For the Love of Theatre: A Conversation with Jason Bowser

Local playwright and actor Jason Bowser has spent the last decade making a name for himself on the local and regional theatre scene. However, had you told a young Bowser growing up in the quaint town of Enon, Ohio, that he would grow up to make such an impact he likely wouldn't have believed you.

Back then, theatre didn't seem an option.

Bowser always wanted to become a police officer, he says, and when he moved to Columbus more than 10 years ago, he worked for the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center. The position gave him a good introduction to the ins and outs of local youth services and law enforcement, he says. However, after nearly a decade of moving up the ranks, Bowser resigned his position as executive director when he and his wife, Laura, were expecting their second child.

The 44-year-old says he decided to invest more time with his children and stayed home to raise them, he says.

Growing up, Bowser was very active in sports, including basketball, track and football, he says. He had a passion for the theatre back then, but rehearsals coincided with sports practice, and he had to choose.

He chose sports. But he never surrendered his love of the arts.

Flash forward to the early-2010s or so when the Hope theatre scene began to establish itself in downtown Hope, namely at WILLow LeaVes of Hope.

Bowser got a call out of the blue to step in for an actor who couldn’t make it. The play was “Dearly Departed,” Bowser recalls. There was something about dipping his toes in the acting pool that recaptured his imagination and he immediately dove into the opportunity doing more and more productions, he says.

“Even though I didn’t do drama, I’ve always been – for lack of a better word – I was the class clown,” Bowser says. “To me, it was fun. There was no pressure or stress. I guess you could say I was thrown into the fire, but it didn’t feel that way.”

Bowser was initially exposed to the stage at a young age, but theatre didn’t play much of a role in his childhood, he says.

His original debut was in front of an audience of 500 during a production of “The Nerd” and it didn’t much phase him, he says.

“I was so young and fearless, I didn’t know I was supposed to be stressed about it,” he says. “So, I would go and have fun and I loved it.”

Today, Bowser’s production tally stands at more than three dozen, he says, including “Broken,” “Country Bumpkin Christmas,” “Elvis has Left the Building,” “A Murder is Served,” “Angel Street” and “Crossing Delancey” to name just a few.

And he isn’t finished.

“We all have that place where we go no matter how frustrating life gets,” Bowser says. “That’s your place where you can just let go and that has been drama for me.”

Whether acting, directing or writing, Bowser says it is all OK in that place. It is his refuge.

“I’ve always been theatrical in nature,” he adds. “But, as an adult, it has expanded.”

Theatre has always offered a release of sorts. Since Bowser has expanded his foray in to the theatrical, he’s found each piece offers its own solace. And there’s the camaraderie, too.

As the local acting troupes have grown, so has the rapport among local actors, writers and producers who regularly contribute their talents. And they are always bringing new folks into the fold, Bowser adds.

“Everyone has the same goal and has fun with it,” he says. “There is no greater drug on this earth than a bunch of people laughing together. Nothing beats it – really, it is the greatest feeling in the world.”

Not only a talented actor and producer, but Bowser has also successfully established himself as a playwright.

However, the relationship between pen, paper and mind can be a precarious place sometimes, he says.

“Writing for me is a love/hate relationship,” he says. “When it is working its great, but when I get blocked, I hate it. The writing is by far the most frustrating of every aspect, but it is extremely fulfilling because, not only do you get to hear the crowd respond when you type the end of a script, it is relief. But there’s sadness, too. When I tell stories I see images in my head. When I type the ending, I feel a little sadness these characters are gone. I always do.”

Now, if you ask him to choose his favorite hat to wear, that is a different matter.

“It is like picking your favorite child,” he says. “It’s probably the acting and only because, depending on the role, you have to run through the emotions and deliver that line. When you get a reaction from the crowd it is an immediate jolt to the spirit.”

Bowser regularly participates in productions with both The Actor’s Studio of Hope and the Passion for Acting Theatre Company, he says. Recently, he's expanded his repertoire to include other venues, including the Artists' Colony, located in Nashville, Ind., and the Boggstown Cabaret in Boggstown, Ind.

He has enjoyed a front row seat to the tremendous growth local theatre has undergone in recent years and sees it as a boon for area communities – as well as those who make the productions possible.

“I think growth-wise, more people know about us now,” he says.

And a quick trip to Indy last year proved it.

While out and about in Marion County a gentleman stopped Bowser and said, “Hey, you’re Elvis!” The gentleman had attended a show at WILLow LeaVes of Hope where Bowser had portrayed the late iconic King of Rock and Roll and recognized him immediately.

That made Bowser smile. And he still smiles knowing the impact he and others are making.

The theatre is a tremendously important outlet these days, especially post-pandemic as people get acclimated to a renewed sense of normalcy, Bowser says. And, too, the stage is a great neutral platform for expression during tense times.

“People can come in and for two and a half hours forget what is going on,” Bowser says. “The stress level out there right now is insane. We are so divided now, and the theatre is somewhere everyone can go regardless of how they feel about issues and just celebrate art together. That is probably the other reason it is so therapeutic in the process, not only can the crowd be diverse and enjoy it, so can the actors.”

When he isn’t involved with a production or writing one, Bowser is spending time with family, substitute teaching at local schools or sleeping, he says.

“It takes a lot of time,” he says. “You give up a lot of evenings to do this stuff. It is very selfless of people to do that so others can have a couple of hours of enjoyment.”

Bowser says he wouldn’t be doing anything of this sort had it not been for the influence of his mother, Nancy Taylor, he says. As a child, Bowser recalls his late father, Greg, was a strict disciplinarian, which left little room for adventurous hijinks and shenanigans.

“Mom is the reason I have this artistic flare because she always had it,” Bowser says. “She is the wild child, eccentric one who always pushed me. She never wavered in who she was despite the tragedies that have happened to her. She’s definitely the best mom I’ve ever known.”

As his mother passed a love for the arts on to him, Bowser is now introducing his sons, Asher and Gabe, to the theatre and both are taking to it like fish to water.

Bowser is hopeful to build enthusiasm for the theatre not only in his sons, but among other young people and those who feel a draw to the stage. To those who feel the pull of the stage, he has some experiential advice to share.

“Don’t quit,” he says. “It is easy when things get hard. Writing and even the process of acting isn’t easy. And, number two, push yourself beyond what you think you can do. If you stay in a comfort zone, you get complacent. If you don’t challenge yourself, you get stale. Push boundaries, that is what artists do.”