Hello. My name is Nicola Daval. I have been a narrator at NLS since 2004, after having been a monitor/reviewer for seven years.
Being a narrator at NLS is immensely rewarding. I enjoy reading a wide range of both fiction and nonfiction, including favorites such as Moira Young’s The Dust Lands Trilogy, Thor Hansen’s The Triumph of Seeds (DB81894), Linda Lear’s Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature (DB65806) and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s The Dressmaker of Khair Khana (DB73665). As a bonus, I’ve been able to work with and learn from some of the best narrators anywhere, including Ray Hagen, Laura Giannarelli, Michael Kramer, Kimberly Schraf, Michael Russotto and many others.
A native Californian, I grew up in the Bay Area and attended the University of California, Berkeley, earning degrees in anthropology, humanities and library and information science. After several years at the University of California, San Diego Library, I moved to Washington, DC, in 1979 to take a position at the Association of Research Libraries.
While in DC, I have worked at a number of area theatres. Among my favorite roles are Maria in Uncle Vanya at Everyman Theatre, Mrs. Bridgenorth in Getting Married at the Washington Stage Guild, the Actress in Into the Dollhouse with banished? productions and Sarah in the Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Quilters at Castle Arts Center. But my all-time favorite role is the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. I was also the administrator for the League of Washington Theatres for 15 years, and I may have sold you a half-price theatre ticket somewhere along the line at TICKETplace in downtown DC.
I am especially proud to be one of the founders of Tap America Project. We worked with Congress to establish National Tap Dance Day (May 25). We also produced a number of tap dance performances, festivals and master classes, along with a six-week course, Celebration of Tap, with the Smithsonian Associates. Our special guests include such tap luminaries as Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Maurice Hines, Brenda Buffalino and LaVaughn Robinson.
