News and Events

2011 Events and Publications

"Balance" a monologue about a flamboyant bi-polar artist, produced by Flush Ink Productions, as part of She Speaks, celebrating International Women's Day, Kitchener, Ontario, March 7th.

"Bending the Rules", an off-beat comedy about a sublimely mismatched couple, produced by Ashland Contemporary Theatre at the Pascal Winery, Ashland, Oregon, March 11th and 12th at 8 PM, March 13th at 2 PM.

"Singular Voices", original dramatic monologues developed by students in my Dramatic Monologues class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Ashland, Oregon, performed at the Ashland Public Library, March 16th, 3 PM.

"Saturn Return", My longtime theater partner, Carolyn Myers, and I celebrate 28 years of working together in readings of new work and greatest hits at The DanceSpace, Ashland, Oregon, April 16th at 8 PM and April 17th at 3 PM.

2010 Events and Publications

"Pam and Ellie, Late and Later", a short play about a teenage artist and her mother is currently a finalist in the 2010 Kernodle New Play Competition sponsored by the University of Arkansas.

"Playing Favorites", a play about sisters who had formerly been sister and brother, produced in October by Ashland Contemporary Theatre, Ashland, Oregon, for its Quarter Moon Three short plays festival.

"Wrong Planet", a short play about the relationship of a biologist with Aspergers Syndrome and his veterinarian girlfriend was produced in October by Manhattan Theatre source, New York, NY for the 11th Annual EstroGenius Festival.

My poem, "The Bitter Truth" has won first place in the Oregon State Poetry Association Spring 2010 themed contest, "Frogs and Toads". This somewhat irreverent take on the Grimm's fairy tale, " The Princess and the Frog Prince", will be posted on my poetry page after the OSPA anthology is published.

2009 Events and Publications

Playwriting News for 2009:
My newest full-length play, The Heart of the Matter, had its premiere production at Barnstormers Theatre in Grants Pass, Oregon in May, with an encore weekend in July. “Feathered Friends”, a monologue from this play, was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors competition, sponsored by The Ohio State University. May was a busy month: another recent full-length play, Treed, had a staged reading at the Eco-Drama Festival at the University of Oregon after receiving an Honorable Mention in the national Earth Matters on Stage competition, and I presented readings from my play, Hat Tricks, (a finalist for the 2008 Pregon Book Award in Drama), as part of a Portland Literary Arts tour. Girl Talk, Hot Flashes, and Hat Tricks had productions in a variety of locations, and a monologue from Hat Tricks, is forthcoming in 2010 in the anthology, Samuel Goes Solo: Monologues from French’s 2008 Collection. Productions and readings of short plays and monologues include “Monkeyshines” (from Tilt) by the Maryland Community Theatre Festival, “Junk Yard Dog”(from Hat Tricks) by the Uvalde Texas Arts Council, “Vocabulary Lesson” (from Hat Tricks) by the Second Act Troupe, Wimberley, Texas, and “Homecoming” (from The Heart of the Matter) by Mixed Company productions in Ashland.
 
Teaching is always high on my list of things I love to do, and this year I taught a new class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Southern Oregon University was called “Theatrical Playtime”. My older students, including those with no previous writing or improvisational experience, brought enthusiasm and resourcefulness to every class, and we had a very fine time!

Poetry News for 2009:
In addition to the publication of poems in Umbrella, Kritya, and Quill and Parchment, “What They Dream About at the Shelter” was published in the anthology Empty Shoes. (Proceeds from sales are used to help the homeless.) I gave readings at several venues in Oregon, including Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Writers on the Edge in Newport, Temple Emek Shalom in Ashland, The Dancing Otter Café in Grants Pass, the Gallerie Karon in Ashland, and The Jewish Museum in Portland, and also participated with other poets at the William Stafford birthday celebration at Southern Oregon University and Horizon Institute’s Poetry Month event at Ashland’s Bloomsbury Books. Although poems from Another Rude Awakening are usually the requested focus of readings, I also enjoy using these occasions to introduce new work— both poems and dramatic monologues. I’ll be adding poems to the poetry page in the next weeks.

Dori Appel on YouTube

Dori reads several poems from anthologies and her collection of poetry, Another Rude Awakening, including The Future, My Grandmother's Education, Points of View, When You Got Top Billing, and In the Rose Test Gardens, Portland, Oregon.