Daniel Beaty Presents ‘Emergency’ at FAU
“Emergency” is an explosive solo tour de force featuring slam poetry, multi-character transformation and song.
Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters presents Daniel Beaty, award-winning actor, singer, writer, composer and poet, with his performance of “Emergency,” an explosive solo tour de force featuring slam poetry, multi-character transformation and song. The show will take place on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. The event is free and open to the public. Attendance availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7:30.
In “Emergency,” a slave ship emerges in front of the Statue of Liberty sending New York into a whirlwind of emotion and exploration. Beaty portrays a cast of 40 characters including a homeless man, a scientist, a Republican business executive, a street vendor, and an 11-year-old boy from the projects who all respond to the unexpected phenomenon. Through the characters’ individual responses to this surreal happening and their varied testimonies on identity and personal freedom, “Emergency” weaves a stirring commentary on what it is to be human and the longing to be free.
Beaty’s work as an actor and writer is deeply rooted in a desire to tell stories that illuminate our shared humanity by giving voice to the voiceless and often overlooked in our society. He believes story is at the heart of every challenge and every possibility, and we individually and collectively have the power to write a story that creates opportunity and access for all.
Raised in Dayton, Ohio and a child of a heroin-addicted, many-times incarcerated father and an older brother addicted to crack cocaine, Beaty is a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform and aims to give voice to the impact of mass incarceration on children and families. For years Beaty battled low self-esteem and depression rooted in his childhood trauma, but he went on to graduate from Yale University and the American Conservatory Theater.
Beaty is the co-writer and lead actor of the upcoming feature film “Chapter & Verse,” with Loretta Devine and Omari Hardwick, about a man who re-integrates into society after eight years in prison. His critically acclaimed plays “Through the Night,” “Emergency,” “Mr. Joy,” “Breath and Imagination,” and “The Tallest Tree in the Forest – Paul Robeson” have been produced at leading theaters across the nation and venues ranging from Lincoln Center to the White House, garnering numerous awards including an Obie award for writing and performance and three NAACP Theatre Awards.
This event is sponsored in part by FAU’s Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative, South Florida Cultural Platform and the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to visit the opening of the exhibition “Sharon Daniel: Secret Injustices 2007-2016” in the Schmidt Gallery, adjacent to the University Theatre, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. For more information, call 561-297-3810 or visit www.fau.edu/artsandletters/events/emergency-daniel-beaty.php.
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Tags: arts and letters | community