Anna Deavere Smith

Early life

Smith was born in 1950 into an African-American family in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Anna Rosalind (née Young), an elementary school principal, and Deaver Young Smith Jr., a coffee merchant. She has four younger siblings. She started attending school shortly after the city had started integrating the public schools, and attended both majority-black and majority-white schools during her elementary and middle school years. Smith is an alumna of the historic Western High School, an all-girls school.

Smith studied acting at Beaver College (now Arcadia University), where she was one of seven African-American women in her class, graduating in 1971. During her college career, she started to identify as Black. Later she went to the West Coast for graduate work, earning a M.F.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California.

Career

Theatre

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 The Merry Wives of Windsor with the Riverside Shakespeare Company, produced by Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival. This production was set in New Orleans in post-Civil War America. For the role, Smith transformed herself into a "Cajun voodoo woman." She used her ability to take on other characters in her future work. From being in a variety of situations and in a kind of outsider status, she was a close observer of people and their language. She later told Henry Louis Gates Jr., when appearing on his show Finding Your Roots, that she had difficulty getting jobs at the beginning of her acting career because people did not know how to categorize her in terms of ethnicity for casting.

Smith is best known as a playwright and actress for her "documentary theatre" style, also called verbatim theatre, in plays such as Fires in the Mirror (1992) and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (1993). Both featured Smith as the sole performer of multiple and diverse characters, based on interviews she had conducted with numerous residents and commentators in the two cities where riots took place. For these works, she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show two years in a row. She interviewed more than 100 people as part of her creation of Fires in the Mirror, which dealt with the 1991 Crown Heights riot. In 1992, she interviewed some 300 people as part of her research for creating Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, which dealt with the 1992 Los Angeles riots after the acquittal of police officers who beat Rodney King, in events captured on tape. Both of these plays were constructed using material solely from interviews.

Smith's plays House Arrest (2000) and Let Me Down Easy (2008) were also created in this style. Let Me Down Easy, which explored the resiliency and vulnerability of the human body, 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. It enjoyed favorable reviews and an extension into January 2010. It was a featured program as part of PBS's Great Performances series on January 13, 2012.

Smith 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.

In 2009, Smith was an artist-in-residence with the Center for American Progress.

In Spring 2012, Smith was the first artist-in-residence at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, a program founded by the Very Rev Jane Shaw, Dean of Grace Cathedral, who shared Smith's vision of "bringing together art and religion".

Commissioned by Grace Cathedral and the Cockayne Fund, Smith wrote and performed the play, On Grace, based on interviews relating to the meaning of God's grace. The performances were accompanied by American cellist Joshua Roman.

Film and television

Smith has appeared in several films, including Philadelphia (1993), Dave (1993), The American President (1995), Rent (2005), and Rachel Getting Married (2008).

She had recurring roles in the TV series The Practice (2000) and as Dr. Nancy McNally on The West Wing (2000–06). Smith also appeared as hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime dark comedy series Nurse Jackie, which premiered in June 2009. Early in her television career, she appeared on the long-running soap opera All My Children in the recurring role of "Hazel the shampoo girl".

In February 2014, Smith appeared as a mentor in Anna Deavere Smith: A YoungArts Masterclass, part of the HBO documentary series Masterclass.

In 2015, Smith appeared as a guest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., on the PBS television show Finding Your Roots. Her ancestry in America was revealed to her for the first time. She was descended from a long line of free people of color. The most striking facts were linked to her great-great-grandfather, Basil Biggs, who was born in 1820 in Maryland. He and his wife Mary were listed in the 1850 U.S. census to be free. His occupation was listed as veterinarian. In 1858, he moved his wife and four children to Pennsylvania, and chose to settle in Gettysburg. Another newsworthy article was found in The Cleveland Gazette (1892), which referred to Basil Biggs as the "wealthiest Afro-American in Gettysburg," mentioning his great home on 120 acres. 41% of Smith's European ancestry is from Great Britain, with remote Scandinavian, Finnish, Russian, Italian, and Greek.

In early 2017, Smith worked with Melissa McCarthy in the film Can You Ever Forgive Me? In New York City, they filmed one scene together in which their characters briefly reunite for the first time after the long-ago end of their relationship. Smith's character is a university professor of literature. In October 2018, this film was distributed to cinemas by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

In 2022, Smith played the supporting role of Maud in the Netflix series Inventing Anna.

Teacher

Smith teaches in the Department of Art & Public Policy at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. In 1986, she joined the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts. From 1990 to 2000, she was a professor in the drama department at Stanford University and prior to that taught at Carnegie Mellon University. She also teaches at NYU School of Law.

Author

In 2000, Smith published her first book, Talk to Me: Travels in Media and Politics, through Random House. (It was published in paperback in 2001.) In 2006, she released Letters to a Young Artist: Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts – For Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind.

In 2023, The Atlantic published the play This Ghost of Slavery: a Play of Past and Present in the December issue as part of the "On Reconstruction" project.

Honors

As a dramatist, Smith was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama 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.

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 Loyola Marymount University, Dartmouth College, Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania, Spelman College, Arcadia University, Bates College, Smith College, Skidmore College, St. Olaf College, Macalester College, Occidental College, Pratt Institute, the College of the Holy Cross, 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, Williams College, Yale University, and the Cooper Union.

The United Solo Theatre Festival board honored her with the award for outstanding solo performer during the inaugural edition in November 2010.

Smith won The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2013), one of the richest prizes in the American arts with a remuneration of $300,000.

In 2013, she received the 2012 National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama. In 2015 the National Endowment for the Humanities selected her for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities, delivering a lecture entitled "On the Road: A Search for American Character".

She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.

In spring 2024, Smith delivered the 74th A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art. The title of the series of four programs was "Chasing That Which Is Not Me / Chasing That Which Is Me."

Works

Film

Television

Stage

Bibliography

References

References

1. "Anna Deavere Smith".
2. "Guggenheim Fellowship Awarded to Anna Deavere Smith".
3. Schechner, Richard. (Fall 2018). "There's a lot of work to do to turn this thing around: An Interview with Anna Deavere Smith". TDR/The Drama Review.
4. "About the IACD".
5. Wynn Rousuck, J.. (April 25, 1993). "Anna Deavere Smith brings play to public TV". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
6. (September 19, 2003). "Smith, Anna Y.". The Baltimore Sun.
7. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.. (January 28, 2016). "Finding Your Roots, Season 2: The Official Companion to the PBS Series". UNC Press Books.
8. "Asking Questions with Anna Deavere Smith". [[Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.).
9. Wynn Rousuck, J.. (February 10, 1999). "Making right from wrongs". The Baltimore Sun.
10. Ferington, Esther. "Anna Deavere Smith". [[National Endowment for the Humanities]].
11. Sterritt, David. (July 21, 1983). "How many liberties can you take with the Bard?". [[The Christian Science Monitor]].
12. O'Haire, Patricia. (July 26, 1983). ""Wives of Windsor" make merry in city parks". [[Daily News (New York).
13. Johnson, Reed. (April 25, 2012). "Anna Deavere Smith revisits 'Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
14. Lipton, Brian Scott. (December 7, 2007). "Anna Deavere Smith's Let Me Down Easy to Premiere at Long Wharf". Theater Mania.
15. (August 4, 2008). "American Repertory Theater presents Let Me Down Easy written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith". [[American Repertory Theater]].
16. Healy, Patrick. (April 7, 2009). "Playwright Finds a New Stage Home in New York". [[The New York Times]].
17. [http://criticometer.blogspot.com/2009/10/let-me-down-easy.html ''Let Me Down Easy'' Reviews"] criticometer.blogspot.com, October 8, 2009.
18. Arboleda, Yazmany. (December 23, 2009). "Let Me Down Easy". [[The Huffington Post]].
19. Jones, Kenneth. (November 5, 2008). "Anna Deavere Smith's Arizona Project, About Women in Justice System, Dawns in AZ Nov. 5". [[Playbill]].
20. (April 27, 2009). "Anna Deavere Smith Joins the Center for American Progress as Artist-In-Residence". [[Center for American Progress]].
21. Harmanci, Reyhan. (February 10, 2012). "Mixing Art and Religion for a Loving Reunion". The New York Times.
22. Dusenbery, Lisa. (December 16, 2011). "Anna Deavere Smith at Grace Cathedral". The Rumpus.
23. Krasny, Michael, [http://kqed.info/a/forum/R201202011000 "Art and Spirituality at Grace Cathedral"] {{webarchive. link. (January 3, 2014 , Forum with Michael Krasny, KQED, February 1, 2012)
24. link. (January 3, 2014 gracecathedral.org, December 13, 2011.)
25. [[Arobateau, Red Jordan]], [http://redjordanarobateau.blogspot.com/2012/02/red-anna-deavere-smith.html "Red and Anna Deavere Smith"], Red Jordan Arobateau Blog, February 23, 2012.
26. Franco, Jean [https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150706013240864.460621.36348520863&type=3 "On Grace – Anna Deavere Smith"]
27. Starr, Michael. (June 30, 2008). "Nurse' Edie". [[New York Post]].
28. Obenson, Tambay A.. (February 12, 2014). "HBO Documentary 'Anna Deavere Smith: A YoungArts Masterclass' Debuts Feb. 17 (Watch Preview)". [[Indiewire]].
29. Public Broadcasting System television series, Season 2, Episode 3: Finding Your Roots
30. Henry Louis Gates Jr.. "Finding Your Roots, Season 2: The Official Companion to the PBS Series". University of North Carolina Press.
31. {{usurped
32. (2023-11-13). "This Ghost of Slavery". The Atlantic.
33. Rabinowitz, Paula. (April 16, 2005). "Introduction to Anna Deavere Smith, "Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change"". [[University of Minnesota]].
34. "Anna Deavere Smith". New York University.
35. Landis, Alysha. (September 5, 2011). "Actor, playwright and professor Anna Deavere Smith to present keynote address Sept. 13". [[Goshen College]].
36. (June 17, 1996). "Barbara Block, Anna Deavere Smith win MacArthur grants". [[Stanford University]].
37. Hetrick, Adam. (December 31, 2007). "Anna Deavere Smith Among 2008 Matrix Award Recipients". Playbill.
38. (May 19, 2014). "Yale awards 12 honorary degrees at 2014 graduation". [[Yale University]].
39. Tran, Diep. (November 22, 2010). "United Solo Festival Winners Announced". [[Backstage (magazine).
40. Boehm, Mike. (January 18, 2013). "Anna Deavere Smith wins $300,000 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize". Los Angeles Times.
41. (July 3, 2013). "President Obama to Award 2012 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal". [[The White House]].
42. Schuessler, Jennifer. (February 19, 2015). "Anna Deavere Smith to Deliver Jefferson Lecture". The New York Times.
43. "Anna Deavere Smith".
44. (April 17, 2019). "New 2019 Academy Members Announced".
45. Chery, Samantha. (2024-04-27). "Anna Deavere Smith's Mission: Understanding Others, So We Can Do the Same". [[The Washington Post]].
46. "Actress, Playwright, and Professor Anna Deavere Smith to Present 2024 A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts".
47. N'Duka, Amanda. (October 7, 2019). "Penn Badgley, Tony Winner Laura Benanti Join Billy Crystal & Tiffany Haddish In 'Here Today'".
48. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". The Futon Critic.
49. (March 16, 2015). "Deavere Smith opens IMPACT with one-woman play". The Vanderbilt Hustler.
50. (April 15, 2015). "Curtain Call: Anna Deavere Smith Examines Race Relations in Her New Play". [[Los Angeles (magazine).
51. (July 8, 2015). "Chatting with Anna Deavere Smith". [[SF Weekly]].
52. (August 18, 2016). "In 'Notes From the Field' at ART, Anna Deavere Smith intends to educate and engage". [[Boston Globe]].