Anna Deavere-Smith is a renowned playwright and performance artist whose most famous works are two one-woman plays about racial tensions in American cities: Fires in the Mirror, which won the Obie Award and was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize, and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, another Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee. As a performer, Deavere Smith demonstrates astonishing versatility, transforming herself into dozens of characters over the space of one show. Her performances often explore different points of view on controversial issues and combine the journalistic technique of interviewing subjects with the art of recreating their words in performance. Deavere Smith is also known for her recurring role in the acclaimed NBC drama "The West Wing," in which she played National Security Advisor Nancy McNally. She has also appeared in the films "The Human Stain," "Philadelphia," "Dave" and "The American President." She is a 1996 recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant," and she won a 2006 Fletcher Foundation Fellowship for her contribution to civil rights issues. She is a professor in the Department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant," and she won a2006 Fletcher Foundation Fellowship for her contribution to civil rights issues. She is a professor in the Department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Ideas recorded on: 8/22/07