So I'm not as Obsessed with Oprah as certain gay-guy friends of mine.. but it's Oprah.. c'mon. Isn't she like the mother of the Universe err.. something. So of course I was happy when my mother told me that Anna Deavere Smith was one of 20 remarkable visionaries who Oprah was honoring for flexing their muscles in business, finance, politics, justice, science and the arts.
I have truly learned a great deal from Anna Deavere Smith. Not only has she been an incredible teacher to me, but she has been an inspiration and a light in my life. A couple months ago she invited me to come and greet some of her VIP guests at a show she was doing for the World Science Festival. The show was called "Watching Wilson and Watson and the Future of Life on Earth". I am continually amazed at her brilliance, and her ability to play multiple characters Flawlessly. I saw her later that evening at the cocktail reception at the end of the show and I just smiled, cried, and hugged her. I felt that her success was my success and I was overwhelmed by how much of a remarkable woman she is.
As a performer, I believe that Anna Deavere Smith was able to bring something very special out of me on stage.. a part of myself that I had never met. She was intrigued by my emotional range, and the fact that I could "cry on cue".. (something that I have practiced my entire life.. just ask my Daddy). She even cried with me when I told her of how much I LOVE the Theatre and the way that such exciting things happen there..
..and of course she partnered me with my Twin Marion! (see earlier post from France)
She has been hailed "the most exciting individual in American theater", and as her biggest fan.. I have to agree. (I may have some exciting news coming up involving ADS and the New York Times but we will just have to wait and see..) Here she is!
The Power of Loud: Anna Deavere Smith
Actor and playwright
You've seen her in Nurse Jackie and Rachel Getting Married, but Anna Deavere Smith isn't just an actor. Her one-woman plays (next up: Let Me Down Easy, premiering in New York in October) are a form of theater unto themselves, brilliantly conjuring the voices of real people. Speaking of voices, we asked Smith what happens when you turn up the volume:
August, circa 2000, not far from Monte Carlo, at a rehearsal for a concert. The stage—outside in the bright sun and naked except for masses of tangled wires—was on the French-Italian border. Literally straddling the border. Workmen were setting up for a soloist who would sing that night. I was sitting in the bleachers, enthralled. Suddenly a fast-moving train loudly zoomed through on its way from France to Italy. I put down my espresso. Would that train be going through during the concert? Whose idea was it to put a singer in the middle of a train route, anyway?
That night, when the great soprano Jessye Norman stepped onstage, exhilaration was followed by one engulfing human hush. Just at a peak moment, I heard that train approaching. Jessye Norman's voice shut it down.
We don't all have the ability to sing out over a racing train, but we do have the power to speak up—and out. A voice can get a party started, shout down opponents, or lead a country. Vocal cords are like any other part of your body. They are there to be worked.
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