Scripps Presents: Anna Deavere Smith interview clip

Blending journalism, commentary, and theater, Anna Deavere Smith is known for performances that explore complex and vital social issues. Her new work, Doing Time in Education: The School-to-Prison Pipeline, is no exception. Smith has spent the past year interviewing hundreds of people—students, teachers, police officers, community activists, and policy makers—in an attempt to understand the cycle that funnels vulnerable youth from school to incarceration.

A playwright, professor, and actress who has appeared on television shows including The West Wing and Nurse Jackie, Smith teaches at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue.