IMANI HENRY’S B4T (before testosterone) TO SHOW IN THE DOWNTOWN URBAN THEATER FESTIVAL
AT THE NYC CHERRY LANE THEATER JUNE 28, 2005, 8PM

B4T (before testosterone), the underground hit that has toured cities, festivals and campuses from New England to the West Coast is back in New York for one night only. Funny and smart, this multi-media theater performance spins three stories Black, female-bodied and about being masculine in today’s society.

 “In alternating among his three characters, Henry educates without preaching and amuses without deprecating....Whether playing his magnetic self, the handsome Keith, or the struggling LaShanda, Henry creates rich identities with little more than his body and his voice as tools.... From start to finish, it is a delicate balance, and Henry never missteps.” -- Gina Perille, Boston Globe9/ 2003

B4T is a solo work written and performed by activist, writer, and performer Imani Henry and directed by OBIE winner, Diane Beckett. Also featured is the video from independent filmmaker and musician, Ava Berkosky. B4T is a homegrown project developed at The Brooklyn Arts Exchange, where Henry was an Artist-In –Residence.

Imani Henry is Activist, Writer, and Performer. Henry was recently featured on the March 2005 broadcast of the nationally syndicated PBS newsmagazine "In the Life” hosted by Ru Paul. His writings has appeared in several publications, including the Lambda Award-winning Does Your Mama Know and the newly released publication, War in Colombia: Made in USA. Since 1993 he has been a National Organizer at the International Action Center (IAC), where his activism has ranged from opposing US military inventions in Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, and Yugoslavia to organizing against police brutality and the death penalty.

Diane Beckett is an OBIE AWARD Winning Actress, director, producer. Her directing credits include B 4 T in Olympia Washington, and touring productions for Arts In Progress. Acting credits include Painted Snake (La Mama), Spunk and Jar the Floor (New Repertory Company), and Chain (Long Wharf Theatre)in Henry V and King Lear (Shakespeare and Company). Film credits include Next Stop Wonderland, Squeeze, Southie and Never Met Picasso. Ms. Beckett wrote and hosted Talk-it-Out a back to school special for Fox Television’s Emmy award winning Kids Club and lent her voice to the BBC and NPR co-production of the radio drama’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and A Landscape Painter.

The Cherry Lane Theater is located at 38 Commerce Street.  Tickets for B4T and all other DUTF shows can be purchased at http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/111784