Anna Deavere Smith and Beth Steel to Headline New Hermitage Event

The Hermitage Artist Retreat has announced a new March program on the Hermitage Beach featuring Tony Award nominee, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and Hermitage Fellow Anna Deavere Smith, alongside Olivier Award nominee and Hermitage Major Theater Award finalist Beth Steel.

Smith is a celebrated writer and performer recognized by millions for her memorable roles on stage and screen, and Steel is the UK-based author of the acclaimed West End play Till the Stars Come Down. On Thursday, March 19th at 6:30pm, these two playwrights will offer their perspectives on playwriting and share excerpts of their original work in this sunset program on the Hermitage Beach.

Credited with having created a new form of theater, Anna Deavere Smith’s plays focus on contemporary issues from multiple points of view and are composed of interview excerpts. She was awarded the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2013.

Her other awards include the MacArthur Fellowship, several Obie Awards, the George Polk Award in Journalism, and the Dean’s Medal from Stanford University School of Medicine. Smith was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and has received two Tony Award nominations. Her plays and films include Fires in the Mirror, Twilight: Los Angeles, Let Me Down Easy, and Notes from the Field. Her play This Ghost of Slavery, written for The Atlantic Magazine, was only the second play the magazine has published in 168 years.

Smith’s television and film acting credits include Inventing Anna, The West Wing, Nurse Jackie, Black-ish, Philadelphia, The American President, Rachel Getting Married, For the People, and The Boroughs. She is currently a University Professor at New York University, was an Eastman Professor at Oxford, and holds several honorary doctorates, including those from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Spelman College, Juilliard, and Oxford.

Hermitage Major Theater Award finalist Beth Steel’s most recent play, Till the Stars Come Down, had a sold out run at The National Theatre before transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London's West End in 2025. The play was nominated for Best New Play at the 2024 Olivier Awards and for Best Play at the 2025 Standard Theatre Awards. Her other plays include The House of Shades, which premiered at the Almeida Theatre and was a Susan Smith Blackburn finalist; the Evening Standard Award-winning Wonderland, which was also a Susan Smith Blackburn finalist; and Ditch, a John Whiting Award finalist.

On Thursday, March 19th at 6:30pm, the Hermitage will present “Dramatizing the Contemporary World,” featuring these two powerhouse playwrights. Although one is American and the other is British, these award-winning artists are both known for their keen observation and shrewd insight. Together, they will provide a sneak peek into their creative process and share excerpts of their original work on the Hermitage Beach. 

Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a rare chance to engage and interact with some of the world’s leading talent. Running time for most Hermitage programs is 60-70 minutes with no intermission. Due to capacity limitations, registration is required here. Additional Hermitage programs for March and April will be announced soon.