"The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you." -quoted by Anna Deaver Smith, author unknownThe speaker was switched on the Celebrity Forum series last week that Anita had kindly given us her tickets too. I'd been looking forward to hearing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the current President of Liberia. But, apparently, Liberia wanted Sirleaf to spend less time abroad and more time governing their country!
So, Sirleaf's replacement was actress and professor, Anna Deavere Smith, who I hadn't actually heard of before the lecture. I guess she's been in several movies and on the TV series "The West Wing" as well as teaching at Stanford, Yale and NYU.
Deavere-Smith was quite entertaining! Her speech was more of a performance; something she describes as "documentary theatre." Deavere Smith interviews people about topics like healthcare and civil rights issues. Then she stages one-woman plays sharing monologues from her research.
A Deavere Smith mantra seemed to be determination! She talked about good ideas being abundant but turning ideas into reality takes determination and concentrated effort. I think her remarks impressed me more after they percolated a bit. I'd typed some notes on my iphone that resonated more in the rereading than during her performance. Maybe I was just a poor sport that night because I'd hoped to hear the President of Liberia. In retrospect, Deavere Smith was clearly talented and very bright!
"I am not myself; I am the potential of myself." -Anna Deveare Smith
