Libby Appel

Libby Appel, the fourth artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, retired in June 2007. [cite news | last= Moeschl | first=R. | title=OSD Artistic Director to Retire in '07. | date=2004-10-01 | place=Medford, OR | publisher=Mail Tribune] and was succeeded by Cornerstone Theatre Company artistic director, Bill Rauch. Appel directed more than 25 productions at OSF, and her artistic vision influenced the 11 plays presented each year during her tenure. Despite the festival’s name, she placed greater emphasis on new works. “We have made major connections with world playwrights, artists whose voices we’re particularly interested in.” Appel said. “We commission playwrights, we develop plays here; we have playwrights in residence. We’re a world force now, and I’m really proud of that.” [cite news | last= Adcock | first=J. | title=Beyond the Bard. | date=1996-06-27 | publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Biography

Appel holds a BA from The University of Michigan, an MA from Northwestern University, and 3 honorary doctorates from Southern Oregon University, University of Portland, and Willamette University.. [cite news | title=Ashland's Appel Receives Degrees. | date=2007-05-18. | place=Medford, OR | publisher=Mail Tribune] She began her theatrical career teaching acting at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. She was the head of the acting program at California State University Long Beach for five years and wrote "Mask Characterization: An Acting Process"; created and produced "Inter/Face: The Actor and the Mask" (video); co-author with Michael Flachmann of two plays, "Shakespeare’s Women" and "Shakespeare’s Lovers". Appel was named dean of theater at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California and artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre. [cite news | last= Alvarez | first=T. | title=More than Just Applause | date=1992-03| publisher=Arts Indiana] . [cite news | last= Berson | first=M. | title=Women at the Helm. | date=May-June 1994| publisher=American Theatre]

Work at Oregon Shakespeare Festival

In 1995, Appel became the fourth artistic director in the company’s history, but had already directed a production of "The Merchant of Venice" in 1991. [cite news | last= Jones | first=C. | title=Heartland to Ashland: Bard Fest Taps Indy A.D. | date=Nov-Dec 1995| publisher=Variety] “I was the risky director who did "The Merchant of Venice" and rocked this theater,” she says. The Christian characters wore Armani-style suits and Shylock was presented as a yarmulke-wearing Orthodox Jew. “I’m an American Jew, and I had stayed away from "Merchant" all my life because of the anti-Semitism that’s implicit in the character of Shylock.” She decided the play was more about xenophobia than anti-Semitism. As the first woman to run the festival, Appel set out to make it more ethnically diverse and inclusive of women. She not only increased the representation of non-white actors in the company to more than a third, she raised the number of new plays in the festival’s mix. Appel has been intent on attracting an audience that is both younger and less white, while keeping the sophisticated seniors who flock to Ashland. “For me, it’s about the truth of the play in the moment that I’m living,” Appel says. “I think to contemporize the speech, or bastardize it, is dumbing it down.” [cite news | last=Monson | first=M. | title=Backstage Business | date=2008-06 | publisher=Oregon Business] [cite web | title=Libby Appel: Center Stage. | url=http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/libby_appel04.asp | publisher=Oregon Automobile Association | accessdate=2008-09-23]

In 15 seasons at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Appel directed: "The Cherry Orchard" (her own adaptation from an original translation), "The Tempest", "The Winter’s Tale" (2006 and 1989) , "Bus Stop", "Richard III", "Napoli Milionaria!," "Henry VI, Parts One, Two and Three" (co-director and co-adaptor), "Richard II"," Macbeth", "Saturday, Sunday, Monday", "The Trip to Bountiful", "Three Sisters", "Henry V", "Hamlet", "Henry IV, Part Two," "Measure for Measure", "Uncle Vanya"," King Lear", "The Magic Fire" (also at the Kennedy Center), "The Merchant of Venice", "Breaking the Silence", "Enrico IV" (the Emperor), "The Seagull" (Portland). (Chronological order, most recent at the top [cite web | title=Meet the Company: Libby Appel | url=http://www.osfashland.org/about/archive/turner.aspx |publisher=Oregon Shakespeare Festival | accessdate=2008-09-19]

References