are thrilled to have a director of such prominence and international renown as Vincent Dowling work with our students at Kent State,” says Dr. John R. Crawford, director of the School of Theatre and Dance. “The wealth of expertise and experience that Dowling brings to the rehearsal studio and the stage from his many years as a performer and artistic and producing director is invaluable. We extend much gratitude and appreciation to Roe Green, who has made this residency possible through her generosity to the School of Theatre and Dance.”

Green, M.A. ’80, a local arts patron and activist, established the Visiting Director Series through the Roe Green Foundation. She serves on the School of Theatre and Dance and Porthouse Theatre advisory boards.