Maverick Speakers Series featuring Anna Deavere Smith, titled 'Engaging the World: the Role of the Artist in Society'

Closing the 2018-2019 Season of the Maverick Speakers Series is Anna Deavere Smith; Actor, Playwright and Professor
 
Anna Deavere Smith is best known for crafting more than 15 one-woman shows based on hundreds of conversations, turning her interviews into scripts and transforming herself into an astonishing number of characters. In 2012, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal, president by President Obama, and in 2015, she was named a Jefferson Lecturer, the nation’s highest honor in the humanities. Smith has amassed many additional honors over the years, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2017 Ridenhour Courage Prize, and the George Polk Career Award. Her play, Fire in the Mirror, was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. Smith’s television credits include Black-ish, Nurse Jackie, The West Wing, and the new ABC legal drama For the People. She holds honorary degrees from Yale University and The Juilliard School, among others.  


Now in its’ 11^thseason, the Maverick Speakers Series has presented over 10 years of compelling, engaging and thought provoking conversations on The University of Texas at Arlington Stage.