Susan Dominus has written a fine piece in The New York Times Magazine on Anna Deveare Smith, the playwright, documentarian and actress. She details the way Smith gathers dozens of points of view on a controversial subject with empathic interviewing, then chrystalizes the conversations into verbatim passages that often achieve a poetic power.
Smith then creates one-woman shows where she transforms herself into these real-life characters. Her best known works include Fires in the Mirror, about the race riots in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in 1992 (I saw that one) and Twilight, about the riots that broke out in L.A. after the acquittal of police involved in the Rodney King beating. One minute she's Al Sharpton at his most fiery, the next minute she's a soft-spoken Jewish lady.
That takes talent, but that's not what matters most.
In my experience, the cumulative impact from hearing the differing viewpoints in a single session can be profound: First, understanding for the other side, even when you disagree; and, then, appreciation for the essential humanity of people struggling with issues that are complex and painful. That's big, and damned hard to achieve.
This month Smith is opening a new show about healthcare and the human body -- called Let Me Down Easy -- and I can't think of any subject where the need for rational dialogue between opposing viewpoints is more crucial. She can't get that one out fast enough.
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