The
ACT II Experience
Graphic: Joel Zayac.
Deeply affected by the disturbing ways that public education in poor communities interfaces with the criminal justice system, Anna Deavere Smith has chosen to use the theater as a convening place to look at and discuss the problem. She stops the show in the middle, making room for you, the audience, to meet and engage in discussion. These reflective discussions are a crucial component of the show and a crucial extension of Ms. Smith’s and A.R.T.’s shared mission to expand the boundaries of theater. By opening our theater up as a space of much-needed civic dialogue—especially in this moment, when we may be on the brink of a new civil rights movement—we hope to contribute to ongoing efforts to close the gaps of economic and social disparity in our culture. The theater is one place where we can repair and enrich our moral imaginations. americanrepertorytheater.org 2016/17 Season 3