Anna Deavere Smith is an acclaimed actress, playwright, author, and teacher. Smith rose to prominence with her verbatim theater pieces Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992. She is also known for her performances in the films The American President, Philadelphia, and Rachel Getting Married, and her recurring roles on TV's black-ish, The West Wing, and Nurse Jackie. Smith is the recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, two Tony nominations, and she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. She received the 2012 National Humanities Award from President Obama.
'An engrossing collection of testimonials about life, death, and
the care of the ailing body... Continually engaging... Ms. Smith
has created a vivid compendium of life experienced at its extremes,
drawn about equally from the suffering and the ministering sides of
the story'
*New York Times*
'Each vignette—there are twenty in all—is rich enough for an entire
play, which is probably the point: Every person contains
multitudes'
*Variety*
'Perpetually in search of the American character, Smith takes a
slightly different tack this time in her work: Contemplating the
thousand natural shocks that Shakespeare told us flesh is heir to,
she ventures toward a secular definition of the human soul... What
is Smith’s secret? The same as that of any great theater artist:
She knows how to listen'
*Los Angeles Times*
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