Let Me Down Easy: A Look at Healthcare and the Human Spirit
Acclaimed actress, playwright, winner of the prestigious MacArthur fellowship and Gish Prize, and a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize, Anna Deavere Smith will share insight and excerpts from her hit play Let Me Down Easy as the focal point of her presentation to the AHIMA Annual Convention. The genesis of the play was research Ms. Smith did for the Yale School of Medicine. She described it to the New York Times as exploring "the human body as both resilient and vulnerable, but also health care as a practical part of that." This critically acclaimed work toured the United States and aired on PBS' Great Performances. Ms. Smith currently plays hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus on Showtime's hit series Nurse Jackie. Additional credits include The West Wing, The American President, Rachel Getting Married, Life Support, and others.
She is a professor at New York University. She founded and directs Anna Deavere Smith Works: A Place for Artistic Excellence and Social Change, dedicated to convening and supporting artists whose work addresses the world's most pressing challenges. She has won numerous awards, among them two Obies, two Tony nominations, a Drama Desk Award, the Susan V. Berresford Fellowship from United States Artists, a MacArthur fellowship, and this year's prestigious Gish Prize. She was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for her play Fires in the Mirror.