Anna Deavere Smith

Actor, playwright, and professor, Anna Deavere Smith is said to have created a new form of theater. Her work combines journalistic techniques and basic listening skills to create pieces that represent many points of view and portray several interviewees in one performance.

Deavere Smith has appeared in numerous television programs and films, including The American President; Philadelphia; Rachel Getting Married; The West Wing; The Practice; Presidio Med; and the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. Her plays include Fires in the Mirror(which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993); Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; House Arrest; and Let Me Down Easy, which began as a commission for the Yale School of Medicine.

Deavere Smith has been awarded many honors, among them two Tony nominations, two Obie Awards, numerous honorary degrees, and the MacArthur fellowship. She formerly taught in the drama department at Stanford University and is currently a professor at New York University. She is also the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, a center for artistic excellence addressing social change. She serves on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art and the Aspen Institute.

What People are Saying About Anna Deavere Smith

“[Anna Deveare Smith is] the ultimate impressionist: she does people’s souls.”
—The New York Times