MARSHALL INSTITUTE Blog

In Memory of Eric Bowling (UC San Diego B.A. ’04)   

A Human Tornado of Creative Energy

 There will never be another Eric Bowling, a young playwright, theatre artist, children’s literature advocate, and aspiring author.   For his age, he redefined the word prolific.  He was a human tornado of creative energy.  By anyone’s count, Eric Bowling completed nearly thirty full length plays plus two screenplays, and one musical book (“Star Wars: The Musical Comedy”).  Some of his significant play titles:  THE STARS, TORN ASUNDER (about astrophysics and social action on campus), LAW AT THE END OF THE WORLD (a spiritual journey through Judaism against a backdrop of modern terrorism), and SARCOPHAGUS (an existential drama with bold, jagged imagery).  In addition to that splendid output, Bowling gave generous production dramaturgy to twenty three shows in and around San Diego.   Within the greater UC San Diego community, Eric Bowling had dramaturged Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM for Professor Jim Winker, THREE SISTERS for director Kyle Donnelley, Lanford Wilson’s FIFTH OF JULY for Professor Steven Adler,  Allan Havis’ RESTLESS SPIRITS at San Diego Rep in 2005,  Sarah Ruhl’s CLEAN HOUSE for Sam Woodhouse at San Diego Rep in 2008,  and most recently Todd Salovey’s San Diego Rep production of John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize play DOUBT.  Eric Bowling went into the hospital on Christmas morning 2009 with a high fever.  Sad to state that he fell into a coma and passed away the next afternoon.   

For most of his life Eric Bowling had health challenges and he was valiantly undeterred as he gave to the performing arts and to many friends, colleagues and mentors.  Mr. Bowling (UC San Diego B.A. ’04 Magna Cum Laude and Highest Departmental Honors)  directed his dramatic stories toward serious moral, psychological, and civic ideas.   His plays command respect for their strong ambitions, earnestness, and philosophical complexities.  He had found enduring inspiration from Ibsen’s ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, mythology, and the contemporary political dramas of Athol Fugard.   Mr. Bowling had an unstoppable talent toward extended dialogues about the nature of life’s meaning and also the common transparencies of human folly.   He loved all regions of good and popular literature from J. K. Rowling to Lanford Wilson and he was a vital enthusiast of Star Wars culture.   At UC San Diego, Mr. Bowling had been exceedingly active in UC San Diego’s theatre program and also in the professional theatres in town (e.g. San Diego Rep,  San Diego Black Ensemble,  Compass Theatre, Moonlight Stage, Cignet Theatre).   Mr. Bowling worked extensively with UC San Diego graduate playwrights  Mat Smart, Ken Weitzman, and Rachel Axel.  He had many important faculty connections including Professors Marianne McDonald, Athol Fugard, Kyle Donnelly, Les Waters, Jorge Huerta, Adele Shank, Jim Winker, Todd Salovey, and Allan Havis.   Besides the aforementioned artist names, Mr. Bowling collaborated with other leading names in California theatre:  Brendon Fox, Delicia Turner-Sonnenburg, Antonio “T.J.” Johnson, Ruff Yeager, George Ye,  Sean Murray, Michael Schwartz, Amy Scholl, Henry Jordan, and Carolyn Keith.    Mr. Bowling took on numerous  crew assignments and cabaret duties at UC San Diego.    

Mr. Bowling rallied to support his classmates, his colleagues, his friends, and anyone in need of a shot in the arm.   He was always unpredictable, self-effacing and wise, often tender, sometimes shocking, and at rare moments thoroughly magical.  Last autumn, he had entered San Diego State’s graduate program to study children’s literature.   He was a guest lecturer and a teaching assistant at Grossmont College.  Further,  Mr. Bowling was an elected associate member of Comic-Con International (CCI) and lent so much energy to  CCI.  His first publication of a serious essay (on the fictional life of Harry Potter) is found in Scribbulus and can be accessed by the following link:

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/essays/plotholemotherfather

Mr. Bowling was 32 years old and hailed from Lakeside, California.  He received a UC San Diego Theatre & Dance Department Chair’s Award for Distinguished Service Award upon graduating.  His list of favorite plays include Rice’s THE ADDING MACHINE, Sophie Treadwell’s MACHINAL, Tony Kushner’s ANGELS IN AMERICA , Paula Vogel’s HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE and Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS (he owned 27 translations of that classic).  Although he was a Warren College graduate at UC San Diego, knowing the many years he had corresponded with playwright Allan Havis (Marshall Provost),  the Marshall Institute is extremely proud to give tribute to Eric Bowling’s memory.