The power of silence took on new dimensions on Thursday Jan. 30 when actor, mime, writer, and arts educator Bill Bowers came to talk to Spectrum and the arts community of Dickinson’s campus. The talk had originally been scheduled for noon that day, but due to inclement weather while Bowers was in Atlanta, it was postponed until 5:30 pm.

Lynn Helding, Associate Professor of Music, worked with Spectrum to bring Bowers to Dickinson. During his visit, he delivered a talk,, helped teach an acting class, and to gave a show at the Cubicolo (Cube) performance space..

Helding had met Bowers while they were both teaching at a summer program in Montana. They talked with kids about how one can survive on an artist’s salary, as well as the bigger picture of what one’s role as an artist is in the community. Helding felt that Bowers’ views and experiences would be perfect to enrich the atmosphere of Dickinson.

At the Spectrum meeting, Bowers discussed his life growing up in a small town in Montana and later as a gay artist in New York City. As he explained in his talk, silence had a profound impact on his childhood: he experienced the silence of the open country, the silence of his large family that did not speak about many personal matters, and the silence on who he was – a homosexual male without the language to voice this fact. The power of silence has stayed with him, especially as he discovered his love of miming, which led him to his life as a performer.

His shows are, in large part, autobiographical, “about being the odd man out” as he explained it. His shows include Beyond Words, Under a Montana Moon, The Heyokah Project, The Old Photo Box, and It Goes Without Saying, which he performed for free at the Cube on Saturday Feb. 1 at 7 pm. He discusses his childhood, finding his passion for arts, how the AIDS epidemic took all of his friends and his partner, and finally his marriage to his husband Michael Growler and becoming a father..

Students that attended his show were in consensus about the emotional performance.

“Most of the audience was close to tears, if not from his heart-breaking story then from his hilarious wit and mimed gestures,” said Aaron Hock ’15. “Bowers helps bring awareness to a part of history often forgotten: the HIV/AIDS crisis, which took the lives of his friends and partner. He is exactly the type of person that should be visiting Dickinson, because he reminds us that while we are still struggling for equal rights for the Queer community, there are many who fought before us, losing their lives due to prejudice. He spoke during his performance, but his poignant use of silence reminds us that there are still groups of people without a voice, and struggling to be heard.”

Bowers also guest taught the Advanced Acting 303 class the day after his talk with Spectrum.

“I learned so much from him about physical theater and mime in just that one class period,” said Laura Colleluori ’14. “He’s an incredibly talented performer, a great teacher, and an overall joy to be around. Bill was a great role model to bring to Dickinson, both for the LGBTQ community as well as the performing arts community.”