Lenora Champagne
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Lenora Champagne is an American playwright and performing artist.


Early years

As a child, Champagne wanted to be a doctor. She moved from Louisiana to New York City in the early 1970s expecting to be a painter, but took up performance art instead. She graduated with a BA in English from
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, 1972, a MA in drama from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
, 1975, and a PhD in performance studies from New York University, 1980.


Career

In 1981 Champagne began work as an actor and director. From 1993 to 2000, she was a member playwright at New Dramatists. In 1995 she spent time in Canada through an NEA artist's residency grant. In 2013 she taught in Japan as part of a Fulbright grant. Champagne is a professor and head of theatre and performance at
Purchase College Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwee ...
, SUNY. Champagne frequently collaborates with sculptors, media artists and installation artists. Her live performances can be seen in galleries and arts spaces such as Franklin Furnace, the New Museum, and Creative Time's Art on the Beach. She also co-created an installation for the New Museum's Art Mall as Social Space show in 1992.


Works

Champagne is the author of one book and also a number of essays, plays and performance texts. *''Out from Under: Texts by Women Performance Artists'' (1993) Plays include: *''Memory's Storehouse'' (2011) *''Photo Finish'' (2010) *''Staying Afloat'' (2008) *''Traces/fades'' (2007) *''L'heure blue'' (2007) *''La Recherche du Pain Perdu'' (2006) *''Mother’s Little Helper'' (2003) *''Memoirs of a Cajun-American Princess'' (2003) *''The Mama Dramas'' (2002) *''Coaticook'' (2002) *''Dusk'' (2000) *''The Singing: a cyberspace opera'' (book and lyrics) with composer Daniel Levy (1998) *''Wants'' solo (1997) *''Wants'' for 3 actors (1996) *''My Nebraska'' (1996) *''Flying Home'' (1996) *''Valentine’s Day, 1980'' (1996) *''The Best Things in Life'' solo (1993) *''The Best Things in Life'' for 3 actors (1994) *''A Tourist’s Guide to the Big Easy'' (1996) *''Creole, a Tropical Fantasy'' (1993) *''The Knowledge Project'' (1992) *''With You the Rest of…'' (1991) *''Isabella Dreams the New World'' (1993) *''On, Say, Can You See?'' (1990) *''Dr. Charcot’s Hysteria Shows'' (1988–89) *''Out from Under'' (1989) *''Women without Parts'' (1988) *''Sarah Bernhardt Meets Her Waterloo'' (1987) *''Fractured Tales from There to Here'' (1987) *''Winter Heat'' (1987) *''As Ready, Apart from Herself'' (1986) *''Home'' (1986) *''The Eye of the Garden'' (1985) *''Fractured Juliet'' (1985–86) *''From the Red Light District'' (1984–85) *''Reptile Warmth'' (1984–85) *''The Way to the River'' (1984) *''Flying Home'' (1983–84) *''Manna'' (1983) *''Getting Over Tom'' (1982) *''Women in Research'' (1981–82)


Awards

Selected awards include: *NYFA Fellowship in Performance Art in 2003 *NYFA Fellowship in Playwriting in 1998 *1996 Jane Chambers Playwriting Award for ''Wants'' (for 3 actors) *1993 Native Voices/Native Visions Playwriting Award for ''Isabella Dreams the New World'' *Richard Rodgers Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for ''The Singing: a cyberspace opera''


Personal life

Champagne lives in New York City's West Village with her husband, playwright and director Robert Lyons, and their daughter Amelie.


References


External links


Website for Lenora Champagne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champagne, Lenora Living people 21st-century American writers American musical theatre directors American theatre managers and producers Writers from New York City American performance artists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Year of birth missing (living people) Fulbright alumni