Take a tragic but hopeful walk down memory lane with Ball State University's department of Theatre and Dance as it presents "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992."
Anna Deavere Smith, the play's writer, compiled interviews taken from observers of different races, genders and economic backgrounds about the violent aftermath of the 1992 Rodney King beating.
Originally performed as a one-woman show, director Rod Plummer had the difficult job of transforming the play into an ensemble piece for 16 cast members.
"It's a hell of a task," Plummer said.
Plummer cast actors whom he thought could portray a wide range of emotions over time. He explained many of the cast members were probably foreign to the riots since most of them were between the ages of five and seven when the event occurred.
He decided to get the actors out of their "comfort zone" by having each actor play multiple roles of characters that may not be their race or gender.
"People in the audience who are not used to black speech, west-coast black speech, might be more inclined to listen if it is spoken by a white male playing a black person," Plummer said. "See this is all about communication."
Plummer used many media to communicate the messages of this play, including having screens hang above the stage right and left area of the proscenium. The play is structured like the making of a documentary. The actors pass a hand-held camera to one another as each character tells his or her story.
"And then when I used the screens to magnify the face they can get actually closer to image and be even closer to the words," Plummer said.
One actor who needs no magnification on stage is Ball State alumnus Warren Jackson.
He was contacted over the summer to be one of the two alums performing in this production. Film actress Cynda Williams was the other.
Williams put her professional career on hold to "give back" to the Ball State community.-á She was reminded of some good theater professors who gave her just enough to go out into the professional arena.
"The academic world is different from the professional world (of acting)," Williams said.
Jackson said he enjoys the experience of being back at Ball State. He is re-experiencing trials that actors face as he watches the students develop throughout the course of the show.
Junior Tyler Lee explained how privileged he feels to be working with Jackson and Williams. "They give me suggestions that help me with my monologues," Lee said.
"The classroom being the production is the best forum for gaining practical experience," Jackson said.
Jackson also must play many characters. Even with no costume he was still convincing in all of his roles, never dropping his dialects and completely internalizing the characters.
As a part of the costumes, the actors from time to time will wear masks reminiscent of Greek tragedies. The cast will also stand in formations similar to the Greek chorus, singing popular songs that act as strophe and antistrophe to the action unfurling.
Plummer said the masks represent the concealing of true personalities, which is symbolic of how people wear facades on a daily basis. When the masks are removed then people can begin to explore their real personalities.
According to Plummer, the actors have sparks of life that make them able to relate many different personalities. You can catch these actors perform 7:30 p.m., Sept. 28-30, Oct. 4-7; 2:30 p.m., Oct. 1 at University Theater.
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