I've been imagining what a traveling production of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 might look like for over a year and initially approached Renee Johnson to do a one-woman show. She thought it would be better to have a few more actors along for the ride and we brought on Allison Fradkin, Chris Riter, and Gary Luz.
As Anna Deavere Smith says in the General Production Note located in the script, "The play sees actors as cultural workers, who reach towards that which is 'other' from themselves." All four of the actors in the show have done so much work, preparation, research, and have truly been walking in other people's "words", not just their shoes. During our first rehearsal, each actor selected the characters they felt an emotional connection to. Smith didn't want the show to be typecast, so the actors play people that are different than them in the hopes that the audience will be able to see the connections and understandings as well.
Mosaic Players and I wanted to bring Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 to our area because we hope that it brings different communities together over a shared time in our collective histories. We don't have to all think and feel the same things, but to sit together in a darkened room listening to conversations and stories that real people lived through is what humans have always done. We might not walk away as friends, but we will have experienced a reflective moment together.
Thank you for being here today to join our conversation. There are no right and wrong answers or questions as you get to know people's experiences and interpretations.
