Fun
Anna Deavere Smith: Notes from the Field
Dear Ann,
Jump on this: a filmed production of Anna Deavere Smith’s 2016 play, Notes from the Field. (Click that link, then scroll to the bottom of the page to see the link to watch Notes from the Field.) It’s about education, criminal justice, and Baltimore, and so much more.
HBO is streaming it for free right now, but I have no idea for how long.
Anna Deavere Smith is a compelling playwright and performer. Her work is unique, in the true sense: there is nothing else like it.
The empathy and truth that Anna Deavere Smith conveys is powerful. She does it all by herself, with minimal stagecraft. Every word she speaks is something that the person she portrays actually said, in one of the hundreds of interviews she conducted. Person by person, she builds her story, which is a story without pat conclusions. As each person speaks, you begin to listen as you haven’t listened before, in a way that you wouldn’t listen if you were reading or watching an interview. It changes you.
I watched Notes from the Field late at night and was weeping at the end. Anna Deavere Smith’s truth-telling somehow manages to give hope that we can listen and think and change.
Here’s an article by Anna Deavere Smith about Notes from the Field.
Love,
Kay
Thank you!!!!
Thank you for showcasing a very talented lady, who I feel not enough people know about. She has always been one of my favorites.
We don’t have HBO but there is a book version. I looked into the audiobook and Ms.Smith narrates it. I want to say I’m looking forward to it, but I don’t think that is the right phrasing. I’m grateful for all she has done.
Thanks Tina for the tip on the availability of an audio book. I will definitely look into that. I too received a message on the link saying the video is not available in my region.
Thanks for the heads up on this. She is not to be missed if at all possible.
Can one get goosebumps watching a trailer? Yep!
Yes, goosebumps…compelling, succinct, passionate…wow!
I saw her Crown Heights show on B’way decades ago. She is amazing.
Thank you.
Anna Deavere Smith is brilliant and makes perfect sense . Perfect sense is something we don’t have enough of these days and need in this world so desperately .
Thank you for sharing another insightful perspective on our American culture.