“Directed by Daniel J. Bryant, this new play from May Treuhaft-Ali is a brutal dissection of the inequities in our public school system.” - Broadway World
"Daniel J. Bryant, leads this terrific 13-person cast and gives us a gorgeous vision on stage." - Cherry and Spoon
“ ‘What to Send Up When It Goes Down’ ” is a cathartic journey through the pain of living as a Black person in an anti-Black society. It depicts our frustrations, our angers, our fears, the ways we deal with them. It also shows the ways we keep fighting and laughing and living in spite of it all.” - Chicago Sun-Times
“This play is a thought-provoking, sobering, but often times laugh-out- loud gothic tale, smartly crafted to work on many complex intellectual levels.” – Broadway World
"It's a show that rests on the power and magnetism of its performers, and the cast of Geva's production put on an acting masterclass." — Broadway World
A Few Recent Credits
The Color Purple
Theatre Latte Da and Geva Theater
Minneapolis, MN - Rochester, NY
ABCD
Barrington Stage Company
Barrington, MA
How to Catch Creation
Geva Theater
Rochester, NY
the ripple, the wave that carried me home
Portland Center Stage and Artists Repertory Theatre
Portland, OR
What To Send Up When It Goes Down
Congo Square Theatre
Chicago, IL
A Little About Me
A Little About Me
Member of
SDC - AEA - AFTRA/SAG
For me its all about vibrantly reflecting the universe of people and circumstances that the play holds between its pages. I really lean into creating a heightened theatrical world on stage that is so electric and rich with storytelling- that the audience is drawn in and bares witness to every moment, as if they were there themselves.
The goal through my work is to explore, reveal, interrogate, expand, feel, celebrate and, if successful, transform audiences’ experience of being human together, while honoring our differences. I am inspired by stories and ideas that challenge us to see something new or different in the world, in someone else or in ourselves.
- Daniel J. Bryant on his work
The Color Purple
Based on the novel by Alice Walker - Book by Marsha Norman
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
A co-production between Theater Latte Da and Geva Theatre Company
May - June 2024
“Theater Latté Da’s newest production, in co-production with Geva Theatre Center, of The Color Purple, can easily be called one of the most transcendent experiences that has been mounted on a Twin Cities stage, in ages.”
-Broadway World
“Director Daniel J. Bryant directs the production with such precision and focus, that the audience is never lost in what his vision is”
-Broadway World
Photos by Dan Norman
Daniel and Cast Talk About the Rehearsal Process
Official Trailer
the ripple, the wave that carried me home
Written by Christina Anderson
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
Co-Production between Portland Center Stage and Artists Repertory Theatre
October 2022
‘It's a stunning example of storytelling - wrapping a history lesson about the social justice movement of the 1960s in a poignant family drama. Also, the final scene is one of the most beautiful expressions of joy I've ever seen on stage.”
- Broadway World
"This play itself is beautiful - the way the story is woven together, the language that borders on poetry flowing over you like water - it's often heartbreaking, but also heart-filling."
- Broadway World
"As charmingly warm, personable and down-to-earth as it is politically incisive, poetically eloquent and emotionally grand, the ripple… serves up Black joy that’s been earned through generations of effort in the world and reflection in private places."
- Oregon Arts Watch
"A superb play. One I am glad I saw, not just for the action on stage, but for the jolt it gave me when I realized that we haven't moved as far--or as quickly--as I thought we had. The whole country might benefit from that jolt."
- The Crippled Critic
Photographs by Portland Stage Center
Teaser
Performance Snippit
Sneak Peak: Teching the water projection for final moment of show
What To Send Up When It Comes Down
Written by Aleshea Harris
co- directed by Daniel J Bryant w/ Ericka Ratliff
Congo Square Theatre
March - May 2022
“ ‘What to Send Up When It Goes Down’ ” is a cathartic journey through the pain of living as a Black person in an anti-Black society. It depicts our frustrations, our angers, our fears, the ways we deal with them. It also shows the ways we keep fighting and laughing and living in spite of it all.”
- Chicago Sun-Times
“...Together, this team - production and cast - create an awesome and enduring experience. Six days later, I'm still having regular moments of recollection and new insight; I predict these perceptions and inspirations will continue for some time."
- Buzz Center Stage
Photos by John R. Boehm
Behind The Scenes
ABCD
Written by May Treuhaft-Ali
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
Barrington Stage Company
July 2022
“Directed by Daniel J. Bryant, this new play from May Treuhaft-Ali is a brutal dissection of the inequities in our public school system.”
- Broadway World
“Director Daniel J. Bryant adeptly keeps the action moving with many conceptual balls in the air.”
- Splash Magazine
“If you’ve never before witnessed the magic of live theater, you will in this production as the set pieces move, revolve, unfold, open us and change your perception of how a movie is better than a play.”
- The Berkshire Edge
Photos by Barrington Stage Company
Daniel Bryant and Playwright Talk About ABCD
Behind the Scenes
How To Catch Creation
Written by Christina Anderson
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
GEVA THEATRE
March 2022
“… this production, directed by Daniel J. Bryant, hits all of the right notes.”
- Broadway World
“This dynamic and comedic script comes to life under Daniel J. Bryant’s direction with an impressive attention to detail, in both design and acting choices.”
- Rochester City Magazine
Photos by Ron Heearkins Jr.
Feature Television Segment of Cast
Feeding Beatrice
By Kristen Greenidge
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
November 2019
“This play is a thought-provoking, sobering, but often times laugh-out- loud gothic tale, smartly crafted to work on many complex intellectual levels.”
– Broadway World
Photos by The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Official Trailer
A Wonder In My Soul
By Marcus Gardley
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
Baltimore Centre Stage
December 2018
“That’s a lot for one play, and director Daniel Bryant and dramaturg Sabine Decatur must have nerves of steel to keep all these theatrical plates spinning and not crash.”
– DC Theatre Scene
“Attentively directed with a sure hand and steady gaze by Center Stage’s own Daniel Bryant, the production hums with an engaging energy that never lets up even in the quieter, more contemplative moments (of which there are not many.) Bryant knows his material and his actors and has assembled a team who expertly give presence to both his and the writer’s vision.”
–The Maryland Theatre Guide
Photos by Bill Geenen
Official Trailer
King Hedley II
By August Wilson
Directed by Daniel J. Bryant
Congo Square Theatre
March 2014
“Director Daniel Bryant has a wonderful understanding of the emotional journey in these speeches, and the actors keep the momentum, of the production speeding long by hitting those beats with intensity and clarity.”
- TIME OUT Chicago
“Life’s got its own rhythm,” says Ruby (TaRon Patton). “It don’t always go along with your rhythm.” This is the continuous theme of August Wilson’s “King Hedley II,” directed by Daniel Bryant and presented by Congo Square Theatre Company.”
- New City Stage
Sneak Peak
Scenes From King Hedley 2