
Daniel Beaty
Award-Winning Writer, Composer & Performer
Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and composer. Recently he had an extended off-Broadway run of his acclaimed solo play Through The Night produced by Daryl Roth. For this production Daniel received the 2010 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and the 2010 Ovation Award for Best Male Lead Actor. His critically acclaimed…
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Full Bio
Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and composer. Recently he had an extended off-Broadway run of his acclaimed solo play Through The Night produced by Daryl Roth. For this production Daniel received the 2010 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and the 2010 Ovation Award for Best Male Lead Actor.
His critically acclaimed solo play Emergence-See! ran off-Broadway to a sold-out, extended run at The Public Theater in the fall of 2006 for which he received the 2007 Obie Award for Excellence in Off-Broadway Theater for Writing & Performing and the 2007 AUDELCO Award for Solo Performance.
Daniel is also the recipient of the 2007 Scotsman Fringe First Award for the best new writer at the Edinburgh Festival and was presented with a Lamplighter Award from the Black Leadership Forum in Washington D.C. In the spring of 2008, Emergence-See!, now re-titled Emergency had a sold-out seven-week engagement at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and was awarded two 2009 NAACP Theater Awards including Best Actor.
Daniel has worked throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa performing on programs with artists such as Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Jill Scott, Sonia Sanchez, MC Lyte, Mos Def, Tracy Chapman, Deepak Chopra, and Phylicia Rashad. He holds a BA with Honors in English & Music from Yale University and an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre. His ensemble play Resurrection received its world premiere production at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. in August 2008 (where he was awarded the 2008 Edgerton Foundation’s new American Play Award); followed by engagements at Hartford Stage, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and ETA Theater in Chicago.
Daniel’s newest solo play Mt. Joy appeared at the Riverside Theatre in May 2012. In the upcoming season, his ensemble musical Breath & Imagination – The Story of Roland Hayes premiered as a co-production with Hartford Stage and Pittsburgh City Theater. He also has a new solo play on the life of Paul Robeson – The Tallest Tree in the Forest – directed by Moises Kaufman. He is a proud member of New Dramatists and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.
His first children’s book based on his poem Knock Knock was released in late 2013. Daniel has also written a Spoken World Ballet Far But Close that will premiere in the Dance Theater of Harlem. In early 2014, Daniel released Transforming Pain to Power, telling his story of growing up in a household impacted by addiction and incarceration. It is full of poems, personal stories, and exercises he’s used as a teacher for over a decade.
Daniel currently resides in New York City.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!

LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!

MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!

SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!

CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!

PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.

GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!

FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
A highly requested keynote speaker, Beaty has inspired audiences throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa. Beaty has spoken at organizational staff retreats and led leadership training for a myriad non-profits and corporations. Daniel’s signature keynote TRANSFORMING PAIN TO POWER explores his journey growing up with a father who was a heroine addict and dealer and a brother who was addicted to crack cocaine to discovering his purpose by watching Dr. King, graduating from Yale University, and his current career at the intersection of the arts and social justice. This non-traditional keynote includes spoken word poetry (including KNOCK KNOCK) and character excerpts from his various plays. The speech can be crafted for a variety of age groups and events.
I Dream
In 2012, Daniel Beaty created I Dream, a nationally recognized social justice initiative that uses the tools of the arts, immersive group exercises, and trauma recovery to support young people to rewrite the story of race and class inequity in America, and create social justice projects to make that new story reality. I Dream has reached over 2000 young people in three cities across the nation, Watts, CA; Omaha, NE; and Boston, MA.
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Run Black Man Run
Daniel Beaty
Daniel Beaty - "A Lost Black Boy Speaks"
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