| Birth Name: | Dorothy Barton |
| Alma Mater: | California Institute of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Occupation: | Actor, writer, director |
| Years Active: | 1993present |
Dorie Barton is an American actor, writer, and director.[1] She began her professional acting career working on a television soap opera and went on to appear in various theater, film, and television productions. She made her debut as a writer-director of film in 2016, and also teaches theater at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Barton was an Army brat, meaning that her family lived in different places during her childhood, including Iowa and Virginia. She graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a BFA degree in theater[2] and went on to work in theater, television and films. In 2020, Barton completed her thesis for a MFA in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts.
Barton began her acting career on One Life to Live, playing Beth Garvey, a runaway teenage mother, from 1993 to 1994. When the character was written out of the show, the producers of One Life to Live gave her the option for what would happen to her character, and Barton opted for her character to die on-camera.
Her additional television roles include playing Tess Farraday in the sitcom Stark Raving Mad from 1999 to 2000.[3] She also appeared in Angel, Justice League, Nowhere Man, Vanishing Son, and One Life to Live.
Film roles include (2000), Do You Wanna Know a Secret? (2001), Down with Love (2003), Just Desserts (2004), and God Bless America (2011).
Barton also provides voice-overs for films, video games and commercial ads.
Barton's stage appearances include: Sophistry, Lost Studio Theatre, Los Angeles, 1995; Edith Sussman, Die! Mommy! Die!, House of Sussman Company, Coast Playhouse, West Hollywood, CA, 1999; Secretary and Toni Newsome, Pentecost, Theatre of Note, Evidence Room Theatre, Los Angeles, 2002; and Cringe, Hollywood Stories, Evidence Room Theatre, 2002–2003. Barton also appeared as Paulinka in A Bright Room Called Day, and as a member of ensemble for a production of The Skin of Our Teeth. In 2006, she appeared in Kira Obolensky's play Lobster Alice with the Blank Theatre Company at 2nd Stage Theatre in Hollywood.[4]
Barton made her debut as writer-director with the feature film Girl Flu.,[5] [6] which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2016.[7] It was a festival hit, screening at festivals worldwide and winning awards including the Audience Award (New Director category) at the Nashville Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "It's easy to wish Barton’s direction were more ambitious or her screenplay bolder, but there's a sincerity here, a lack of pretension and a generosity of spirit that proves infectious".[8]
She co-directed She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms.[9]
In 2021 she is writing and directing the upcoming movie Welcome to the Show.[10]
Barton teaches theater at Virginia Commonwealth University, and serves as film director for VCU's Mainstage Productions. She directs the VCUarts Theatre Showcase Films for graduating acting students, providing a debut into the film industry, and also works as a consultant for scripts and film productions.[11]