Anna Deavere Smith Biography (1950-)

Middle name is pronounced "Duh-veer"; born September 18, 1950, in Baltimore,MD; daughter of Deavere Young (a coffee merchant) and Anna (an elementary school principal; maiden name, Young) Smith. Addresses: Agent: Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Nationality: American
Gender: Female
Occupation: Actress, producer, writer
Birth Details: September 18, 1950; Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Stage Appearances
(Stage debut) The savage, Horatio, American Conservatory Theatre,San Francisco, CA, 1974
(New York debut) Marie Laveau, Alma, the Ghost of Spring Street, La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, 1976
Mother Courage, New York Shakespeare Festival, New York City, 1980
On the Road, Clear Space Theatre, New York City, 1982, then Berkeley Repertory Co., Berkeley, CA, 1983
A Birthday Party and Aunt Julia's Shoes (original poems), Ward Nasse Gallery, New York City, 1983
Doreen, Tartuffe, GeVa Theatre, Rochester, NY, 1983
Charlayne Hunter Gault, Ward Nasse Gallery, 1984
Aye, Aye, Aye, I'm Integrated, American Place Theatre, New York City, 1984
Building Bridges, Not Walls, National Conference of Women and theLaw, New York City, 1985
On the Road: ACT, American Conservatory Theatre, 1986
Voices of Bay Area Women, Phoenix Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1988
Chlorophyll Post-Modernism and the Mother Goddess: A Convers/Ation, Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre, San Diego, CA, 1988
Gender Bending: On the Road Princeton University, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1989
Piano, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Los Angeles, 1989-1990
Gender Bending: On the Road University of Pennsylvania, Universityof Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1990
On Black Identity and Black Theatre, Crossroads Theatre Company, New Brunswick, NJ, 1990
From the Outside Looking In, Eureka Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1990
Fragments, Conference on Intercultural Performance, Bellagio, Italy, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions I, Calistoga Arts Festival, Calistoga, CA, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions II, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, San Francisco, CA, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions III, Global Communities Conference, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions IV, Festival of New Voices, Joseph Papp Public Theatre, New York City, 1991
Dream (workshop), Crossroads Theatre Company, 1992
Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Other Identities(solo show), Joseph Papp Public Theatre, 1992, then Royal Court Theatre, London, 1993
Hymn (ballet), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1993
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (solo show), Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1993, then Joseph Papp Public Theatre, later Cort Theatre, New York City, both 1994
Three Tall Women, New York City production, 1994
House Arrest: First Edition (two-act), Kreeger Theatre, Washington, DC, 1997
House Arrest, Joseph Papp Public Theatre/Newman Theatre, 2000
Stage Work
Artistic advisor, Nickel and Dimed, Intiman Theater, Seattle, WA,2002
Film Appearances
(Film debut) Deborah, Soup for One, Warner Bros., 1982
Anna, Unfinished Business ... , American Film Institute, 1987
Mrs. Travis, Dave, Warner Bros., 1993
Anthea Burton, Philadelphia, TriStar, 1993
Robin McCall, The American President, Columbia, 1995
Herself, Twilight: Los Angeles (documentary), Offline Releasing, 2000
Mrs. Silk, The Human Stain, Miramax, 2003

Film Work
Producer, Twilight: Los Angeles, Offline Releasing, 2000
Television Appearances
Series
(Television debut) Hazel, All My Children, ABC, 1983
Nancy McNally, a recurring role, The West Wing, NBC, 2000-
Dr. Letty Jordan, Presidio Med, CBS, 2002
Pilots
Expert Witness, CBS, 2003
Television Appearances: Specials
The Issue Is Race, PBS, 1992
"Fires in the Mirror," American Playhouse, PBS, 1993
Narrator, Hawaii's Last Queen, PBS, 1997
A Hymn for Alvin Ailey, PBS, 1999
Jessye Norman Sings for the Healing of AIDS, PBS, 2000
Television Appearances
Episodic
District Attorney Kate Brunner, "Summary Judgments," The Practice,ABC, 2000
District Attorney Kate Brunner, "Germ Warfare," The Practice, ABC,2000
District Attorney Kate Brunner, "We Hold These Truths ... ," The Practice, ABC, 2000
District Attorney Kate Brunner, "The Deal," The Practice, ABC, 2000
Ms. Davis, "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished," 100 Centre Street, Artsand Entertainment, 2001
Also appeared as correspondent, Life 360, PBS.
RECORDINGS
Taped Readings
Hannah Crafts' The Bondswoman's Narrative, Time Warner Audiobooks,2002
WRITINGS
Plays
On the Road, produced at Clear Space, New York City, 1982, then byBerkeley Repertory Co., Berkeley, CA, 1983
A Birthday Party (original poems), performed at Ward Nasse Gallery, New York City, 1983
Aunt Julia's Shoes (original poems), performed at Ward Nasse Gallery, 1983
Charlayne Hunter Gault, performed at Ward Nasse Gallery, 1984
Aye, Aye, Aye, I'm Integrated, produced at American Place Theatre,New York City, 1984
Building Bridges, Not Walls, performed at National Conference of Women and the Law, New York City, 1985
On the Road: ACT, produced by American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1986
Voices of Bay Area Women, produced at Phoenix Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1988
Chlorophyll Post-Modernism and the Mother Goddess: A Convers/Ation, produced at Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre, 1988
Gender Bending: On the Road Princeton University, produced at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1989
Piano, produced at Los Angeles Theatre Center, Los Angeles, 1989-1990
Gender Bending: On the Road University of Pennsylvania, produced at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1990
On Black Identity and Black Theatre, produced by Crossroads Theatre Company, New Brunswick, NJ, 1990
From the Outside Looking In, produced at Eureka Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1990
Fragments, performed at Conference on Intercultural Performance, Bellagio, Italy, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions I, produced at Calistoga ArtsFestival, Calistoga, CA, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions II, produced at Bay Area Playwrights Festival, San Francisco, CA, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions III, produced at Global Communities Conference, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1991
Identities, Mirrors, and Distortions IV, produced at Festival of New Voices, Joseph Papp Public Theatre, New York City, 1991
Dream (workshop), produced by Crossroads Theatre Company, 1992
Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Other Identities(solo show), produced at Joseph Papp Public Theatre, 1992, then Royal CourtTheatre, London, 1993, published by Anchor Books (New York), 1993
(With Judith Jamison) Hymn (ballet), produced by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1993
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (solo show), produced at Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1993, then Joseph Papp Public Theatre, later Cort Theatre,both 1994, published as Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992 on the Road: A Searchfor American Character, Anchor Books, 1994
Three Tall Women, New York City production, 1994
House Arrest: First Edition (two-act), produced at Kreeger Theatre, Washington, DC, 1997
House Arrest, produced at Public Theatre, New York City, 2000
Screenplays
Twilight: Los Angeles, 2000
Television Specials
"Fires in the Mirror" (based on her stage play), American Playhouse, PBS, 1993
Books
Talk to Me: Travels in Media and Politics, 2001

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Contemporary Authors, Volume 133, Gale, 1991
Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 6, Gale Research, 1994
Newsmakers, Issue 22, Gale Group, 2002
Notable Black American Women, Book 3, Gale Group, 2002

Periodicals

American Theatre, October, 1996, p. 18; December, 1998, p. 68
Interview, September, 1996, p. 46
New York Times, June 10, 1992, pp. C1, C6; April 23, 1993, pp. B7,C2; January 29, 1997
People Weekly, December 11, 2000, p. 187
Publishers Weekly, September 18, 2000, p. 94
Variety, February 3, 1997, p. 56

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