Critically Acclaimed Playwright Anna Deavere Smith Shares American "Snapshots" in Visit to Lawrence University

APPLETON, WIS. -- Award-winning actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith explores the American character and the country's multifaceted identity Thursday, Feb. 21 in a Lawrence University convocation.

Smith presents "Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change" at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. She also will hold a book signing at 1 p.m. in the Barber Room of Downer Commons and conduct a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in Riverview Lounge of the Lawrence Memorial Union. All events are free and open to the public.

Hailed as "the ultimate impressionist" by The New York Times for her ability to capture people's souls, Smith, 51, has created a body of work she calls "On the Road: A Search for American Character" that combines journalistic-style interviews with the art of interpretation. Through taped interviews, she brings the words of ordinary Americans -- gang members, middle-class housewives, Korean shop-owners, cops and crack addicts -- to the stage, producing a picture of America through a collage of voices.

Smith's two best known works -- "Fires in the Mirror" and "Twilight: Los Angeles 1992" -- deal with racial tensions and both earned her Obie Awards. "Fires," which explores the 1991 clash between Jews and Blacks in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, was also a runner-up for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, while "Twilight" also earned two Tony Award nominations and a Drama Desk Award.

The most recent installment of her "On the Road" series, "House Arrest," examines the American presidency, particularly the relationships between Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemmings and that of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The play is drawn from 10,000 tapes of interviews Smith conducted, including ones with former presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter.

A native of Baltimore, Smith was a 1996 recipient of the prestigious $280,000 MacArthur Foundation so-called "genius grant" for creating "a new form of theatre."

Her first book, "Talk to Me: Listening Between the Lines," which detailed her impressions of the American presidency and the media, was published in 2000.

In 1987, Smith founded the Institute on and Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard University, a three-year experiment that encouraged dialogue on social issues through pieces of theatre, dance and music.

Smith has had roles in the movies "Dave," "Philadelphia," and "The American President" and has a recurring role as a national security advisor in NBC's acclaimed television series, "The West Wing."

In addition to her acting, Smith has taught at the University of Southern California, Carnegie-Mellon, Yale and Stanford universities and is currently a tenured professor in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics at Beaver College and a master of fine arts degree at the American Conservatory Theatre in 1976.

Smith's convocation is supported by the Gordon R. Clapp Lectureship in American Studies and the Ethel M. Barber Fund for the Arts.