Playwright, Actor and Professor
Anna Deavere Smith
Notes From the Field / Snapshots: Portraits of a World in Transition
TUE, FEB 2 / 7:00 PM PST VIRTUAL
FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 60 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
Read FAQS on How to Watch >>
Anna Deavere Smith uses her singular brand of theater to explore issues of community, character and diversity in America. Honored by the MacArthur Foundation for creating “a new form of theatre – a blend of theatrical art, social commentary, journalism and intimate reverie,” Smith has been listening to people across the country from all walks of life for decades, using Walt Whitman’s idea “to absorb America” as an inspiration. To illustrate her goal of bringing “people across the chasms” of what she calls the “complex identities of America,” she performs portrayals of people she has interviewed, recreating a diversity of emotions and points of view on controversial issues.
This 45-minute presentation will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Stephanie Leigh Batiste, UC Santa Barbara Professor of English.
This public event is the culmination of an extensive residency working with students and faculty in the UC Santa Barbara Department of Theater and Dance, supported by the the Arnhold Endowed Theater and Dance Production Fund.
Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures in association with the Department of Theater and Dance
Event Sponsor: Jody & John Arnhold
Race to Justice Lead Sponsors: Marcy Carsey, Connie Frank & Evan Thompson, Patty & John MacFarlane, Sara Miller McCune, Santa Barbara Foundation, Lynda Weinman & Bruce Heavin, Dick Wolf, and Zegar Family Foundation
UC Santa Barbara Campus Partners: Department of Black Studies, Center for Black Studies Research, Division of Social Sciences, Division of Humanities and Fine Arts, Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences, Division of Student Affairs, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, Graduate Division, Bren School for Environmental Science & Management, College of Creative Studies, College of Engineering, MultiCultural Center, Carsey-Wolf Center, Latin American & Iberian Studies, UCSB Library | UCSB Reads, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor
Community Partners: Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli
Special Thanks: Santa Barbara Independent, Noozhawk, Voice Magazine, KCRW
