Katselas Theatre Company Presents TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992, 4/20-29

Twenty years after the devastating turmoil that followed a failed conviction of the officers in the Rodney King trial, Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 explores the shades of that loss. Commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum and originally brought to life on stage by the playwright, twenty-five multi-ethnic actors from Katselas Theatre Company now recreate those characters at the Skylight Theatre.

"The video of the Rodney King beating, which seemed to 'tell all,' apparently did not tell enough. We need to reach for the core of our humanity with all its glory and all its challenges. I am looking to illuminate something about our humanness. The solutions lie not in my monologues but in the collaborative humanness of the audience, who walk out of the theater with a potential to make change." – Anna Deavere Smith

It has been almost 20 years since this piece premiered in Los Angeles at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum, yet these issues are currently in the forefront of a national debate.

Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 engages another generation and documents a critical time of racial division and civil unrest, not to place blame for what happened, but to help the process of healing through a kaleidoscopic and sympathetic rendering of different viewpoints. Accolades include an Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle awards, and two Antoinette Perry nominations. Made possible through special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service, Inc.

TWILIGHT: Los Angeles, 1992 runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 7pm April 20-29, 2012. The Skylight Theatre is located at 1816 N. Vermont, LA, 90027. Tickets are $15-$20. Reservations: 702 KTC-TKTS (702-582-8587) or online at www.ktctickets.com.

THE KATSELAS THEATRE COMPANY is widely respected for its history of developing artists (actors, musicians, writers, designers, and directors) while helping to create the next generation of theatre goers – thus its passion for new original plays that speak to today's audiences. In just the last two years KTC has produced eleven World Premiere productions including 2010's staging of Influence, which garnered a Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle nomination and two LA Weekly nominations (Best Play, Best Production). KTC believes in the importance of the artist in our community. Its programs, (INKubator, SoloMojo, KTC Playwrights Lab, KTC Kids, New Voices, and Underground), its workshops - even its main stage productions are designed to help the artist find their unique voice and achieve their vision….and audiences love it! All by itself, in just two small theatres, KTC's monthly INKubator series (launched Jan 2011) has premiered new works-in-progress by eleven musicians and more than twenty Los Angeles writers ages 17 to 80 for more than 860 audience members. Adding audience "chats" and quarterly follow-ups with the artists to monitor their progress; the entire venture has been an unqualified success.

Gary Grossman (Producer/Artistic Director) started his career in New York at The Public Theatre, Café La Mama, and Sheraton Square Playhouse. He has produced over 300 stage plays, including the critically acclaimed (LA Times CRITICS CHOICE, LA Weekly-GO!) Hermetically Sealed and more than 50 other world premieres. Among his celebrated productions are Romeo and Juliet directed by Milton Katselas (3 LADCC Awards), Dylan (3 LADCC Awards), Dream Man, Lone Star, Balm In Gilead, Four, The Tenth Man, Visions and Lovers, Rabbit Hole, La Ronde De Lunch, Influence, and Mad Women. In addition to his work for the Katselas Theatre Company, Gary has produced for the prestigious Matrix Theatre Company, where he was associated with the celebrated productions The Homecoming, Endgame, and The Seagull. For television he co-produced Sadie and Son (CBS) and the sitcom pilot Man In The Kitchen (ABC). He is the Executive Producer for award-winning director Chuck Workman's documentary, The Actor's Life.

More Articles by This Author...