© Jim Stowell 2019
Master Of His Craft
"When Jim Stowell tells a story people listen. It's not just what he says, but how he says it
– shouting, laughing, grimacing, rolling on the floor, tracing the memory of a caress,
inventing sound effects and punctuating the story with detailed gestures."
Years ago a reviewer said I was “lucky” to have such a great job, being a storyteller. Yeah,
I said, but I worked like a fiend to get here. I am proud of how hard I have worked over the
years. I can honestly say I always gave my best. That is not to say I never screwed up. I
am confident I have made pretty much every kind of mistake you can make in the theater.
But in theater I have always had another chance to do it right during the next performance.
I learned by working with great people to take advantage of the basic belief in theater that
every rehearsal and every performance is a chance to achieve excellence. I learned that in
the theater I had a chance to go to work everyday where I would change and learn and
have fun, sometimes laughing until you fall down. I had a chance to be challenged to grow
and become more than my best. Like everyone there have been days when I said to
myself that I wish I had done something else…be a musician for example and make a little
money for a change. But I know better. The theater is my path. See, that is where I think of myself as lucky. I
have always loved my work.