Ashland, Ore. - The Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Board of Directors awarded the title of Artistic Director Emeritus to outgoing Artistic Director Libby Appel on Friday, September 7 at the final board meeting of Appel's tenure.
"The Board of Directors is deeply appreciative of Libby's artistic leadership," said Jerry Taylor, president of OSF's Board of Directors. We wanted to award her with this title to honor her past work, her leadership during this time of transition and the work as a freelance director and adaptor that shell be doing for the Festival in the future."
Appel is retiring after 12 seasons as artistic director. She worked as a guest director for four seasons before her appointment in 1995. In her 16 years, she directed 24 productions, including Enrico IV (The Emperor), King Lear, Uncle Vanya, The Magic Fire (also at the Kennedy Center), Three Sisters, Richard II, Richard III, The Winter's Tale (twice), and in her final season, her own adaptation of The Cherry Orchard and The Tempest. She was the artistic director at Indiana Repertory Theatre from 1992-1996; dean and artistic director at the School of Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts and head of the acting program at California State University, Long Beach. Appel holds three honorary doctorates; one received from Southern Oregon University in 2005, and two received in 2007 from the University of Portland and Willamette University.
"I am truly honored by the Board granting me the title of artistic director emeritus," Appel said. "I have been deeply attached to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival since I first arrived here as a guest artist in 1987. I consider my years here as the happiest and most creatively fulfilling of my life."