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Sinatra chairs Smith and W. Kamau Bell return to explore the creative process behind Smith鈥檚 play Notes from the Field.

It鈥檚 one thing for a kid to pee in a water cooler at school. But threaten him with jail?

鈥淭his just blew my mind,鈥� playwright Anna Deavere Smith told comedian and Emmy Award鈥搘inning television host W. Kamau Bell before a rapt 黑料网 audience in late January.

That incident in Baltimore so incensed her it became the catalyst for her one-woman play Notes from the Field. 

The conversation at Mayer Theatre between Smith and Bell鈥攂oth are known for their keen sociopolitical commentary鈥攆ollowed a special screening of the 2018 HBO film adaptation of Smith鈥檚 play. The event was also a reunion for Santa Clara: Each has served as the Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts at the University, Smith in 2016鈥�17, and Bell 2017鈥�18.

Their appearance onstage before 400 students, faculty, and staff, as well as local high school students and members of the larger community, was a rare opportunity to learn about the creative process behind Smith鈥檚 acclaimed production, which focuses on the school-to-prison pipeline. The term refers to a system that targets mostly poor students of color who, because of increasingly harsh policies, find themselves pushed out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice system.

鈥淲hatever happened to mischief?鈥� a friend asked Smith in bewilderment when told of the Baltimore school boy鈥檚 prank and threatened punishment. 鈥淲hat happened,鈥� Smith explained, 鈥渋s that rich kids get 鈥榤ischief鈥欌�攁nd poor kids go to jail.鈥�

That sense of injustice is at the heart of the play in which Smith brilliantly takes on 18 characters who are somehow connected to the pipeline. She morphs into the Baltimore deli worker who videotaped police arresting Freddie Gray in 2015, then dragging him into a van, where his spine was later severed. She steps into the shoes of Stockton, California, mayor Michael Tubbs, where hopeless teenagers living in the city鈥檚 segregated areas tell him their goal in life is just to make it to age 25.

鈥淚 say I arrive when the journalists are all gone,鈥� Smith said about her plays that blend theater, social commentary and reportage. 鈥淓verybody has packed up their trucks, but the problem is still alive, and sound bites aren't going to take care of it. The media weren't looking at this.鈥� 

She hopes the American public may finally be paying attention. So does Bell, who was astounded that Smith conducted 250 interviews for the play, yet only 18 people are featured.

鈥淭he amount of work that it takes to commit to that and not go, 鈥榃ell, I did four or five interviews鈥攖hat seems like enough.鈥� Why do you feel the need to do all that work that is unseen?鈥� Bell asked her.

The playwright and actor told him no one person has the whole story; she must search for the people who can talk to her about a range of subjects until she finds the right mix.

But what about the rest of the interviewees? Bell asked. Doesn鈥檛 she hear back from people who say, 鈥淏ut I thought you and I had such a good conversation 鈥� You were laughing 鈥� and I said that thing 鈥� you wrote it down 鈥� I was sure I was going to be the star of the show!鈥�

Smith chuckled and said, 鈥淢y guess is that some of the people I talked to are relieved they鈥檙e not in the show.鈥�

Bell, whose comedic work focuses on racism, social identity, and inequality in America, also wondered about the emotional toll of her work.

鈥淭here is an incredible amount of pain and suffering in this material,鈥�  she acknowledged. And yes, compassion fatigue comes with the territory. But, she said, 鈥淚f I believe that words are powerful鈥攚hich I do鈥攁nd if I believe I can find America by sayings words, I do take on those words. And it ain鈥檛 easy.鈥�

About those words, Bell was curious: Does she feel more pressure trying to capture the essence of an easily Googled, prolific public speaker like NAACP president Sherrilyn Ifill, whose character kicks off the play?

The playwright said the technical part of creating her portraits relies heavily on help from her dialect coach as well as a former Alvin Ailey dancer, who have taught her to talk and move like the individual she is personifying. Still, Smith agreed that having to plumb what she called Ifill鈥檚 鈥減rofound historian鈥� mindset was daunting, as were Ifill鈥檚 meticulously constructed sentences.

But by far the most difficult role was playing Allen Bullock, an African-American man arrested for inciting a Baltimore riot in the aftermath of Freddie Gray鈥檚 death. Smith compared trying to recreate his speech pattern to trying to interpret an impossible piece of music.

鈥淚鈥檓 telling you, when I sat down and we studied it 鈥� we would listen 鈥� and go, 鈥楾his is never going to happen,鈥欌�� Smith said, recalling her exasperation. 鈥淭hat is what is hard.鈥�

For some members of the Santa Clara community, the evening was a reprise: Smith served as the Sinatra Artist-in-Residence in the 2016鈥�2017 year, and she and musician Marcus Shelby performed excerpts of Notes from the Field onstage at the Mayer Theatre in April 2017. Read more about that here. 

For 2018鈥�19, actor Taye Diggs serves as the Sinatra Artist-in-Residence.