Anna Deavere Smith
Anna Deavere Smith
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActress
Date of Birth18 September 1950
CountryUnited States of America
ideas people firsts
For me, first of all, I love people, I love ideas.
hands land ideas
The American idea is as promising, imaginative, and full of the unexpected as the land itself. The land represents freedom - the frontier, the ability to make a new future with your own bare hands.
ideas interesting mind
You know, interesting minds usually do hold more than one idea at a time.
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.
thinking ideas people
I think what I am is a "convener"; I like to convene people around ideas.
black boys chase chasing culture gate guards incredible living major midst obvious reaction seen usc white
I think a lot of L.A. is something like USC - this incredible white culture living in the midst of color, and no obvious reaction to it at all. I mean, they have guards at the gate at USC - guards at the gate of a major university! And the guards chase young black boys away - I've seen it, chasing 8-year-old boys.
kids thinking people
I think as a kid I always liked to listen to people. I loved hearing stories.
thinking order creative
I think we can learn a lot about a person in the very moment that language fails them. In the very moment they they have to be more creative than they would have imagined in order to communicate. It's the very moment that they have to dig deeper than the surface to find words, and at the same time, it's a moment when they want to communicate very badly. They're digging deep and projecting out at the same time.
hard-work thinking doctors
I have a lot of optimism about new doctors because I think it's really clear that it's a lot of hard work and no guarantee of a lot of money.
confidence hopeful mark
Confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition.
curiosity
I am not myself; I am the potential of myself.
discipline crucial
Discipline — both mental and physical — is crucial.
reality artist people
Artists are the people that no matter what, pick up the pen, pick up a paintbrush. They take the time to translate what is happening to create something that resonates deeply with the rest of the people that are caught in the middle of their own reality.
race disrespect taught
Somehow we can't live outside the politics of race. There's something very deep in all of us, that is taught to us when we are very, very little. Which is the disrespect and fear of the other.