Daniel Gallant
Encyclopedia
Daniel Gallant is a theatrical producer, playwright, director and actor based in New York City
, New York
. He is also the current executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
.
Gallant grew up in Rockville, MD and attended Sidwell Friends school in Washington, D.C.
After graduating from Swarthmore College
in 1998, Gallant moved to New York City and worked at talent agency ICM Artists. Gallant produced and directed a number of small theater productions in New York. He received a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University
, and subsequently began working as Director of Theater Programming at the 92nd Street Y
's Makor Center.
While at Makor, Gallant curated performances, readings and workshops of numerous plays and musicals. He created the Festival of 'Wrights, a theater series that premiered new work by such artists as Mark O'Donnell
, Warren Leight
and Craig Lucas
and included readings featuring David Strathairn
, Dan Hedaya
, Paul Rudd
, Martha Plimpton
and other notable performers. He also moderated on-stage interviews featuring Tony Kushner
, Wendy Wasserstein
, Norman Mailer
, Peter Falk
, Neil LaBute
, Chazz Palminteri
, Liz Swados and other artists.
Gallant has also curated theater and talk events and taught classes at the 92nd Street Y's downtown Manhattan venue, 92YTribeca.
In 2007, Gallant produced and directed Five Story Walkup, a four-week benefit for the 13th Street Repertory Theatre; the show included premier stagings of short plays and monologues by Neil LaBute
, John Guare
, Quincy Long, Clay McLeod Chapman, Laura Shaine Cunningham and Daniel F. Levin., The monologues and plays that constitute "Five Story Walkup" were published in the anthology THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2007-2008 by Applause Books in August 2009. In 2010, Gallant produced Seven Card Draw, a benefit for Dixon Place; this show featured premier stagings of short dramatic works by LaBute, Guare and the other authors who had contributed to Five Story Walkup, as well as a performance by Piper Perabo
. The monologues and plays that constitute "Seven Card Draw" will be published in the anthology THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2009-2010 by Applause Books in August 2011.
In spring of 2008, Gallant was appointed as the new executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
, a legendary artistic and cultural venue located in Manhattan's east village. Gallant joined the Cafe just before its 35th Anniversary Celebration, an enormous concert event at Manhattan's Town Hall.
Since Gallant's appointment, the Cafe's operating budget has increased significantly, as has event attendance. Gallant's management efforts have focused on modernizing and expanding the operations of the Cafe while maintaining its artistic and cultural traditions.
Gallant has also significantly expanded the Cafe’s online presence; according to the Wall Street Journal, “since late 2009, Mr. Gallant has exploited expanding social-media tools to grow the cafe from a small, volunteer-led venue best known for weekly poetry events to a thriving arts center with partnerships across the city. Through strategic use of Facebook, Twitter and a $10,000-per-month grant from Google, he said he has boosted online ticket sales by 30% and web traffic by 40%, and doubled the number of events from around one per evening to two or more.” Gallant has given presentations about social media strategies for small businesses and non-profits at events including RealtimeNY 11 and a conference for small business owners sponsored by Google and Chase; summaries of his presentations have appeared on social-media-themed blogs.
In summer 2008, Gallant's play Gerald's Method was produced twice in New York (at Center Stage and in the Midtown International Theatre Festival) and nominated by the New York Innovative Theatre Awards
for best short script. Gallant's other short works have been staged at venues including Theater for the New City, the Cornelia Street Cafe and Mo Pitkins.
In fall 2008, Gallant produced the off-Broadway premiere of David Brandes
' and Joseph Telushkin
's play The Quarrel
, based on their 1991 film of the same name. The play was staged at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square.
In winter 2008, Gallant produced the musical Ogden Nash
's The Tales of Custard the Dragon (by Bradford W. Ross and Danny Whitman) off-Broadway at the DR2 Theatre.
Gallant has co-produced the long-running rock musicals Soul Searching and Generations. He also curated and hosted the multi-venue performance/reading series Acoustic Theater.
Gallant has appeared as an actor in several productions, including Five Story Walkup, Josephine Undone and Gerald's Method.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He is also the current executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
.
Gallant grew up in Rockville, MD and attended Sidwell Friends school in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
After graduating from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in 1998, Gallant moved to New York City and worked at talent agency ICM Artists. Gallant produced and directed a number of small theater productions in New York. He received a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and subsequently began working as Director of Theater Programming at the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
's Makor Center.
While at Makor, Gallant curated performances, readings and workshops of numerous plays and musicals. He created the Festival of 'Wrights, a theater series that premiered new work by such artists as Mark O'Donnell
Mark O'Donnell
Mark O’Donnell is an American writer and humorist. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1976. He was a member of the Harvard Lampoon, where he held the position of Ibis...
, Warren Leight
Warren Leight
Warren Leight is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and television producer. He is best known for his work on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Lights Out and the showrunner for In Treatment and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit....
and Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:...
and included readings featuring David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
, Dan Hedaya
Dan Hedaya
Daniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming...
, Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
, Martha Plimpton
Martha Plimpton
Martha Campbell Plimpton is an American actress and singer and former model. Plimpton is a screen, stage and television actress. She first appeared as Jonsy in the feature film River Rats before rising to prominence in the Richard Donner film The Goonies portraying the character Stef...
and other notable performers. He also moderated on-stage interviews featuring Tony Kushner
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
, Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
, Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
, Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, Neil LaBute
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
, Chazz Palminteri
Chazz Palminteri
Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri is an American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale, and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets Over Broadway....
, Liz Swados and other artists.
Gallant has also curated theater and talk events and taught classes at the 92nd Street Y's downtown Manhattan venue, 92YTribeca.
In 2007, Gallant produced and directed Five Story Walkup, a four-week benefit for the 13th Street Repertory Theatre; the show included premier stagings of short plays and monologues by Neil LaBute
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
, John Guare
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
, Quincy Long, Clay McLeod Chapman, Laura Shaine Cunningham and Daniel F. Levin., The monologues and plays that constitute "Five Story Walkup" were published in the anthology THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2007-2008 by Applause Books in August 2009. In 2010, Gallant produced Seven Card Draw, a benefit for Dixon Place; this show featured premier stagings of short dramatic works by LaBute, Guare and the other authors who had contributed to Five Story Walkup, as well as a performance by Piper Perabo
Piper Perabo
Piper Lisa Perabo is a Golden Globe Award nominated American stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Perabo was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary Charlotte , a physical therapist, and George William Perabo, a professor of poetry at Ocean...
. The monologues and plays that constitute "Seven Card Draw" will be published in the anthology THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2009-2010 by Applause Books in August 2011.
In spring of 2008, Gallant was appointed as the new executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
, a legendary artistic and cultural venue located in Manhattan's east village. Gallant joined the Cafe just before its 35th Anniversary Celebration, an enormous concert event at Manhattan's Town Hall.
Since Gallant's appointment, the Cafe's operating budget has increased significantly, as has event attendance. Gallant's management efforts have focused on modernizing and expanding the operations of the Cafe while maintaining its artistic and cultural traditions.
Gallant has also significantly expanded the Cafe’s online presence; according to the Wall Street Journal, “since late 2009, Mr. Gallant has exploited expanding social-media tools to grow the cafe from a small, volunteer-led venue best known for weekly poetry events to a thriving arts center with partnerships across the city. Through strategic use of Facebook, Twitter and a $10,000-per-month grant from Google, he said he has boosted online ticket sales by 30% and web traffic by 40%, and doubled the number of events from around one per evening to two or more.” Gallant has given presentations about social media strategies for small businesses and non-profits at events including RealtimeNY 11 and a conference for small business owners sponsored by Google and Chase; summaries of his presentations have appeared on social-media-themed blogs.
In summer 2008, Gallant's play Gerald's Method was produced twice in New York (at Center Stage and in the Midtown International Theatre Festival) and nominated by the New York Innovative Theatre Awards
New York Innovative Theatre Awards
The New York Innovative Theatre Awards were founded in 2004. These annual awards honor excellence in Off-Off-Broadway Theatre and help nurture and promote the Off-Off-Broadway community.-Mission statement:...
for best short script. Gallant's other short works have been staged at venues including Theater for the New City, the Cornelia Street Cafe and Mo Pitkins.
In fall 2008, Gallant produced the off-Broadway premiere of David Brandes
David Brandes
David Brandes is a Swiss-born German songwriter and producer. Brandes has written and produced for many artists, including E-Rotic, Bad Boys Blue, Chris Norman, Indiggo, Lemon Ice and Vanilla Ninja...
' and Joseph Telushkin
Joseph Telushkin
Joseph Telushkin is an American rabbi, lecturer, and author.-Biography:Telushkin attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, was ordained at Yeshiva University, and studied Jewish history at Columbia University....
's play The Quarrel
The Quarrel
The Quarrel is a 1991 Canadian film directed by Eli Cohen and starring Saul Rubinek and R. H. Thomson. The film was written by David Brandes and Joseph Telushkin.- Summary :...
, based on their 1991 film of the same name. The play was staged at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square.
In winter 2008, Gallant produced the musical Ogden Nash
Ogden Nash
Frederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".-Early life:Nash was born in Rye, New York...
's The Tales of Custard the Dragon (by Bradford W. Ross and Danny Whitman) off-Broadway at the DR2 Theatre.
Gallant has co-produced the long-running rock musicals Soul Searching and Generations. He also curated and hosted the multi-venue performance/reading series Acoustic Theater.
Gallant has appeared as an actor in several productions, including Five Story Walkup, Josephine Undone and Gerald's Method.