Actress and Stanford Theater Professor, ANNA DEAVERE SMITH. She performs solo, multi-casted pieces, the scripts of which are created from interviews she did with people who lived thru events of social upheaval. "Fires in the Mirrors" (aired on PBS) gave voice to the many facets of the Crown Heights riots. Her new show "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992", condenses 170 interviews Smith conducted with 21 Los Angelinos, including: Darryl Gates, Reginald Denny, Rodney King's aunt, and a Korean shopkeeper (whose lines are spoken in perfect Korean and translated overhead). "Twilight" begins a run at New York's Public Theater. SMITH also has a cameo role in "Philadelphia" as a key witness. (Rebroadcast from 4-26-93).
Copyright 1994 Fresh Air