Blyth Festival 2025: Bowes is building something in Blyth
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
When Oren Bowes entered the theatre program at the University of Guelph, he was of a mind to either become a director, or an actor. Now, finally he’s landed a lead role - as the Blyth Festival’s new head carpenter!
After classes began, it didn’t take long for Bowes to realize he wasn’t being called towards a life on the stage - it was the stage itself that was drawing him in. “As I made my way through the program, I was exposed to all the disciplines of technical theatre, and I found, I guess, what I describe as a very natural inclination towards carpentry,” he recalled. “And I sort of made a choice - I didn’t think that I was talented enough to make it as an actor - you need a pretty good amount of talent. You need to have that certain spark. And I decided that I was much happier working on building the sets than acting on them… I still look at what I’m doing as artistic, and I really enjoy the process of creation.”
Luckily, he found that Guelph was replete with like-minded individuals. “I met a lot of very capable technicians there - colleagues and fellow students who have gone on to do shows and projects that are really interesting,” Bowes explained. “The Upper Canada Playhouse, which is in Morrisburg, Ontario, has taught me a great deal. They do a lot of really great Canadian plays there.”
The technical director at his last job suggested the Blyth Festival as a possible fit for the ambitious young carpenter, and things just started building from there. “I knew that I needed to take that next step in my career, and take on a greater responsibility.” Bowes believes that, once you find the thing you’re passionate about, you should pursue it. “I think, unfortunately, that a lot of really talented and passionate people never end up with a career in the arts,” he pointed out. “There’s sort of a stigma that you’re never going to be able to make a living doing it. But you can just kind of get that first gig, and just work hard and be a kind person. You don’t even have to be skilled right out of the gate - people are happy to teach. You just have to be willing to learn,” he advised.
For his first time leading a professional carpentry crew, Bowes is focusing on improving the sustainability of the Festival’s sets. “So far, we’ve been really good this year about reducing waste by using up all the materials that have been offcut from previous projects,” he explained. “A lot of our set pieces are also made to eventually be taken apart at the end of the year, and then that material can be reused for whatever comes next.”
Bowes also highlighted another advantage to having modular sets that are easy to assemble. “The Blyth Festival is a repertory festival, which means that multiple shows are playing on the same stage at different times through the week. ‘Show A’ will be on Tuesday, for example. And then, the next day, ‘Show B’ will go onto the same stage. ‘Set A’ has to be removed, and ‘Set B’ has to be installed, and then the reverse has to happen for the next day. So all the sets we’re building have to be sort of modular - they have to be able to come apart and go back together in a way that still looks good, and is still sustainable,” he said. “And when it comes to the outdoor stage, we’re sort of at the mercy of the weather… if we see, for example, that weather is reported to be coming, and the outdoor show has to be moved indoors, that can involve a whole other set of challenges.”
There’s one set in particular that Bowes has been fixated on. “I’m most excited for Quiet in the Land; it’s certainly the one that I have spent the most personal time working on,” he admitted. “It’s been my focus for the past five weeks, so far. I’m involved in everything, but Quiet in the Land has taken probably 75 per cent of my time.”
One of the most important things Bowes needed to build this season was quick and effective team, and leading the Blyth Festival’s lean band of builders has proven to be a bit of a trial by fire. “I had to strike a fine balance between making sure I’m involved in all of my carpenters’ work, while not being overbearing and letting them do the work that I know they’re capable of. But I think now, five weeks in, we’ve fallen into a nice rhythm. and the responsibility is no longer anxiety-inducing!” he exclaimed. “There are only three carpenters here, building all the sets, for the entire season of five shows… when I was on a team, as a carpenter, I was given my tasks. You just knuckle down, and you focus on that task. You don’t have to worry about what’s next. Once you finish, you’re given the next thing, and you work on that,” he delineated. “Now, I have to focus on what I’m currently working on, focus on what my carpenters are currently working on, and think about what’s coming down the line. Like, two days from now, we’re starting this build, and it’s going to require some materials, but we're running low on it, and I need to go and make sure those are ordered. It’s not as tough as some of our technical directors have it - I have a ‘big picture’ view of the sets, but they have a ‘big picture’ view of every department!”
Having the right team supporting him has been a crucial part of Bowes’ ascension to set-building success. “At the end of the day, what I’m doing cannot be done without the rest of the people I work with. I’m not a one-man army. Holly and David, the two carpenters I have working under me, are both extremely talented individuals, and are both veterans here at the Blyth Festival. They have been essential in me getting acclimated as quickly as I have been,” he stated.
As opening day of the Festival draws ever nearer, Bowes and his team are firing on all cylinders. “Right now, we’re still working Monday to Friday, from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Typically, in the morning, I will arrive, and make sure my carpenters are good to continue with whatever they were working on the previous day, or are ready to receive their next assignments. I go over the drawings with them, bring up any snags they might run into, make any suggestions of how I think the piece should be built, get their feedback, and then set them on their way.”
He then checks in with the production office, the technical directors, and the project managers. “With a company this large, communication is the hardest part, because everyone’s spread out across multiple buildings, he pointed out. “Our project manager does a really great job - he’s made a very concerted effort this year to just make sure everybody's on the same page.”
Soon, the sets will be set, and Bowes will have a chance to sit back and watch them turn into temporary worlds, full of life. He’s looking forward to it. “A lot of the time, as I build it, I am focused on the very practical: numbers, dimensions, logistics,” he said. “But in the back of my mind, I always know that I am still creating a piece of art that will then go on stage and assist in telling a story, and making a wonderful play happen.”