Anna Deavere Smith
Encyclopedia
Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright
, and professor
. She is currently the artist in residence
at the Center for American Progress
.
Young), an elementary school principal, and Deavere Young Smith, a coffee merchant. Smith is an alumna of the historic Western High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
. She then attended Beaver College (now Arcadia University
), graduating in 1971. She received her M.F.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater
in San Francisco, California
.
, produced by Joseph Papp
and the New York Shakespeare Festival
, set in New Orleans in post-Civil War
America. For the role, Smith transformed herself into a "Cajun voodoo woman," an indication of the actress' transformational power that would manifest itself in her future work.
Smith is best known for her "documentary theatre
" style in plays such as Fires in the Mirror
and Twilight: Los Angeles
,both of which featured Smith as the sole performer of multiple and diverse characters and won her the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show
two years in a row. Fires in the Mirror dealt with the 1991 Crown Heights Riot
. Twilight: Los Angeles dealt with the 1992 Los Angeles riots
. Both of these plays were constructed using material solely from interviews. House Arrest (2000) and Let Me Down Easy (2008) continued in this style.
Let Me Down Easy, which centered on an exploration of the meaning of the word "grace," debuted at the Long Wharf Theatre
in January 2008. It was also performed at the American Repertory Theater in September and October 2008. A revised version of the show had its New York City premiere Off-Broadway
at Second Stage Theatre
in October 2009 and enjoyed favorable reviews and an extension into January 2010. She debuted her one-woman play, The Arizona Project in Phoenix, Arizona
, in November 2008. The piece, which explored "women's relationships to justice and the law," was commissioned by Bruce Ferguson
, director of Future Arts Research (F.A.R.), a new artist-driven research program at Arizona State University
in Phoenix.
As of July 2009 Smith is the artist in residence
with the Center for American Progress
and is developing a new show called The Americans, which documents change in Washington, DC.
, Rent
, and Rachel Getting Married
. She had recurring roles on The West Wing (National Security Advisor
Dr. Nancy McNally) and The Practice
. Smith appears as hospital administrator Mrs. Akalitus in the Showtime dark comedy
series Nurse Jackie
, which premiered in June 2009.
Smith teaches in the Department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts
at New York University
. From 1990 to 2000 she was a professor in the drama department at Stanford University
. She also teaches at NYU School of Law
.
in 1993 for Fires in the Mirror which won her a Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding One-Person Show. She was nominated for two Tony Awards in 1994 for Twilight: one for Best Actress and another for Best Play. The play won her a Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Solo Performance and a Theatre World Award
.
Smith was one of the 1996 recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant." She also won a 2006 Fletcher Foundation
Fellowship for her contribution to civil rights issues as well as a 2008 Matrix Award from the New York Women in Communications, Inc. In 2009 she won a Fellow Award in Theater Arts from United States Artists
.
She has received honorary degrees from Arcadia University
, Bates College
, Smith College
, Skidmore College
, Macalester College
, Occidental College
, Pratt Institute
, Holy Cross College
, Haverford College
, Wesleyan University
, School of Visual Arts
, Northwestern University
, Colgate University
, California State University Sacramento, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, Wheelock College
, and the Cooper Union
.
The United Solo Theatre Festival
board awarded her with uAward for outstanding solo performer during the inaugural edition in November 2010.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. She is currently the artist in residence
Artist in residence
Artist-in-residence programs and other residency opportunities allow visiting artists to stay and work so that they may apply singular focus to their art practice....
at the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
.
Early life
Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Anna (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Young), an elementary school principal, and Deavere Young Smith, a coffee merchant. Smith is an alumna of the historic Western High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
Western High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
Western Senior High School is the oldest public all-girl high school in the United States. Part of the Baltimore City Public School System, Western was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2009.- History :...
. She then attended Beaver College (now Arcadia University
Arcadia University
Arcadia University is a private university located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. A master's university by Carnegie Classification, the university has a co-educational student population of more than 4,000. The university was ranked 25th in the master's universities in...
), graduating in 1971. She received her M.F.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Theater
At the beginning of her career, Smith appeared in a wide range of stage productions, including the role of Mistress Quickly in an Off Broadway production of Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor with the Riverside Shakespeare CompanyRiverside Shakespeare Company
The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski...
, produced by Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
and the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
, set in New Orleans in post-Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
America. For the role, Smith transformed herself into a "Cajun voodoo woman," an indication of the actress' transformational power that would manifest itself in her future work.
Smith is best known for her "documentary theatre
Documentary theatre
Documentary theatre is theatre that wholly or in part uses pre-existing documentary material as source material for the script, ideally without altering its wording.-History:...
" style in plays such as Fires in the Mirror
Fires in the Mirror
Fires in the Mirror is a play by American playwright, author, actress, and professor Anna Deavere Smith. It chronicles the viewpoints of people connected to the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, crisis of 1991.-Context:...
and Twilight: Los Angeles
Twilight: Los Angeles
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is a one woman play written and originally performed by Anna Deavere Smith. The original Broadway production opened at the Cort Theater in New York City on April 17, 1994, ran for 72 performances and was nominated for the 1994 Tony Award for the Best Play...
,both of which featured Smith as the sole performer of multiple and diverse characters and won her the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
two years in a row. Fires in the Mirror dealt with the 1991 Crown Heights Riot
Crown Heights Riot
The Crown Heights Riot was a three-day riot in the United States that occurred August 19–21, 1991. It took place in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
. Twilight: Los Angeles dealt with the 1992 Los Angeles riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
. Both of these plays were constructed using material solely from interviews. House Arrest (2000) and Let Me Down Easy (2008) continued in this style.
Let Me Down Easy, which centered on an exploration of the meaning of the word "grace," debuted at the Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared....
in January 2008. It was also performed at the American Repertory Theater in September and October 2008. A revised version of the show had its New York City premiere Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
in October 2009 and enjoyed favorable reviews and an extension into January 2010. She debuted her one-woman play, The Arizona Project in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, in November 2008. The piece, which explored "women's relationships to justice and the law," was commissioned by Bruce Ferguson
Bruce Ferguson
Air Marshal Sir Bruce Reid Ferguson KNZM, OBE, AFC is the former Chief of New Zealand Defence Force and Director of Government Communications Security Bureau. He took up the appointment when the previous Director Dr. Warren Tucker, took up his new role as Director of Security Intelligence Service...
, director of Future Arts Research (F.A.R.), a new artist-driven research program at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in Phoenix.
As of July 2009 Smith is the artist in residence
Artist in residence
Artist-in-residence programs and other residency opportunities allow visiting artists to stay and work so that they may apply singular focus to their art practice....
with the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
and is developing a new show called The Americans, which documents change in Washington, DC.
Film and television
Smith has appeared in several films, including Philadelphia, The American PresidentThe American President (film)
The American President is a 1995 romantic comedy film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. It stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Richard Dreyfuss...
, Rent
Rent (film)
Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life...
, and Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married is a 2008 drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger. The film was released in the U.S. to select theaters on October 3, 2008. The film opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival. The film also...
. She had recurring roles on The West Wing (National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (United States)
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
Dr. Nancy McNally) and The Practice
The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
. Smith appears as hospital administrator Mrs. Akalitus in the Showtime dark comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
series Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City...
, which premiered in June 2009.
Teacher
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. From 1990 to 2000 she was a professor in the drama department at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. She also teaches at NYU School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
.
Author
In 2000 Smith published her first book, Talk to Me: Travels in Media and Politics. In 2006 she released another, Letters to a Young Artist: Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts-For Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind.Honors
As a dramatist Smith was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
in 1993 for Fires in the Mirror which won her a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding One-Person Show. She was nominated for two Tony Awards in 1994 for Twilight: one for Best Actress and another for Best Play. The play won her a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Solo Performance and a Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
.
Smith was one of the 1996 recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant." She also won a 2006 Fletcher Foundation
Fletcher Foundation
The Fletcher Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that supports civil rights and environmental education. It was created with a $50 million endowment in 2004 by New York financier and philanthropist Alphonse Fletcher, Jr....
Fellowship for her contribution to civil rights issues as well as a 2008 Matrix Award from the New York Women in Communications, Inc. In 2009 she won a Fellow Award in Theater Arts from United States Artists
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
.
She has received honorary degrees from Arcadia University
Arcadia University
Arcadia University is a private university located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. A master's university by Carnegie Classification, the university has a co-educational student population of more than 4,000. The university was ranked 25th in the master's universities in...
, Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
, Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, Skidmore College
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
, Macalester College
Macalester College
Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
, Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
, Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Holy Cross College
Holy Cross College
Holy Cross College may refer to:*Holy Cross College , Bangladesh*Holy Cross College , in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States*Holy Cross College , Western Province, Sri Lanka*Holy Cross College...
, Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
, Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
, California State University Sacramento, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, Wheelock College
Wheelock College
Wheelock College is a private, coeducational college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1888 by Lucy Wheelock. The mission of Wheelock College is to primarily improve the lives of children and families...
, and the Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
.
The United Solo Theatre Festival
United Solo Theatre Festival
United Solo Theatre Festival is a theatre festival. It takes place at Theatre ROW on 42nd Street in New York City. Its Founder and Artistic Director is Omar Sangare...
board awarded her with uAward for outstanding solo performer during the inaugural edition in November 2010.
Filmography
- All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
1983 - Hazel - Philadelphia 1993 - Anthea Burton
- Dave 1993 - Mrs. Travis
- Fires in the MirrorFires in the MirrorFires in the Mirror is a play by American playwright, author, actress, and professor Anna Deavere Smith. It chronicles the viewpoints of people connected to the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, crisis of 1991.-Context:...
1993 - Citizens of Crown Heights - The American PresidentThe American President (film)The American President is a 1995 romantic comedy film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. It stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Richard Dreyfuss...
1995 - Robin McCall - The PracticeThe PracticeThe Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
2000 - District Attorney Kate Brunner - Presidio MedPresidio MedPresidio Med is an American Television series which aired 2002–2003, centering around a San Francisco hospital. It was created by John Wells and Lydia Woodward, who also created ER.-Series premise:...
2002 TV Series - Dr. Letty Jordan - The West Wing 2000–2006 - National Security Advisor Nancy McNally
- The Human StainThe Human Stain (film)The Human Stain is a 2003 American romantic thriller film directed by Robert Benton. The screenplay by Nicholas Meyer is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Philip Roth...
(2003) - Mrs. Silk - RentRent (film)Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life...
2005 - Mrs. Jefferson - The KingdomThe Kingdom (film)The Kingdom is a 2007 film directed by Peter Berg and starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, with Kyle Chandler, Jeremy Piven and Ali Suliman....
(2007) - Deputy National Security Advisor - Life SupportLife supportLife support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
(2007) - Mrs.Wallace - Rachel Getting MarriedRachel Getting MarriedRachel Getting Married is a 2008 drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger. The film was released in the U.S. to select theaters on October 3, 2008. The film opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival. The film also...
(2008) - Carol - Nurse JackieNurse JackieNurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City...
(2009–Present) - Gloria Akalitus
External links
- Anna Deavere Smith PBS Now, 2006
- TED Talks: Anna Deavere Smith's American character at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2005 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_ZOii3OQRISpeech by Anna Deavere Smith at Bates CollegeBates CollegeBates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
Commencement 2007] - Smith Weaves Multiple Stories of Healthcare Struggles into New Solo Performance - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...