Theatre As an actor, singer, and poet, Daniel has worked throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa performing on television, acting in theatrical productions, singing leading roles in operas, and giving solo concerts of his own work. He has performed at The White House and has graced the stage of
The Kennedy Center in tribute to
Ruby Dee and
Ossie Davis. Daniel is the 2004 Grand Slam Champion at the world-famous
Nuyorican Poet's Café and The Fox Networks National Redemption Slam Champion. He has performed on programs with artists such as
Jill Scott,
Sonia Sanchez,
MC Lyte,
Mos Def,
Tracy Chapman,
Deepak Chopra, and
Phylicia Rashad. His critically acclaimed solo play
Emergency (formerly Emergence-SEE!) directed by
Kenny Leon ran off-Broadway to a sold-out, extended run at
The Public Theater in the fall of 2006. For this production, he received the 2007
Obie Award for Excellence in Off-Broadway Theater for Writing & Performing and the 2007 AUDELCO Award for Solo Performance.
New York magazine awarded him a 2007 Culture Award for Best in Theater. Daniel has toured
Emergency nationally and internationally. He is 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 February 2008, he received two Helen Hayes Award nominations for the best in theater in Washington, D.C., and in June 2008, he was the winner of the Unique Theatrical Experience Award from the
New Jersey Star Ledger for his production at the Crossroads Theater Company in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In the spring of 2008, Emergency had a sold-out seven-week engagement at the
Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. This production was directed by
Charles Randolph-Wright and was awarded two 2009 NAACP Theater Awards including Best Actor. He was awarded the 2007-08 AETNA American Voices Playwright-in-Residence position at Hartford Stage, and a commission to write a new play. His 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. His critically acclaimed solo show
Through the Night ran off-Broadway in 2010 at the
Union Square Theatre produced by Daryl Roth. For this performance Daniel has received the 2010 NAACP Theater Award for Best Solo Show, 2010 Audelco Award for Solo Performance and the 2010 Ovation Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play. He also received Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Nominations.
Theater Communications Group awarded Daniel the 2011 Peter Slenderize Memorial Award that recognizes an individual or organization whose work exemplifies pioneering practices in theatre, are dedicated to the freedom of expression, and are unafraid of taking risks for the advancement of the art form. His solo play
Mr. Joy appeared at the Riverside Theatre in May 2012. Daniel's play based on the life of
Paul Robeson,
The Tallest Tree in the Forest, was premiered at
La Jolla Playhouse in 2014. The play was directed by
Moises Kaufman. Daniel's spoken word ballet,
Far But Close was premiered by
Dance Theater of Harlem in 2013. In 2016 Daniel was artist in residence at
ArtsEmerson in Boston, MA.
Film Daniel was seen on the third and fourth seasons of HBO's
Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry; as a guest artist on NBC's
Showtime at the Apollo with Rueben Studdard; and on BET's
106 & Park. In addition to his writing for the stage, Daniel was hired by
Showtime to create an original half-hour series based on his play Emergency and by Spitfire Pictures to create an original screenplay about the life of
George Moses Horton, an African-American poet born into slavery.
Music In October 2008, Daniel collaborated with composer and violinist
Daniel Bernard Roumain on an orchestral work titled ''Darwin's Meditation for the People of Lincoln
that premiered at the BAM Next Wave Festival and continues to tour nationally and internationally. His family musical Trippin’
was optioned by Disney and produced by Harlem Stage. Breath & Imagination'', Daniel's musical about the life of Roland Hayes, the first African-American classical vocalist of world renown, recently received a reading at the York Theater and was presented by
ArtsEmerson in 2015. Both
Emergency and
Through the Night have are published by
Samuel French and available online.
Teacher Post graduate school, Beaty began teaching acting, singing and writing in Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Bronx. Here Beaty began to focus his work- questioning the world we live in, the challenges people face, and what's to come of this world in the future. Daniel is currently an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of the Arts at
Columbia University. == Published works ==