Talk to Me

October 2, 2000
Catapulted to national prominence for her virtuosic one-woman show, Twilight, Los Angeles: 1992, actress and playwright Smith struck a nerve impersonating (based on her own interviews) scores of participants and bystanders in the 1992 riot following the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Here, she weighs in with fertile ruminations on her philosophy of acting, observations on the daily political theater in Washington, D.C., and outtakes from the interviews she conducted for House Arrest, the most recent installment in her ongoing series of plays "in search of the American character." Soon after she decided in 1995 to take the presidency as her next subject, she realized, "I knew nothing about the president... that the press didn't tell me." To get the whole story, Smith interviewed President Clinton and former presidents Bush and Carter, as well as high-ranking political insiders (including former press secretary Mike McCurry and labor secretary Alexis Herman), members of the press (Peggy Noonan, Ben Bradley) and assorted cultural commentators (filmmaker Ken Burns, scholar Judith Butler). The resulting performances in Los Angeles and New York faced mixed reviews; while provocative, the play was criticized for lacking the dramatic coherence of her previous work (it is currently in hiatus). Composed of a series of brief vignettes punctuated with edgy verbatim monologues by various Washington insiders, the book shows signs of similar organizing struggles. Though prone to tangents, Smith is at her most incisive when probing the abiding parallels between the theater and politics. Her fans will appreciate this behind-the-scenes view of her signature technique and her unique perspective on the intersection of art and politics. Agent, Gloria Loomis.

June 1, 2000
Smith, an unusual combination of actor and journalist, puts together monologs taken directly from her interviews and performs them. Her project, "On the Road: A Search for American Character," has been running since 1980. Here is an account of her recent excursion to Washington.

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October 1, 2000
Smith's refreshing vibrancy comes through in this book that is part memoir, part cogent commentary on American culture, politics, and communication (or the lack thereof). Smith moves back and forth from her childhood in the 1950s in Baltimore, through her careers as actress, teacher, and observer of the human condition, to the five years she spent in Washington, D.C., conducting research for her latest theatrical work. Her personal recollections explore American racial politics and the greater "cultural literacy" of minorities compelled by self-preservation to know more about the majority culture, a literacy that is undervalued and not reciprocated. Smith is best known for her one-woman performances that capture the multitude of voices in America and demonstrate her uncanny sense of timing and sensitivity to people relegated to the margins of American life. She recounts the cancellation of her scheduled first performance of a play about the Crown Heights riot involving blacks and Jews, a play scheduled to open the day after the Simi Valley verdict acquitting the police officers who were videotaped beating Rodney King. She includes portions of interviews with a range of Americans, including rioters, prisoners, and other writers and performers. For her study of power in the nation's capitol, Smith interviewed power figures in politics and the media, such as President Bill Clinton, Lani Guinier, and Bob Woodward. Her wry commentary on the intersection of politics, journalism, and entertainment is refreshing. Smith has a performer's sensitivity to detail and nuances and a reporter's sense of immediacy and context. \plain\f2\fs17 (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)