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Anna Deavere Smith

ANNA DEAVERE SMITH

  (1950 - )
Nationality:    African American
facebook     email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Gersh Agency, NY  

Anna Deavere Smith is an actor, teacher, playwright and creator of unique one-woman plays based on interviews. Anna Deavere Smith has won two Obie Awards, two Tony nominations for TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, and a MacArthur Fellowship. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for her play FIRES IN the MIRROR, Ms. Smith is founder and director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University. As an actress she has appeared in many films and on the television series West Wing. Her new book, Letters to the Artist, has recently been published by Anchor Books.

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below is a list of Anna Deavere Smith's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Aye, Aye, I'm Integrated         Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities         From the Inside Looking In         Hafsat Abiola (Nigeria)         House Arrest: A Search for American Character In and Around the White House, Past and Present         Hymn         Let Me Down Easy         Notes From The Field         On Black Identity and Black theatre         On the Road         Piano         Seven         Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

Aye, Aye, I'm Integrated

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities

Synopsis:
In 1991, in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, an Hasidic man's car jumped a curb, killing Gavin Cato, a seven-year-old black child. Later, in what appears to have been an act of retaliation on the part of a faction of the black community, Yankel Rosenbaum, an Hasidic rabbinical student, was stabbed and killed. the ensuing riots that wracked Crown Heights' previous atmosphere of tolerance for its divergent cultures made national headlines and pointed to the growing friction in racial and cultural relations across America. Drawing verbatim from a series of over fifty interviews with Crown Heights' residents, politicians, activists, religious leaders, gangs, street dwellers, victims and perpetrators alike, Anna Deavere Smith has created a theatrical event distilling the lives and voices of twenty-six of the incident's survivors into a visionary amalgam, the import of which touches upon every American regardless of race, color or beliefs.

Notes:
Monologues Anna Deavere Smith: Crown Heights, Brooklyn And Other Identities

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1st Published:
in "Moon Marked and Touched By the Sun", Hern, London,    

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Drama, full length

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  originally written to be performed by one, but flexible casting now available

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From the Inside Looking In

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1st Produced:
Eureka     1990

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Hafsat Abiola (Nigeria)

Synopsis:
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Notes:
part of Journeys is A series of stirring monologues from courageous women Around the world engaged in the dangerous struggle for human rights. Each of these remarkable And heroic leaders tells An inspiring story of commitment.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Vital Voices Global Partnership

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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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House Arrest: A Search for American Character In and Around the White House, Past and Present

Synopsis:
a fascinating and compelling look at nothing less than the civil rights movement, the issues of slavery and racism, and the relationship between the press and the presidency over the course of American history. It begins by focusing on Jefferson and his fine words versus the likelihood that he had a long-standing affair with one of his slaves. From there HOUSE ARREST changes gears and moves forward to Franklin Roosevelt's presidency and examines how his affairs and disabilities were considered untouchable by the press. Smith interviewed many of the major players in American politics in the second half of the twentieth century and demonstrates the way politics has changed since Roosevelt's administration. the play then jumps back to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and compares that event and the Kennedy assassination. the range of voices and opinions that appear in the play make for vivid and interesting theatre. HOUSE ARREST is a triumph of Smith's writing skills. In the course of over two hours, Smith w

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1st Produced:
Arena Stage, Washington, Dc     1997

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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama, full length

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  or flexible casting

Further Reference:
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Hymn

Synopsis:
celebrating Alvin Ailey

Notes:
choreographed by Judith Jamison with libretto written by Anna Deavere Smith

1st Produced:
-     1993

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Let Me Down Easy

Synopsis:
Channeling a Dramatic range of interview subjects, from artists and athletes to doctors and those they treat, Let Me Down Easy is a virtuosic and moving exploration of the power of the body and the resilience of the human spirit, featuring first person accounts from a wide variety of sources, including Lance Armstrong and former Texas Governor Ann Richards. With her trademark journalistic precision, Anna Deavere Smith, one of the most acclaimed and provocative theater artists of our time, explores the world of healthcare from both the patient and practitioner perspective in this timely and absorbing new play
- press release

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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY (2015)   

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Notes From The Field

Synopsis:
People discuss news stories in the US

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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
2nd Stage Theater

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Monologue play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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On Black Identity and Black theatre

Synopsis:
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1st Produced:
Crossroads     1990

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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On the Road

Synopsis:
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1st Produced:
Berkley Rep     1982

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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Piano

Synopsis:
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1st Produced:
Institute On Arts And Civic Dialogue     2000

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Seven

Synopsis:
A collaboration of seven award-winning women playwrights, SEVEN is based on personal interviews with seven women leaders of the Vital Voices Global Partnership network who have triumphed over huge obstacles to create major changes in human rights in their home countries. In the seven interwoven stories we see the commonality of challenge and of bravery, and in the individual monologues that follow, we experience each fascinating whole true story.

Notes:
written by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith And Susan Yankowitz

1st Produced:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY (2009)   

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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Documentary

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  7            Other:  -

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Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

Synopsis:
Acclaimed as "an American masterpiece" (Newsweek), TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992 is a stunning new work of "documentary theatre" in which Anna Deavere Smith uses the verbatim words of people who experienced the Los Angeles riots to expose and explore the devastating human impact of that event. From nine months of interviews with more than two hundred people, Smith has chosen the voices that best reflect the diversity and tension of a city in turmoil: a disabled Korean man, a white male Hollywood talent agent, a Panamanian immigrant mother, a teenage black gang member, a macho Mexican-American artist, Rodney King's aunt, beaten truck driver Reginald Denny, former Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates and other witnesses, participants and victims. A work that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class, TWILIGHT ruthlessly probes the language and the lives of its subjects, offering stark insight into the complex and pressing social, economic and political issues that fueled the flames in the wake of the Rodney King verdict.

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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama, full length

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  or flexible casting

Further Reference:
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