COURTESY OF CBS

Making history

'Twilight' melds social commentary
and theater into a new art form

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By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com

As an actor, playwright and teacher, Anna Deavere Smith sees her mission not so much to challenge the status quo, but to seductively embrace it to a point of trust to listen to societal problems.

One only has to view her body of work to see that Smith -- who appears tonight at the University of Hawaii to present the film adaptation of her solo show "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" -- embraces challenges.

Most people know her through her work in the now canceled TV series "Presidio Med," Aaron Sorkin's film "The American President" (and a recurring role as the national security adviser in Sorkin's "The West Wing") along with "Philadelphia" and "Dave."

But it's Smith's solo shows, including "Twilight" and "Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities," that has provided her notoriety among the intelligentsia, personal satisfaction and accolades in the form of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, two Obie awards and a double Tony award nominee.

The MacArthur Foundation said Smith "has created a new form of theater -- a blend of theatrical art, social commentary, journalism and intimate reverie," referring to her exploration of the American character and our multifaceted national identity.

"I like to look at controversial events from multiple points of view," she said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

Her work combines the journalistic technique of interviewing her subjects with the art of interpreting their words through her performance.

Going solo Anna Deavere Smith, with her film "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" Where: Campus Center Ballroom, University of Hawaii at Manoa When: 6 p.m. today, with discussion with Smith afterward Admission: Free Call: 956-2501

"Twilight" depicts the riot that followed the acquittal of police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Smith interviewed more than 200 people, and in the final version of her solo show, she portrays 26 characters spanning all ages, races and genders, using, she says, the subjects' own words to weave "a multifaceted texture of varied perspectives on complex issues."

"It took a big part of my life," she said of creating "Twilight."

Smith created the work in Los Angeles, where it premiered in 1993, followed by off-Broadway, Broadway and touring engagements. She last performed the show in Washington, D.C., in 1997, then had it filmed for PBS in 2000, airing in 2001.

Traveling from South Central L.A. to Beverly Hills, gathering in-depth interviews and heartfelt testimonies, Smith interviews diverse personalities, then cuts between their edited comments, channeled through her physical and vocal mimicry, mixing documentary, interview and other materials with the performance segments.

The focus clearly is on the L.A. riots, including the key incidents that led up to them -- Rodney King's video-recorded beating, the indicted police officers' subsequent acquittal and the merciless attack on white trucker Reginald Denny.

"My work has to do with the many faces of American culture," Smith said.

Lectures and sessions following the film provide Smith an opportunity "to share some of the characters I've collected over the years and learn from audiences their impressions."

One reason Smith said she wrote "Twilight" is simple.

"It's a part of the American history of civil unrest and something we can continue to learn from," she said.

Compared to "Fires," "Twilight" is an opera in its complexity and wide-reaching consequences, Smith said. But neither incident has any simple, immediate resolutions.

"Race issues are much more complicated than being just black-and-white," she said. "I went into it knowing I would have to stretch my own understanding of race relations, that there was a much larger story to tell than the riots."

Part of that story was the miserable state of the justice system and, in particular, the Los Angeles Police Department, she said.

"The riot provided an opportunity to look at the justice system," she said. "One reason it happened was, many African Americans didn't think they could get justice in the courts.

"Rodney King was an emblem of what was happening in their lives already," she said.

Promises to improve the LAPD race relations and South Central's impoverished schools have not been kept, Smith said.

"It's amazing that anyone living there lands anywhere but jail," she said.

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