Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. Presents TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992

A viral video, a city in turmoil, and rallying cries of "No Justice, no peace!" Thirty years ago, the nation watched the police beating of Rodney King and the ensuing riots in Los Angeles unfold on television in real time, right in their living rooms. This Fall, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (DDTCo.) presents a streaming cinematic theatre production of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, directly to audiences for 16 nights, Nov. 6-21, 2020.

In Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, playwright Anna Deavere Smith captures the pain and emotion felt by the diverse witnesses, participants, and victims of the LA riots, in a work of documentary theatre that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class. Culled from nine months of interviews with more than three hundred people, Twilight ruthlessly probes the language and the lives of its subjects, offering stark insight into the complex and pressing social, economic, and political issues that fueled the flames in the wake of the acquittal of four police officers involved in the brutal beating of Rodney King.

Originally performed as a one-woman show, Dirt Dogs' production of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 features 36 Houston actors, each individually recorded under strict social-distancing guidelines, voicing the verbatim stories of the people who were there in their own words. All tickets for the streaming video-on-demand production are "pay-what-you-can" starting at $5, with a suggested ticket price of $25.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She has received numerous awards and accolades including, The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, National Humanities Medal, two Tony nominations for Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, and two Obie awards. In addition, she was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for her play, Fires in the Mirror. Smith is the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University, which support artists whose works address social justice and related themes.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Malinda L. Beckham, artistic director for Dirt Dogs Theatre Co., takes the helm as director on Twilight, while also serving as the scenic and costume designer. She describes Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 as a lesson plan for herself and a multi-perspective examination of the underlying issues that ignited the first spark of the riots. "We are presenting an inside out perspective. The Rodney King video was the first "viral video" and television broadcasts showed us the external damage of the riots. What we present are the internal struggles and human losses that speak to the people, not the property damage.

Beckham previously directed the world premiere of The Boundary, as well as A Steady Rain, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Exonerated, and co-directed A Lie of the Mind.

www.dirtdogstheatre.org