Cate Students Attend Performance of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

April 6, 2023

On March 28, students from English 11, Staging Activism, and Theatre Performance classes traveled to the Mark Taper Forum in Downtown LA to attend a performance of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Originally performed as a one-woman show by playwright and scholar Anna Deavere Smith, Twilight is a work of verbatim theatre that uses first-person accounts collected from more than 300 interviews to explore the devastating human impact of the five days of uprising following the Rodney King verdict. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the play, the current production has been reimagined with an ensemble cast to offer insight into the complex and pressing social, economic, and political issues that fueled the flames of protest in 1992 and continue to influence attitudes about policing and race today.

Students in English 11 recently studied Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 in class. Remy Minnis ’24 offered his thoughts on the merits of seeing a dramatic performance in person: “Reading the text and watching a low-resolution recording of the [2000 Marc Levin-directed film production] made the events seem distant and almost inconsequential, but witnessing an adapted version live was somewhat surreal. It was powerful to be there in person to feel the emotion.” George Gordon ’24, added, “We saw some amazing acting. Each actor’s accents, mannerisms, and costumes also helped give more detail and a new take on the characters from the play I had read in my English class. As someone who is learning about technical theater and specifically lighting, it was also awesome to meet the show’s lighting designer and see some new inspiration for lighting at Cate.”

For students in Staging Activism and Theater Performance classes, attending this play provided practical insight into class exercises. Cody Mast ’25 shared, “In theatre class, we have recently been learning how to perform as multiple characters within one scene throughout our Rakugo practice as well as incorporating verbatim theatre by recreating interactions by others in the class. Through our background in these styles of theatre, it was powerful to learn more about this very real topic. As this was also my first live, professional play, I could appreciate how interactive the performance was with those who were present. We were constantly engaged when learning about perspectives that are not always talked about in major events like this.”

As Ceci Todd ’24 remarked, “Being lucky enough to have watched Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 in person is something I will never forget. Sitting in a theater knowing that I am watching real-life first-hand accounts that illustrate a cornerstone event of American life is truly rare. During the play I felt as though I was in the middle of the riots and that I wasn’t just being told what happened but rather that I was experiencing the events myself. I believe this feeling and experience is something everyone should seek out for it brought rich conversation and meaningful reflections for my entire class and has become one of the most significant learning experiences of my Cate career.”

Photo caption: Students in Kiara Downey’s Staging Activism and Theatre Performance classes and Tracey Calhoun’s English 11 sections stand outside the Mark Taper Forum prior to the March 28 performance of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Students in Downey and Calhoun’s courses studied the play in depth in the weeks leading up to the live performance.