Actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith strives to depict characters without judging them. "I, when I look at you, have a choice: are you a thing, or are you another human being?" she asked in an interview at the Center. "I believe in the possibility of crossing the bridge between me and you... My work has really been about that."

This core value comes to life in her documentary plays, including Fires in the Mirror, Twilight: Los Angeles, Let Me Down Easy, and Notes from the Field. Smith's book Letters to a Young Artist underscores the importance of "the eye, the ear, and the heart" and of "wide-awakeness" for artists who seek to contribute to social change.

Anna Deveare Smith spoke with us while in Philadelphia to premiere her new play, Basil Biggs. Developed with support from a Center grant to ArtPhilly, this 2026 work applies her "documentary theater" approach to history. The play illuminates the lives of her own ancestors, who lived in Gettysburg, and how they were impacted both by the Civil War and by the failures of the Reconstruction era.

In this interview excerpt, she reflects on her approach to activism as a theater maker, why she views herself as "a humanist," and how she hopes her plays can build a bridge to understanding between people with different lived experiences.