Smith was a journeyman actor and teacher before striking success with her one-woman production "Fires in the Mirror" in 1992, part of a series overall titled "On the Road: The Search for American Character". Drawn from personal interviews, the play explored the racial tensions that resulted from two events in a small Brooklyn community: a Black child was killed by a car driven by a Hassid; a Jewish scholar was stabbed to death reportedly in retaliation. Smith delineated portrayals of 19 individuals whose lives were touched in some way by the events. What emerged was a powerful meditation that posed questions about how people (and by extension the audience) integrate perceptions of specific events into the general context of their own lives. Smith was commissioned to create a similar piece on the Los Angeles following the 1992 riots that stemmed from the jury decision to acquit the police accused of beating Rodney King. Using the same techniques, she sketched a larger canvas in "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992", portraying over 40 characters. The play won acclaim and earned Smith two Tony nominations for Best Play and Best Actress.
The petite, attractive African-American Smith made her feature debut in the forgettable "Soup for One" (1982) and was featured in Viveca Lindfors' autobiographical "Unfinished Business . . . " (1986). She also had small roles in "Dave" and "Philadelphia" (both 1993). In 1995, Smith essayed the role of a White House press secretary concerned over the romance between her boss and a lobbyist in Rob Reiner's fanciful political comedy "The American President".
- Born:
September 18, 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland
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Job Titles:
Actor, Playwright, Director, Teacher
Family
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Father: Deaver Smith. died in 1995
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Mother: Anna Smith.
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Sister: Rosalind Allen. born c. 1960
Education
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Western High School, Baltimore, Maryland, 1967
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Beaver College, Glenside, Pennsylvania, linguistics, BA, 1971
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American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, California, theater, MFA
Milestones
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1974 Stage debut, "Horatio"
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1978 Was assistant professor of theater at Carnegie-Mellon University
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1982 Feature film debut, "Soup for One"
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1983 First play produced, "On the Road"
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1983 TV debut, short-term role on ABC soap "All My Children"
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1986 Moved to Los Angeles
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1992 Breakthrough solo performance piece, "Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities" (also wrote)
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1993 Premiere of play "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" in L.A. (later produced on Broadway)
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1993 TV adaptation of "Fires in the Mirror" on PBS' "American Playhouse"
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1997 Appointed as head of The Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue to begin meeting in the summer of 1998
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1997 First stage play with a cast of actors, "House Arrest: First Edition", premiered in Washington, DC
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1999 Reprised "House Arrest" in a revised edition on stage in L.A. and in 2000 in NYC
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2000 Had recurring role as a D.A. on ABC's "The Practice"
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2000 Starred in film version of "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992"; presented in a special screening at the Sundance Film Festival
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2001 Had a recurring role on the NBC White House drama, "The West Wing"
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2003 Cast in "The Human Stain," opposite Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman
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Taught acting at New York University
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Taught at Stanford University