Having recently closed Tony-award winning run of After Midnight, Elon graduate pursues original work with WattsWords Productions and makes plans for creative project at Elon.
Music theatre alumnus Daniel J. Watts ’04 has recently made headlines in New York for his participation in an organized response to the death of Eric Garner, who died after being allegedly placed in a prohibited chokehold by a New York police officer.
In front of a flashmob of more than 100 Broadway performers, directors and choreographers brought together and filmed by WalkRunFly productions and MSNBC’s theGrio, Watts performed a spoken word piece reminding the New York Police Department of its alleged actions that have created victims, such as Garner.
Since his graduation in 2004, Watts has been all over Broadway, New York and theaters around the nation. With seven Broadway credits amongst various off-Broadway and regional opportunities, Watts has performed in shows including, but not limited to, The Color Purple, Motown: The Musical, The Little Mermaid, In the Heights, Ghost, and his most recent credit, After Midnight, which he called “his dream show.” Watts, who Broadway World recently recognized as “Gypsy of the Month,” has also pursued many straight acting opportunities such as his recent participation in HBO’s television series Boardwalk Empire.
In staging original work for WattsWords Productions, his own company that specializes in poetic, spoken word art, Watts is not new to the realm of spoken word performance and recently has announced his plans to bring his work back to his alma mater. He will visit Elon in September to work with six to eight students in a new WattsWords original “piece” that will premiere at the school Sept. 26 and 27.
Watch Daniel J. Watts with “I Can’t Breathe” Flashmob
Read about Watts’ selection as “Gypsy of the Month” by Broadway World