Victoria Ann Lewis is an American theatre artist, actress, and scholar. Ann Lewis played Peggy on Knots Landing. She is the editor of Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights.

Victoria Ann Lewis
NationalityAmerican
Known forDisability theatre
Notable workKnots Landing

Early life

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Ann Lewis had polio as a child, leaving her right leg weaker. As a result, she walks with a limp and uses a leg brace.[1]

When Ann Lewis was 14, her parents enrolled her in drama school. She attended Columbia University where she pursued an MA in English literature.[1] Ann Lewis has a Ph.D. in theatre from the University of California at Los Angeles.[2]: 329 

Career

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Ann Lewis is the founder and director of Mark Taper Forum's Other Voices Project.[3] The Other Voices Project teaches theatre to disabled people and educates the public about disability.[4]

In 1983, Ann Lewis produced, developed and performed in Tell Them I'm a Mermaid, a televised musical theatre performance exploring the lives of seven disabled women.[5] She later developed and performed in Who Parks in Those Spaces?, another televised special centring around disability.[6]

From 1984 to 1993, Ann Lewis played Peggy, the secretary, on Knots Landing. In 1993, she played Edna Miles in Light Sensitive at the Old Globe Theatre.[1]

Ann Lewis edited Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights, which was published by Theatre Communications Group in 2006.[7][8] In 2010, her chapter "Disability and Access: A Manifesto for Actor Training" was published as part of The Politics of American Actor Training.[9] She is currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Redlands.[10]

Plays

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  • Tell Them I'm a Mermaid (1983)[2]: 329 
  • Teenage Ninja Mothers[2]: 329 
  • P.H.*reaks: The Hidden History of People with Disabilities (1993)[2]: 70  - adapted by Doris Baizley and Victoria Ann Lewis from writing by Isaac Agnew, Mary Martz, Ben Mattlin, Peggy Oliveri, Steve Pallet, Vince Pinto, John Pixley, Paul Ryan, Leslye Sneider, Bill Trzeciak and Tamara Turner[11]
  • Stuck (1998)[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Churnin, Nancy (February 21, 1993). "Theater : Seeing the 'Light' : Victoria Ann-Lewis wins acclaim in a breakthrough Old Globe role that she landed because of--and in spite of--her disability". LA Times. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Sandahl, Carrie; Auslander, Philip (2005). Bodies in Commotion : Disability and Performance. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472068913. OCLC 593239896.
  3. ^ a b Conway, Ann (June 22, 1998). "Night Proves Very Special for Disabled". LA Times. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Arkatov, Janice (April 7, 1989). "Taper Workshop Develops 'Other Voices'". LA Times. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Oppenheim, Irene (December 1, 1985). "Disabled Actors Reach Out on TV". New York Times. p. H32. ProQuest 111181044. Retrieved April 24, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Smith, Steven (January 16, 1986). "Acting Out Solutions for Disabled Youth". LA Times. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Fox, Ann (December 2007). "Beyond Victims and Villains: Contemporary Plays by Disabled Playwrights (Review)". Theatre Journal. 59 (4). Baltimore: 696–97. doi:10.1353/tj.2008.0010. S2CID 194072679. ProQuest 216054205 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ Peithman, Stephen (December 2006). "The Outsiders". Stage Directions. 19 (12): 62.
  9. ^ Harrick, Steven (September 2010). "The Politics of American Actor Training: Review". Theatre Topics. 20 (2): 193. doi:10.1353/tt.2010.0102. S2CID 143899629.
  10. ^ Lewis, Victoria Ann (June 15, 2004). "The Theatrical Landscape of Disability". Disability Studies Quarterly. 24 (3). doi:10.18061/dsq.v24i3.511. ISSN 2159-8371.
  11. ^ Sandahl, Carrie (April 2001). "7 plays about physical difference". American Theatre. 18 (4): 22–27. ProQuest 220585204 – via ProQuest.
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