November 15, 2000
For Immediate Release

                    Renowned actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith to Speak

Don't miss a visit to Chicago by renowned actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith on November 20. Smith is scheduled to speak at 1:45 p.m., at Moody Church (1609 N. LaSalle Dr.), as a guest of The Latin School of Chicago. 

Considered one of the most provocative voices in modern theater, Smith will present "Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change," in which she examines how issues of race, class, and gender, have shaped and are transforming the American character. 

Smith is a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant for her innovative performance pieces about racial turmoil in American society. She gained celebrity in the 1990s with two solo productions: "Fires in the Mirror," in which she portrayed 29 people talking about the race riots that broke out in 1991 in Brooklyn's Crown Heights section; and "Twilight: Los Angeles" about the uprising in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict. She currently has reoccurring roles on the television shows West Wing and The Practice.

Members of the press are welcome. Photographs can be taken before Smith's presentation or during the question period immediately afterwards, but not during the talk itself.

For more information on this event call Evelyne Girardet, assistant director of public relations, at (312) 573-4646.