Center Scene is a wide-ranging series of public programs organized by the Center for Healthy Communities to raise awareness about the vital issues that affect the health of California's communities. Admission and parking are free at all events. Use of public transporation is strongly encouraged. Click here for a map and directions. Contact rsvpchc@calendow.org with any further questions.

An Evening with Anna Deavere Smith: Stories from the Front Lines of Care
Tuesday, February 16 at 7 p.m.

The California Endowment's
Center for Healthy Communities
1000 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

A director of a South African orphanage comforts a teen infected with AIDS. A doctor in a New Orleans public hospital evacuates patients after Hurricane Katrina. Lance Armstrong and Gov. Ann Richards battle cancer. These are just a few of the stories Anna Deavere Smith brings to life in her new, acclaimed one-woman play, Let Me Down Easy, a collection of firsthand accounts of health care from those who have experienced it most intimately. Join us as Smith—playwright, actress, New York University professor and MacArthur "genius" grant recipient—performs excerpts from Let Me Down Easy and discusses what the project taught her about health, mortality, the human body and the care we give it.

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This event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. The performance and talk will last approximately 45 minutes and will be immediately followed by a question-and-answer session.

Biography

Anna Deavere Smith is said to have created a new form of theater. Her work combines journalistic techniques and basic listening skills to create works that represent many points of view. She portrays multiple interviewees in one performance. The New York Times called her "the ultimate impressionist: she does people’s souls."

She is well-known for her acting roles in television and film, including in The American President, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, The West Wing, The Practice, Presidio Med, and the new Showtime series Nurse Jackie.

Her plays include Fires in the Mirror; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; House Arrest, and currently Let Me Down Easy, which began as a commission for the Yale School of Medicine. 

Smith is a professor at New York University. She has been awarded many honors including two Tony nominations, two Obie awards, several honorary degrees and the MacArthur award.

Reviews and Articles

"Smith Opens New One-Woman Show" - Today (video), October 7, 2009
"The Health Care Monologues" - New York Times Magazine (article), October 4, 2009
"Woman of 1,000 Faces Considers the Body" - New York Times (review), October 8, 2009
"Obama's Audience Speaks First" - New York Times (op-ed), September 8, 2009
"A Healthier America" - The Huffington Post (op-ed), July 27, 2009
"Let Me Down Easy" - The Huffington Post (interview), December 23, 2009

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