Cerveris, Kron, Etc. Set for Smith Book Reading, 9/25

On Monday, September 25, WET will present a benefit performance honoring Anna Deavere Smith and risk-taking artistry. Letters To A Young Artist will be presented Monday, September 25 at 7:00pm, at the Daryl Roth Theatre (101 E. 15th St.), with a reception to follow.

Hosted by Daryl Roth and Martin Sheen, the evening will feature an all-star lineup reading from Anna Deavere Smith's new book Letters To A Young Artist.  Scheduled performers include Anna Deavere Smith, Eve Ensler, Bill T. Jones, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Cerveris, and Lisa Kron.

Created in 1999, WET produces works which challenge female stereotypes and advocate for equality.  Their theatrical productions include Big Times (directed by Leigh Silverman), Julia Jordan's St. Scarlet, Sheila Callaghan's Scab and I Stand Before You Naked II by Joyce Carol Oates. In 2004 WET launched a media literacy/self esteem building outreach program for adolescent girls and WET's Risk Taker's Film Series, with celebrity participants including Frances McDormand, Tracie Thoms, Michelle Rodriguez, Audra McDonald and Ally Sheedy.

Proceeds from the benefit will be used to mount the World Premiere production of "BFF" by Anna Ziegler directed by Josh Hecht in February 2007 at The DR2 Theater, where WET is a Theater-in-Residence.

Anna Deavere Smith is an actor, a teacher, a playwright, and the creator of an acclaimed series of one-woman plays based on her interviews with diverse voices from communities in crisis. She has won two Obie Awards, two Tony nominations for her play Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, and a MacArthur Fellowship. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her play Fires in the Mirror. She has had roles in the films Philadelphia, An American President, The Human Stain, and Rent, and  has worked in television on "The Practice," "Presidio Med," and "The West Wing."

Tickets are $115 in advance (available at www.wetweb.org); $125 at the door. The price of admission includes performance & reception with open bar, hors d'oeuvres, plus gift bags with a copy of the book, Letters To A Young Artist. For more information, call 212-682-0265.