Libby Appel is Artistic Director Emerita of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She was Artistic Director from 1995 through 2007, directing 30 plays. Prior to that, she was Artistic Director of Indiana Repertory Theatre and Dean and Artistic Director of the School of Theatre at California Institute of the Arts. She was also head of the acting program at California State University, Long Beach and taught acting at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago.
Libby has directed in theatres throughout the country doing over 30 productions of Shakespeare’s plays and all of Chekhov’s. She recently completed new translations of Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard for the new book Five Chekhov Plays. She is the author of Mask Characterization: An Acting Process and co-created and produced the video Inter/Face: The Actor and The Mask. She co-created the plays Shakespeare’s Women and Shakespeare’s Lovers. Libby is profiled in the documentary Meeting With Chekhov.
Libby has honorary doctorates from Southern Oregon University, University of Portland and Willamette University. She has an MA from Northwestern University and a BA from Michigan (Phi Beta Kappa). She is the recipient of the Stephen and Christine Schwarzman Award for Excellence (Lifetime Achievement in Theater) from the Kennedy Center.