Peter Davis (theater historian)
Encyclopedia
Peter A. Davis is an associate professor of theatre history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

, with specialties in early American theatre, Restoration theatre and Eighteenth Century cultural history. Additionally he is an avid mountain climber and has scaled six of the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...

, with only Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif
Vinson Massif is the highest mountain of Antarctica, lying in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, which stand above the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located about from the South Pole and is about long and wide. At the highest point is Mount...

 in Antarctica remaining. His research interests include the economic and social influences of theatre in addition to First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

 and censorship issues related to live performance. His articles and reviews are found in the leading theatre journals, including, Theatre Survey, Theatre History Studies, Journal of American Drama and Theatre, Modern Drama, Theatre Research International, Restoration & 18th century Studies, Journal of American History and Theatre Journal. He was a major contributor to the Cambridge History of American Theatre (1999), winner of the Barnard Hewitt Award from the American Society for Theatre Research and the Special Jury Award of the Theatre Library Association. He also contributed major essays to The American Stage, Engle and Miller, eds. (Cambridge), The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre, Wilmeth, ed. and Inventing Times Square, Taylor, ed. (Russell Sage Foundation). . He is also an award-winning stage director, actor and dramaturg, having worked with a number of major theatre companies in Chicago including Remy Bumppo, Defiant, Strawdog, Writer’s Theatre, and Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...

. In 2007, he performed in the original cast, as Jeff Perry’s understudy, of the world-premiere production of "August: Osage County
August: Osage County
August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and...

” at the Steppenwolf Theatre. Awards include the 2006 revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man with Remy Bumppo (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble, Jeff Nomination for Best Ensemble) and The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by George Cukor and starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart. Based on the Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry, the film is about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous...

 (2008 Jeff Nomination for Best Production), also with Remy Bumppo. He served as the resident dramaturg at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company from 2004 to 2008, and was the dramaturg for Sonia Flew at Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...

 in 2006 and for The Turn of the Screw at Writer’s Theatre in 2007. As a director, he has worked on dozens of productions, winning both regional and national awards from the American College Theatre Festival. In 1985, his production of Excursion Fare was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as the ACTF recipient of Best Original Play. He also won the ACTF’s Best Director of the Year award from Region IX. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs Association, and The Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers. He is also one of the co-founders of BrandZOO, which was featured in an article on Business Wire in October 2000. Peter A. Davis has attended attended Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...

, where he received M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in Drama (Directing) in 1977. He earned his PhD in Communication from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 in 1981.
Additionally, Peter A. Davis has also appeared in a few films as an actor. He has appeared in Press Start
Press Start (film)
Press Start is a 2007 independent film produced by Dark Maze Studios. It stars Joshua Stafford, Peter Davis, Daniel Pesina, and Carlos Pesina. The film is a video game parody adventure comedy. It was released on DVD on September 25, 2007.-Production:...

(2007) as Count Nefarious Vile and has reprised this role for the 2011 sequel Press Start 2 Continue. He has also lent his voice to the popular Sim Film Freespace 2 and for Rampage (Korkusuz), where he is the voice of Ziya/Commander. His book From Androboros to the First Amendment: A Cultural and Political History of America’s First Play is to be published by the University of Iowa Press
University of Iowa Press
The University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction...

in 2010/2011.
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