Anna Deavere Smith
Anna Deavere Smith
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActress
Date of Birth18 September 1950
CountryUnited States of America
dark night interesting
Then everyone leaves, and you are left, each night, to your own devices with a crowd of interesting people - most of whom you don't know - sitting in the dark.
wall distance fighting
The individuals inside are frequently fighting that their individual voices be heard, while the walls of the place, which are the mask, and the perception, are reluctant to give over to the voices of the individuals. Those in the margins are always trying to get to the center, and those at the center, frequently in the name of tradition, are trying to keep the margins at a distance. Part of the identity of a place is the tension between those in the margins, and those in the center, and they all live behind the walls which wear the tradition.
fantasy
Even jealousy is based on fantasies: a fantasy that someone else has what belongs to you.
opportunity looks problem
I happen to be a hopeaholic. I tend to look at problems as an opportunity to do some work.
real self-esteem people
Self-esteem does not come from surrounding yourself with people and things that seem to increase your value. Real self-esteem is an integration of an inner-value with things in the world around you.
ideas people use
I see myself as not a typical theater person, but a person who uses the theater as a place to meet people and explore ideas.
grateful discipline preparation
Be more than ready. Be present in your discipline. Remember your gift. Be grateful for your gift and treat it like a gift. Cherish it, take care of it, and pass it on.
thinking ideas people
I think what I am is a "convener"; I like to convene people around ideas.
car racism tragedy
Racism has been for everyone like a horrible, tragic car crash, and we've all been heavily sedated from it. If we don't come into consciousness of this tragedy, there's going to be a violent awakening we don't want. The question is, can we wake up?
art circles people
They say that art should stand the test of time. Life lasts a limited amount of time. Mountains and trees and earth will outlive human beings, but we don't know if they will be here always. Art does outlast the life span of its maker. Art should communicate to an increasing circle of strangers-people who do not know the artist, but come to know the work, and through the work, come to know something about the humanity of the artist that rings with their own humanity.
teaching inspiration discipline
You can't teach talent. You can't teach inspiration. You can teach people critical facilities. You can give them techniques. You can teach discipline. And you can teach them about the business.
country kids thinking
When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country.
literature persons
Each person has a literature inside them.
real worry our-actions
We spend so much time bantering about the words when the real open conversations might very well be our actions. I worry about our rhetoric.