The Dark Nights Of Lady Day At Downtown Urban Theater Festival

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Brooklyn writer/actor Andrina Smith will perform her play The Dark Nights of Lady Day at the 12th Annual season of Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) on April 16, 2014 in Soho, NYC. "Billie Holiday is a name that resonates with familiarity in the ears of many Americans, yet few know of the journey that made her a household name. The Dark Nights of Lady Day seeks to portray the life of the singer, and why over 50 years after her death, she remains relevant. Her path was hardly smooth but, like her voice, it was distinctly her own." says Andrina Smith.

Andrina's actting credits include The Poor of New York (Columbia Stages) The African Drum (The Shadowbox Theatre), Play or be Played (Roy Arias Theatre), and Gypsy (North Fork Community Theatre). She also wrote the solo show Suicidal Tendencies: Freedom from a Dark Place.

In 2001, DUTF was founded with the purpose to build a repertoire of new American theatre that echoes the true spirit of urban life and speaks to a whole new generation whose lives defy categorizing along conventional lines. That purpose has been realized many times over, as more than 100 writers have created and refined their work for the stage and thousands of inspired audience members have applauded their performances. DUTF inaugurated the festival in 2002 at HERE in SoHo to help revitalize the NYC downtown arts scene, which, at the time, was experiencing a severe downturn due to the WTC disaster. It has been recognized as "one of the world's best festivals for new works" and described as "not only prestigious, but a slice of heaven for playwrights who want the chance to freely express themselves." (Lisa Mulcahy, Theater Festivals, Allworth Press, 2005)

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