The Bowdoin Orient

April 6, 2001
Volume CXXXII, Number 20

Smith speaks at Common Hour

by SARAH KAUFMAN - STAFF WRITER

   During this Friday's Common Hour, Anna Deavere Smith, an award winning playwright, actor, and teacher, will be at Bowdoin to deliver a special presentation.
   Smith has been called "the most exciting individual in American theater," and in 1996 received a prestigious "Genius" fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation, for her creation of "a new form of theatre-a blend of theatrical art, social commentary, journalism and intimate reverie." She has appeared in films including Philadelphia, The American President, and Dave as well as television series including The West Wing and The Practice.
   Throughout her wide-ranging career, Smith has continually received praise for her various accomplishments. Over the past 18 years, Smith has created a body of theatrical work, which she calls "On the Road: Search for American Character." The media, critics, and audiences across the country have praised Smith's work, which explores the American character and our multifaceted national identity.
   Smith has written and performed several critically acclaimed plays including "Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities" and "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992." "Fires in the Mirror", written in 1991, which explores the riots between black and Jews in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In this play, Smith portrays the brother of a young Lubavitcher, speaking in an Australian accent while wearing a Hasidic hat. In "Twilight: Los Angeles", Smith depicts the former L.A. police commissioner in the aftermath of the riots triggered by the beating of Rodney King. These are just some examples of the wide variety of characters that Smith decides to portray in her performances, and attests to her unique ability to assume different roles.
   Her latest play, a work-in-progress called "House Arrest," explores the singular and mythic role that the presidency has played in the American psyche throughout history. "House Arrest" premiered at the New York Shakespeare Festival/ Joseph Pratt Public Theater in the Spring of 2000. In addition to her roles as actor and playwright, Smith teaches at New York University and at Stanford University, where she is the Ann O'Day Maples Professor of the Arts.
   As a talented playwright and performer, Anna Deavere Smith's work is so impressive because she uses material from real people in order to reveal a story about contemporary America. Her constructions delve into controversial issues facing society today involving race, gender, class, and religion. By interviewing people from all different walks of life, Smith is able to gain a unique perspective, which she incorporates into her theatrical pieces that reflect realties of American life today. The successful portrayal of each inter viewed person's character is one reason why Smith has received so much praise. As a one-woman performer, she accurately and effectively captures the voice of a diversified group of people, in her quest to convey truths of today's society.
   In 1998, Smith founded the Institute on the Arts & Civic Dialogue based at Harvard University. Founded in association with the Ford Foundation, the mission of the Institute is to explore the role of the arts in relation to critical social issues.
   Smith's presentation is entitled "Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change." Smith has also written a book based on her observations and impressions of her time spent in Washington while compiling information to be used for her play "House Arrest".
   Following her presentation in Pickard Theatre, which begins at 12:30 p.m., Ms. Smith will respond to questions from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m.
   There will also be a booksigning and reception with Ms. Smith in Drake Lobby of Memorial Hall in Pickard Theater from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Books will be available at the book signing, and at the Bowdoin bookstore prior to the event.
   This Friday's Common Hour will require tickets. Tickets are free of charge with a Bowdoin ID and are available at the David Saul Smith Union Information Desk.