ANNA DEAVERE SMITH WORKS, INC.

Anna Deavere Smith
Founder, Anna Deavere Smith Works

Anna Deavere Smith is said to have created a new form of theater. She has won numerous awards, among them two Obies, two Tony nominations, a Drama Desk Award, the USA Susan V. Berresford Award from United States Artists, and a MacArthur fellowship. She was runner up for the Pulitzer Prize for her play Fires In the Mirror. Her work combines the journalistic technique of interviewing her subjects with the art of interpreting their words through performance.  She is founding director of Anna Deavere Smith Works, a nonprofit that convenes artists whose work addresses the world's most pressing problems. Television and movie credits include Nurse Jackie, The West Wing, The American President and others. Honorary degrees include those from Juilliard, Northwestern and a Radcliffe Medal. She is a professor at New York University.