Anna Deavere Smith Visits Backstage LIVE- Watch Now!

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining me and my very special guest

She is a celebrated, award-winning playwright, actress, journalist, and teacher. And her latest film is Disney's Flora and Ulysses, about a young comic book fan, Flora

who saves a squirrel whose superhero powers brings hope and wonder to her family

It is a wonderful feel-good movie. It begins streaming on Disney Plus on February 19th

Please say hello to Anna DeVere Smith. How are you? I'm good

Great to see you again, Richard. Great to see you. It's been such a while

First of all, how are you and where are you? I'm in New York and I'm fine

And how about you? I'm the same thing. I'm in New York

I have been, you know, hunkered down here. you know, it's our 11th month since the New York theater shut down. Wow. Wow. Yeah. And I was

wondering, like, how are you dealing with the ongoing pandemic? And are the days, is there

more light in your days now? What is it like for you? Boy, you know, I think, well, first of all

you know, when you say it that way, that it's 11 months, it's just incredible. And I think the

positive thing is it shows us how adaptable we are to some extent. Some people have struggled

more than others, certainly, both in terms of living and dying and also just professionally

And I've been fortunate enough to have some writing projects that have more than kept me

busy, but that I'm very interested in. And so I feel very blessed in that way. And I taught

last fall. And I actually have to admit that I kind of liked teaching on Zoom. I was very surprised

I was terrified of it all, but I was shocked. I loved it, actually

Yeah, that's terrific. You know, I have to tell you, congratulations on the new Disney film

I watched this film three times already. It's such a feel-good movie. It's so what families

need right now. And I was wondering what attracted you to this originally

The script, you know, the script and exactly what you're saying. It was, it was so

such a positive way of looking at childhood, you know, something that could have been otherwise

pathologized was kind of magical. And Richard, my last play was about, you know, couldn't be further

away the school to prison pipeline about, you know, all the ways that kids get in trouble and

just can't make it. And here, you know, here's a little girl with a great imagination and

everything turns out just great. So let's talk about your character is so wonderful. Dr. Meacham

like, what did you love the most about playing her when you read the script? I think what I liked the most about her was, is very, very simple that she was just really nice

and that, you know, people felt that they were welcome in her house and that she could, you know, make a difference

You know, she's a little zany. And that was fun. Usually I play very straightforward people

You know, the National Security Advisor, Gloria Akalaitis, and even my character on For the People

It's, you know, very sort of straightforward people. And so she was fun

Yeah. What was it like sharing the screen with Ben Schwartz and Matilda Lawler? And did you have to work with a CGI squirrel at all in your scenes

Well, you know, it was kind of like, well, it's come to that

Of course, you know, the actors were just extraordinary. And I got a chance in particular to talk to Ben about his the improvisational part of his career

That's very extensive. And I really had no idea. But it just marveled at what he does

And then there Matilda I mean we She straight off of Broadway And you know she just got it You know she just she got it She has that thing that you know you can teach people and just that that charm and that sparkle and a delightful individual

Absolutely delightful. Because we all fell in love with her during the ferryman

And I was like, when I realized this movie was coming out, I'm like, I know her

She was a little girl in the ferryman. did you have to work Ulysses is so wonderful in this film it's like I would love a squirrel like

that did you have to work with a CGI version of that or what was it like for you they would just

stop you know and I don't know what they were doing you know some kind of technical wonder but

we'd have to stop while they figured that out but you know I haven't seen the film yet so I don't

know how he ended up looking but oh wait until February 19th like I said I was honored to see

a screening copy, and I've literally, like I said, I've watched it three times. You just get so

caught up. No one does it better than Disney. You know, when you watch a Disney film, it just is

what it is. It's so glorious. It keeps a smile on your face. And I was wondering what it was like

for you just living in the world of Disney making this film. Well, I think that was actually, now

that you say that, my first Disney experience. And, you know, from my point of view, you know

it's work. And I would say that, you know, just the excellence all around me was, you know

that's Disney for you, right? Now, I want to talk about director Lena Kahn. I was just turned on by

her and I've been researching her. What a beautiful job she's done with this film. What was it like

being on the set with her and getting to know her? Yeah, well, she's, you know, she's a very

kind person with a great sense of humor. And I'm just excited that, you know, she looks like she's

you know, 12. I'm sure she's older than that. But of course, for me, it's just exciting that as a

young woman getting a big break, I think this is the biggest thing she's done so far with Disney

Because it's really special. You've worked with so many directors throughout your career. And like

you know, I started researching her. Like you said, she's young, she's talented. She wants to

you up things, you know, happy things. I think this is what we need right now. And I was just

wondering what it was like, you know, what made it so special for you with working with her

Well, I just think that her willingness to try stuff, honestly, and that she's not yet

completely set in her ways, right? You know, that's always exciting. Yeah. You know, I've learned so much from you over the years through your projects. I thought

I knew a lot until I went to see your shows like, you know, Fire in Mirror, Twilight, Los Angeles

1992, and of course, Notes from the Field. I mean, with everything that's been going on in the world

I mean, have you been working on some new projects with stuff that's been happening now with the

world and the country? No, not really. I am developing a project about young girls. And

And, you know, it's not particularly I don't know that it's uplifting as it sounds, but I think it will be about young girls and how they're affected by poverty

And, you know, you know, Richard, I go into the field and do extensive interviews

Of course, that's been slowed down because of the pandemic. But that's what I want to do right now is to get girls on the agenda

I think it's a time when we're thinking about women differently and femininity differently

And as we're talking about Lena, the possibilities very differently right now

So it's a very dynamic time for women. And I just want to get girls on the agenda by looking at them and learning about them

and hopefully learning about them from themselves and the way that they want to talk about their

lives to me. How far along is this project? We still in the money raising money raising phase but also in meeting the people that we might work with one of the sites of my work is very likely going to be my high school Western High School which is the oldest all public

school in the country. And it was a fantastic school. I had an extraordinary educational

experience. And so I'm going to go back there. I'm writing, in fact, I have something in the Atlantic

Magazine this month, March, which is about my own educational experience. But I'm a part of a

new project for the Atlantic called the Inheritance Project, which is also called Lost Black History

looking at moments of black history that are underexplored. And so I'll be writing some things

for them. And it's the first time that I've been a contributing writer for a magazine as esteemed

as the Atlantic. So I'm very excited about that. Have you missed being on stage or seeing live

theater? Oh yeah. I mean, you know, there's nothing like live theater. And I think for all of us

it's, you know, that haunting question of how it will be possible and not just when we're going to

come back, but how we can come back. And I don't, do you have a magic ball, Richard, on that

It changes every day. Every day I hear a new story or a new something from somebody, but I don't think

anybody really knows yet because I think the vaccine has to roll out. More people have to take

it. You know, it's quite interesting. I hope it comes back sooner than later because I cannot wait

to be in an audience the first night when you're sitting there with a program and the curtain goes

up. I'll imagine what that will be like. Oh my gosh. I mean, if we ever thought, you know

I remember when I was speaking of Disney, going to see the Lion King and, you know

just the way the kids were leaning. I was in the balcony, leaning over the balcony

watching those animals come down. That's just the excitement, the electricity, or sitting in an audience for Hamilton. It's going to be like that, but exponentially more

You know, that's what's great about this new film from Disney, Flora and Ulysses. It's just

a happy movie. You fall in love with all these characters. Like I said, you fall in love with

Flora, you fall in love with her mom, you fall madly in love with her dad, you fall in love with

you. I mean, it just, like I said, to watch this over and over, it just felt so good to be sitting

here and saying, you know, after it was over, I was like, everything is good with the world after

you watch something like this. And I really- Timing for kids who've been on lockdown

you know, and having to be at school and home and all that stuff. So I really hope it means

something to them and that they in particular have a good time. Because I've told a lot of people

that I was doing this and like, oh my God, they were like, I was brought up on her books. I mean

we have to talk about Kate DiCamillo. I mean, her bestselling books. I mean, so many people

either read these to their kids or like these were their favorite stories. And I mean, to talk about

a young girl who's a comic book fan and finds this squirrel and there's the vacuum cleaner. And I mean

It's just you fall madly in love with all of this stuff. So I think for parents and grandparents and kids all watching this together on, you know, because people are still on lockdown or shut in or whatever

It's going to be great that Disney Plus is offering this to them. Exactly

And, you know, Kate came to the set and I had a chance to meet her

And, you know, she herself is a very uplifting person. And I love the book. Love the book

Yeah. All during this pandemic. You know, I'm an uplifting person anyway. I'm uplifted

I just love, like I said, I just love uplifting things all during this pandemic

And I think this is so timely now. And the other fascinating thing about this, you had all finished filming this before the pandemic began

But I understand that Lena had to do all the editing, which is fascinating, all during the COVID pandemic

Right, right, right. I didn't realize that. But of course she did

Of course she did. Well we were lucky that we were finished I was I mean Shonda a new show Untitled And we were shut down in the middle of filming but they managed to have us come back and finish it

And I also did a West Wing in September. And, you know, listen, it's got to be really expensive

I mean, these protocols are no joke, right? Yeah, it's amazing. And so the question is, I think for us in the theater, you know, is it going to be that there are still unimaginable protocols that are going to be in place

I mean, I guess we should just do a whole bunch of one person shows

At least that takes care of keeping the actors safe. But the audience is what we I don't I can't figure it out

I hope somebody is giving you great ideas or that you're going to do, you're going to break a story about someone who's figured out how this could work for us

Well, that's why I was couldn't wait to talk to you today, because I thought if anybody should be doing a one person show, it's you

Well, you know, I'm in the research phase and that always takes forever, but I'm cool

Well, we're so looking forward to it. You know, finally, what if you could sum up the best part of the experience of working on this film? What was it for you, Anna

Yeah. The best part of the experience was. I would I would say what exactly what I said before is just how well everything was done, you know, and the level of excellence of everybody, including a young, young lady like Matilda

I would say that was really the best part of it. That is great. Well, I want to thank you so much for stopping by today, because when the fans, all your fans of Broadway World heard you were going to be here, they were like, oh, my gosh, they can't wait to see you

Well, thank you. Thank you. And keep that upbeat. You know, you're an elixir

Oh, I like that very much. So everybody, Disney's Flora and Ulysses starts streaming on Disney Plus on February 19th

It is such a feel good, wonderful film for the entire family to watch. And like I said, you can stream it anywhere on any device

You can stream it together with your families or stream it alone. It's wonderful. Everybody stay safe

Anna, it's great to see you, my friend. So great to see you. Thank you for having me

Superheroes stand watch when danger closes in and save those in need

But they have one thing in common. They never show up in the real world until Elysses

Every superhero comes to us with a purpose. We don't always see it at first

because we don't always know where to look. Flora! What is this

I am Ulysses, born anew. Holy unanticipated occurrences! Did you type this

He's a superhero. What? Do you have any enemies? I'm here about the squirrel

Danger lurks everywhere. Is he? He's flying. There was a change in the air

And the world was filling with excitement. Go, go, go, go! Who's hungry

What now? Come on! Ulysses! People look to the skies for someone to save them

So the universe centers... Ulysses. Can you talk? Okay, that's not really talking, but still