Davi Napoleon
Encyclopedia
Davi Napoleon, aka Davida Skurnick (born 1946) is an American
theater historian and critic. She is a theater columnist for The Faster Times
, an online newspaper, and a regular contributor to Live Design, a monthly magazine about entertainment design and designers. She is an expert on the not-for-profit theater in America and author of Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
. She has written on social and political issues occasionally as well.
She was born in New York City to Jack Skurnick
and Fay Kleinman
. She currently lives in Ann Arbor MI. She is married to Greg Napoleon, a software engineer. They have two sons, Brian and Randy Napoleon
.
Napoleon was educated at the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor
, where she earned a BA and an MA in psychology while studying playwriting with Kenneth Thorpe Rowe
. She went on to New York University
, and graduated with an MA in drama and a Ph.D. in performance studies.
She was a columnist for TheaterWeek
magazine and has been a contributing editor for Theater Crafts, which became Theatre Crafts International, then Entertainment Design, then Live Design. She has also written for American Theatre, American Film, InTheatre, Playbill
, ScriptWriter News, Stages and assorted general interest magazines. These include children's magazines, teen magazines Seventeen
and others, and a range of general magazines, such as New York Magazine and Weight Watchers
. She was a stringer for the Detroit Free Press
and for the Ann Arbor News
in the 1980s. She was the theater reviewer for the Ann Arbor News from 1987-1988.
Napoleon honed her critical skills at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
's National Critics Institute in Waterford, CT, in the summer of 1977, which she attended on a National Endowment for the Arts
grant.
Napoleon has written extensively about the history and issues surrounding the not-for-profit theater in America. Her book about Robert Kalfin
and the Chelsea Theater Center
is an in-depth history of the life of a theater in the 1960s and 70s. Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
(1991) describes on and off stage dramas, detailing internal conflicts when a theater that was the darling of critics and audiences was forced to downsize because of changes in funding to the arts. Hal Prince
wrote the foreword to the book that found a readership among working artists both because it is one of the first complex studies of regional theater and because of its dramatic structure and narrative.
She has also written many articles about producer/critic Robert Brustein
and interviewed critic John Simon
for The Paris Review.
Napoleon has written several plays, including Four's Company, produced at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York City in 1974. She was awarded two University of Michigan Hopwood Award
s in 1965 and 1966 for plays she wrote as an undergraduate. She later served as a judge for this creative writing contest.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theater historian and critic. She is a theater columnist for The Faster Times
The Faster Times
The Faster Times is an online newspaper launched by Sam Apple on July 9, 2009. Many print newspapers were going out of business and reporters were losing their jobs. The New York Times reported that in this climate, Apple was able to recruit professional writers guaranteeing them 75% of revenue...
, an online newspaper, and a regular contributor to Live Design, a monthly magazine about entertainment design and designers. She is an expert on the not-for-profit theater in America and author of Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater is a book by Davi Napoleon about the onstage triumphs and the offstage turmoil at the Chelsea Theater Center of Brooklyn...
. She has written on social and political issues occasionally as well.
She was born in New York City to Jack Skurnick
Jack Skurnick
Jack Skurnick was the founder and director of EMS Recordings and publisher and editor of the highly regarded music review, Just Records.-Career:...
and Fay Kleinman
Fay Kleinman
Fay Kleinman is an American painter. She has also been known by her married names, Fay Skurnick, then Fay Levenson.Most of her work is oil on canvas, but she has done some mixed-media work and watercolor. She has exhibited in museums in New York and Massachusetts and in galleries throughout the...
. She currently lives in Ann Arbor MI. She is married to Greg Napoleon, a software engineer. They have two sons, Brian and Randy Napoleon
Randy Napoleon
Randy Napoleon is a jazz guitarist, composer, and arranger who is a member of The Freddy Cole Quartet and the leader of the Randy Napoleon Trio. He has toured with Benny Green, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra , led by John Clayton, Jeff Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, and with Michael Bublé.-Early...
.
Napoleon was educated at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, where she earned a BA and an MA in psychology while studying playwriting with Kenneth Thorpe Rowe
Kenneth Thorpe Rowe
Kenneth Thorpe Rowe was a professor and much-loved teacher at the University of Michigan. Rowe taught Shakespeare and modern drama, but was best known as an influential teacher of playwriting.-Approach to playwriting:...
. She went on to New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and graduated with an MA in drama and a Ph.D. in performance studies.
She was a columnist for TheaterWeek
TheaterWeek
TheaterWeek was a favorite magazine among theater artists and theater lovers. It covered Broadway, off-Broadway, regional, and educational theater with articles theat included profiles of actors, directors, designers and behind the scenes looks at particular shows...
magazine and has been a contributing editor for Theater Crafts, which became Theatre Crafts International, then Entertainment Design, then Live Design. She has also written for American Theatre, American Film, InTheatre, Playbill
Playbill
Playbill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
, ScriptWriter News, Stages and assorted general interest magazines. These include children's magazines, teen magazines Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
and others, and a range of general magazines, such as New York Magazine and Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers is an international company that offers various dieting products and services to assist weight loss and maintenance. Founded in 1963 by Brooklyn homemaker Jean Nidetch, it operates in about 30 countries around the world, generally under names that are local translations of “Weight...
. She was a stringer for the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
and for the Ann Arbor News
Ann Arbor News
The Ann Arbor News was a newspaper serving Washtenaw and Livingston counties in Michigan. Published in Ann Arbor, under various names from 1835 to 2009, The News was part of Booth Newspapers, owned by Advance Publications Inc. The News was published in the afternoons Monday through Friday and in...
in the 1980s. She was the theater reviewer for the Ann Arbor News from 1987-1988.
Napoleon honed her critical skills at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
's National Critics Institute in Waterford, CT, in the summer of 1977, which she attended on a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
grant.
Napoleon has written extensively about the history and issues surrounding the not-for-profit theater in America. Her book about Robert Kalfin
Robert Kalfin
Robert Zangwill Kalfin is an American stage director and producer who has worked on and off Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country. He is a former artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the founder/artistic director of The Chelsea Theater...
and the Chelsea Theater Center
Chelsea Theater Center
The Chelsea Theater Center was a not-for-profit theater company founded in 1965 by Robert Kalfin, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. It opened its doors in a church in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, then moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1968, where it was in residence for ten...
is an in-depth history of the life of a theater in the 1960s and 70s. Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater is a book by Davi Napoleon about the onstage triumphs and the offstage turmoil at the Chelsea Theater Center of Brooklyn...
(1991) describes on and off stage dramas, detailing internal conflicts when a theater that was the darling of critics and audiences was forced to downsize because of changes in funding to the arts. Hal Prince
Hal Prince
Harold Smith Prince is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century...
wrote the foreword to the book that found a readership among working artists both because it is one of the first complex studies of regional theater and because of its dramatic structure and narrative.
She has also written many articles about producer/critic Robert Brustein
Robert Brustein
Robert Sanford Brustein is an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright and educator. He founded both Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he remains a Creative Consultant, and has been the theatre critic for...
and interviewed critic John Simon
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon is an American author and literary, theater, and film critic.-Personal life:Simon was born in Subotica, Bačka, County of Bačka, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later, known as Yugoslavia . He is of Hungarian descent...
for The Paris Review.
Napoleon has written several plays, including Four's Company, produced at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York City in 1974. She was awarded two University of Michigan Hopwood Award
Hopwood Award
The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood.Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist and member of the Class of 1905 of The University of Michigan, one-fifth of Mr. Hopwood's estate was given to the...
s in 1965 and 1966 for plays she wrote as an undergraduate. She later served as a judge for this creative writing contest.
External links
- Davi Napoleon's columns at The Faster Times
- partial list of articles by Davi Napoleon for Live Design
- partial list of articles by Davi Napoleon for University of Michigan publications