An award-winning actress, playwright, and teacher, Anna Deavere Smith uses her singular brand of theatre to highlight issues of community, character, and diversity in America. Based on her recent one-woman show Let Me Down Easy, this lecture/performance will combine stories of her creative journey with insights into the fragility and resilience of the human body and spirit.

Smith has appeared in the films Philadelphia, An American President, The Human Stain, and Rent, and in television on The Practice, The West Wing, and currently, Nurse Jackie. The founder and director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, she teaches at New York University.

Co-presented with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and with support from the U-M Office of Research, the School of Public Health, The Department of Theatre & Drama, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the Program in Sexual Rights and Reproductive Justice, Office of the Vice Provost for Equity, Inclusion, and Academic Affairs.

Established with the generous support of alumna Penny W. Stamps, the Speaker Series brings respected emerging and established artists/designers from a broad spectrum of media to the School to conduct a public lecture and engage with students, faculty, and the larger University and Ann Arbor communities. Additional support is provided by series sponsors Michigan Radio, WUOM 91.7 FM and Arts @ Michigan.

Unless otherwise noted, all programs take place on Thursdays at 5:10 pm at the historic Michigan Theater, located at 603 E. Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor, and are free of charge and open to the public.