April 11, 2018
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Voices from the Riots
Groundbreaking
play recreated
for Portland
by d ana l ynn b arbar
t he P ortland o bserver
“Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” a pioneering storytell-
ing theater production giving voice to the people directly
impacted or involved in the riots that followed the acquit-
tal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King is
recreated in Portland after it rocked Broadway nearly 25
years ago. Today the play carries new relevancy with the
national conversation once again on police brutality and
the many protests against it.
Portland’s Profile Theater is featuring the work as
part of its current season focus on only female and per-
son-of-color playwrights, part of a three year diversity
initiative. The production will also star Portland favorite
Chantal DeGroat, who will transform herself into dozens
of real-life witnesses to the unrest that rocked L.A. and the
country to its core.
“Twilight: Los Angeles” was written by Anna Deveare
Smith, an African American actress, writer and educator
who has dedicated her career to exploring the intersection
of art and social justice.
In 1994, Smith performed the lead role, a groundbreak-
ing form of storytelling theater. She interviewed over 200
people connected with the 1992 riots, speaking with peo-
ple from the African American community, the Korean
American community, law enforcement and politicians,
among others. She turned their interviews into a script and
performed them as a one-woman show, offering a 360-de-
gree view of the occurrence and unrest.
Profile Theatre presents the play for three nights only,
Sunday through Tuesday, April 15-17 on the Alder Stage
at the Artists Rep Theatre, downtown.
DeGroat, the Portland actress known for her role in
the TV series Grimm, will play over 35 interviewees who
were involved or impacted by the unrest. The production
is directed by Josh Hecht, Profile Theatre’s artistic direc-
tor.
Showing the production in Portland was a conscious
choice for Hecht, who moved to Portland recently and no-
ticed a unique juxtaposition of social progressiveness and
racial inequities ingrained into the history of the city.
“The Rodney King incident is this huge touchstone that
rocked the whole country, but it’s just one piece of this
story that precedes the founding of this country and con-
tinues right on to today, including in Portland,” Hecht told
the Portland Observer.
He notes that part of the reason that this piece was so
moving when it was first performed is due to the acknowl-
edgement of humanity in every person portrayed.
“The piece has so much compassion for every single
person, and every single person is a human being.” he said.
DeGroat agreed, and added that the play continues to
Portland actress Chantal DeGroat rehearses her role in “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” the pioneering theater
production recounting personal accounts from people connected to the riots that broke out after the acquittal
of four police officers charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. Shows
for three nights only, Sunday through Tuesday, April 15-17 at 7:30 p.m. on the Alder Stage at the Artists Rep
Theatre, downtown.
educate audiences today.
“The author is showing us a way to frame what’s going
on, and gives us examples of the myriad perspectives that
surround an issue. One of the most important things that
this piece does for people today is help open their minds
much further than they thought it could go, so they can
learn and listen more,” she said.
The play features a vastly diverse group of people
around this one incident, and they all get a chance to ex-
press their stories and have their perspectives heard.
“The way this show is presented helps us learn so much
about how to look at a situation. It reminds me that we
can both speak and listen. We can have both, and that’s
refreshing,” DeGroat said.
Tickets and more information can be found at profile-
theatre.org.