Peter A. Davis

Who is Peter A. Davis?

Peter A. Davis is an associate professor of theatre history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with specialties in early American theatre, Restoration theatre and Eighteenth Century cultural history. His research interests include the economic and social influences of theatre in addition to First Amendment 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, 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., The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre, Wilmeth, ed. and Inventing Times Square, William R. Taylor, ed.. He was a 1988 recipient of an NEH research grant to study in effects of the Panic of 1873 on the American theatre industry.