Sdcf Masters Of The Stage

Joe Dowling: In January of 2000, Joe Dowling met with SDC Members and guests at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre to discuss his career in the classics. It is a career that began long before his appointment as Artistic Director at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre in 1995, and even before becoming the Artistic Director of Ireland's National Theatre, the Abbey, at the age of 27. As family legend goes, his first artistic note to an actor was at the age of three, and it was instant recognition that he would spend his life on stage. In this interview with former SDCF Executive Director, David Diamond, Joe Dowling tracks his theatre life beginning with stories from his decades as an actor with the Abbey Theatre Company. He began his directing career in the 1960's with children's theater at the Abbey's smaller space, the Peacock theatre, revolutionizing the energy of the company until he was appointed Artistic Director in 1977. He speaks of his time as the Abbey's AD, the collaborative relationships he developed there with pl