Anna-Deavere Smith News

Today, SHOWTIME announced premiere dates for a number of its highly-anticipated new and returning programs this Spring. Beginning Sunday, April 13, the sweeping docu-series YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY makes its debut in time for Earth Day at 10 p.m., immediately following the season six premiere of NURSE JACKIE, starring Edie Falco, at 9 p.m. and the seventh and final season of CALIFORNICATION, starring David Duchovny, at 9:30 p.m. SHOWTIME's new series PENNY DREADFUL, the psychological thriller starring Eva Green and Josh Hartnett, premieres on Sunday, May 11 at 10 p.m.

Today, SHOWTIME announced premiere dates for a number of its highly-anticipated new and returning programs this Spring.

The University of Chicago and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will present next month On Grace, a work-in-progress staged performance conceived and created by renowned actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith in collaboration with cellist Joshua Roman. Leonard Foglia will direct the performance on Jan. 21, 2014. The event is the culmination of Smith's 2014 Presidential Arts Fellowship at UChicago and the first formal collaborative arts partnership between UChicago and Harris Theater.

The nominees for THE 45TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS were announced today during a live press conference at the TV One presentation to the Television Critics Association during its Winter 2014 Press Tour in Pasadena, CA. David Oyelowo ('Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'), Joe Morton (ABC's 'Scandal'), Keke Palmer (VH1's 'CrazySexyCool'), Bresha Webb (TV One's 'Love That Girl') and Gina Torres (USA's 'Suits') announced the categories and nominees with NAACP Image Awards Committee Chairman, Leonard James and President and CEO of TV One, Alfred Liggins.

General Director Speight Jenkins announced the singers selected for Seattle Opera's popular International Wagner Competition on August 7, 2014, where emerging artists will go head-to-head American Idol style.

The fifth annual United Solo Theatre Festival invites local and international artists to submit their shows to the world's largest solo theatre festival. World premieres and already-produced shows are equally welcome. Submitted proposals may represent storytelling, improv, dance, musical, puppetry, multimedia, stand-up, magic, tragedy, comedy, and other forms of solo performance. Selected shows will be presented between September 18 and November 23, 2014 at Theatre Row in New York City. The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 3, 2014.

The fourth season begins with two of this year's Golden Globe nominees for Best Actress in a Television Drama, Kerry Washington and Julianna Margulies

In the midst of its milestone 10th season, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance heads into the new year with can't-miss performances as part of the Harris Theater Presents series, including a special addition to the 2013-2014 season: the Chicago debut of On Grace, a work-in-progress performance on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, from Drama Desk Award-winner Anna Deavere Smith and cellist Joshua Roman.

The fourth season begins with two of this year's Golden Globe nominees for Best Actress in a Television Drama, Kerry Washington and Julianna Margulies

The fourth season begins with two of this year's Golden Globe nominees for Best Actress in a Television Drama, Kerry Washington and Julianna Margulies

Grammy Award-nominated musician Nelson Gonzalez has joined the creative team of the upcoming Second Stage Theatre production of THE HAPPIEST SONG PLAYS LAST, written by 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegria Hudes and directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Mr. Gonzalez, who is widely considered the master of the Cuban Tres guitar, will oversee the production's musical elements and will lead a live band during performances.

The National YoungArts Foundation today announced its 2014 YoungArts Winners. Out of approximately 11,000 applications, 687 young artists from 46 states have been recognized for their outstanding work and accomplishments in one of ten disciplines across the literary, performing, visual and design arts fields. A complete list of the Winners is available online at this link.

Shakespeare & Company is pleased to announce The Conservatory at Shakespeare & Company's winter production of Julius Caesar, co-directed by two longtime Company artists, Andrew Borthwick-Leslie and Michael F. Toomey. Now in its seventh year, the Conservatory, a 13-week professional actor-training program includes 10-16 promising actors from across the country and around the globe. This year's program features a group of 10 who will expose Shakespeare's poetry-filled psychological drama Julius Caesar for three performances in the Tina Packer Playhouse.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, the University of Chicago and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will present On Grace, a work-in-progress staged performance conceived and created by renowned actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, in collaboration with cellist Joshua Roman. The performance will be directed by Leonard Foglia. The event is the culmination of Smith's 2014 Presidential Arts Fellowship at UChicago and the first formal collaborative arts partnership between UChicago and Harris Theater.

The 2013 PBS Arts Fall Festival returned this fall with seven weekly programs that highlight Broadway classics, music from around the country, and legendary superstar Barbra Streisand.

The Bark & The Tree is Vivian Nesbitt's one-woman play about connection and transformation. Directed by Lee Kitts, the play is set in Ireland, where Nesbitt travels to research her great-great grandmother, the poet Eva O'Doherty, known as 'Eva of the Nation.'

Directed by Tony Award-winner and frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, SIX BY SONDHEIM is a highly personal profile of a great American artist as revealed through the creation and performance of six of his iconic songs. Told primarily in Sondheim's own words, this feature documentary weaves together dozens of interviews with the composer, rarely seen archival material spanning more than half a century (including newly discoveRed Footage of Ethel Merman performing 'Gypsy') and re-stagings of three songs produced especially for the film. Executive produced by James Lapine and Frank Rich, the exclusive HBO presentation debuts MONDAY, DEC. 9 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT). BroadwayWorld was there for the New York City premiere last night and you can check out photos from the star-studded red carpet below!

The Bark & The Tree is Vivian Nesbitt's one-woman play about connection and transformation. Directed by Lee Kitts, the play is set in Ireland, where Nesbitt travels to research her great-great grandmother, the poet Eva O'Doherty, known as 'Eva of the Nation.'

The Public Theater announced that Tony Award winner Cynthia Nixon has joined the December Public Forum Drama Club event, The Long Christmas Dinner by Thornton Wilder, on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Joe's Pub. In Public Forum Drama Club, authors, musicians, journalists, scholars, and actors come together to give onstage readings of one-act plays that have some special resonance in our lives today. Each reading concludes with a discussion of the hard questions that the play raises about our politics, our culture, and the way we live now.