Peter A. Davis

Peter A. Davis is an American theatre historian, actor, director, and educator 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. Before retiring in 2017, Professor Davis served on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where for many years he was the Director of Graduate Studies and Chair of the Doctoral Program in Theatre. Prior faculty appointments include Tufts University (1987-1991) and the University of Oregon (1981-1987). 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, William R. Taylor, ed. (Russell Sage Foundation). He was a 1988 recipient of an NEH research grant to study in effects of the Panic of 1873 on the American theatre industry.He is the author of From Androboros to the First Amendment: A History of America's First Play (University of Iowa Press, 2015). Another book, The Stage in Crisis, on the economic history of the American stage in the Nineteenth Century is due out in 2017 published by Palgrave-Macmillan. He is also the author of the blog, "Eidophusikon: Today in Theatre History." Additionally, Professor Davis has delivered numerous academic papers at leading conferences and is a fre