Office of Campus Community Relations

November 5, 2004
California Aggie

Anna Deavere Smith to perform at Mondavi Center

Actress, author and playwright will explore race issues in theatrical presentation

By JESSICA KNOX / Aggie News Writer

As part of the campus community book project, Anna Deavere Smith will perform portions of her book Twilight: Complexities of Race in America at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Deavere Smith's combination of journalism, theater, lecture and performance art will also be presented as part of the Mondavi Center's Western Health Advantage Distinguished Speakers series.

In her performance of Twilight, Deavere Smith creates a form critics have dubbed "documentary theater" with her use of words of people who experienced the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the verdict of the Rodney King trial. Deavere Smith will perform these one-person scripts herself in order to explore the human impact of the event.

"Anna Deavere Smith is truly breaking new ground in terms of how live theater can address social issues," said Brian McCurdy, director of the Mondavi Center, in a press release. "We're extremely pleased that her Mondavi Center appearance is taking place within the context of the campus book project and a larger community discussion of race-related issues."

Deavere Smith interviewed nearly 200 people in her research for Twilight. Their impressions are incorporated into the book's examination of police brutality, segregation and economic disparity. The characters include a Rodney King juror, filmmaker Ken Burns, and a Korean store owner whose business was destroyed by the riots, among others, according to a press release.

The performance will follow a panel discussion from noon to 1:30 p.m. today in the Mondavi Center Studio Theatre. Deavere Smith will be participating in the discussion and will address racial issues.

However, Deavere Smith's performance at the Mondavi Center will not be limited to her enactment of Twilight. She will also incorporate another project, On the Road: A Search for American Character ?which also addresses the theme of race in America. It will include the influences of the recent presidential election, and be presented in a style similar to that used in Twilight.

Joe Martin, public relations manager for the Mondavi Center, first saw Deavere Smith perform Twilight four years ago. An English teacher at the time, he was impressed by the literary aspect of the piece.

"Aside from the political content, I was struck by the way she was able to capture the poetry of everyday speech," Martin said. "It's both moving and intellectually stimulating."

Martin also noted Deavere Smith's amazing skills as an actress. He said she is able to move in and out of character by changing her posture and facial expressions, and is very convincing. Martin said he hopes that many drama students and participants in the campus book project will attend in order to see that some people are "masters" of performance.

"These are issues that we just can't talk about too much," Martin said. He said Deavere Smith's performance will hopefully supplement discussion of racial issues on campus and within the community.

The event will take place in the Mondavi Center's Jackson Hall. General tickets range from $26 to $36, while students can buy discounted tickets ranging from $13 to $18. For more information, visit mondaviarts.org.

JESSICA KNOX can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.