“Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” is the newest production by Bakersfield College’s theater department. Written by Anna Deavere Smith, the documentary play is about the Los Angeles riots that took place in 1992 following the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers of police brutality charges after beating a man named Rodney King. The story is told in monologues by those people affected by the riots, in their own words taken from interviews by Smith.

Director and BC theater professor Kimberly Chin said many of her students were confusing this play for another pop culture phenomenon, but emphasized the importance of knowing history.

“Many people get the play mixed up with the novel ‘Twilight.’ I invited students to come see it and they ask why I’m doing a play about vampires and werewolves,” Chin said. “Many people are unaware of the incidents, of Rodney King, Reginald Denny and Latasha Harlins. It’s very important that we know our history. Many people suffer from historical amnesia. That’s why I choose powerful plays about topics that still affect us today, like racism and violence.”

Chin said other plays she has directed with “powerful” themes include “The Laramie Project,” about the murder of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay man, and “The Execution of Justice,” about the assassination of gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone. Chin said her plays seem to have more similarities than differences.

“I guess I’m kind of known for thought-provoking, if not controversial, productions,” said Chin. “I try to bring diversity to our community.”

Although “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” was originally a one-person play, Chin has decided to have 14 actors, and instead of having them come and go on stage, they will remain on the stage throughout the play, listening to their castmates as if they were the interviewer that Smith actually was. Another way Chin is putting her directorial touch on the play is by avoiding obvious castings.

“I could’ve gone a safe route and had the Asian students play Asian people, the white students play white people and the black students play black people, but as an actor, I like a challenge and this is more challenging. I’m giving students that opportunity and not casting based on ethnicity,” Chin said. “Having a man play a woman can bleed over to parody, but our actors are sincere and want to do them justice. We want to play each person realistically, not stereotypically.”

Each of the actors plays more than one character, and as Chin said, they might be playing a character very different from themselves. To prepare for the play, Chin had her actors research the incident and their characters’ places in them.

“One of the people I play is Keith Watson, one of the people who beat Reginald Denny,” said Mandie Sopher, 21, theater arts major. “He is the most unlike me, so he was very challenging to play. I’ve never experienced anything like that, I had to channel that anger that would make him do those things.”

For some students, playing a real person was harder than playing a written character.

“It’s so different because I’ve done so many skits and dialogues where I’m a character someone wrote, but these people are real. Only you can be yourself. This is more challenging,” said Ricky Usher, 20, criminal justice major, who plays five different people, including Elvira Evers, a pregnant woman who was shot in the riots. “Diversity between characters has been a challenge. Not all of your characters are the same; all of mine are completely different. We have to show that to the audience.”

Stefan Lambert, 46, journalism major, plays four people in the play, but one of them initially presented him with more pressure than his others.

“I play Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and I actually used to work with her. It made portraying her easier, because I know her nuances,” he said. “At first there was more pressure because I knew I had to get it right in case her people came, because I invited them. I didn’t want word getting back to her that I didn’t portray her well.”

Although the play is an ensemble with no leads, Chin said, audience members might enjoy more characters than others.

“There might be some stand-out performances to our audience because they might have more interesting, funny or flamboyant characters. Like the character Elaine Young, (who is played by both Sheila Willis and Jasmine Tatman),” said Chin. “She is portrayed to a T. She could very well steal the stage. Some might say she’s egotistic and materialistic, so she might be more interesting than Anonymous Man, but his story is still so compelling. Everyone will identify with someone in this play.”

With the size of the cast and each character playing multiple roles, attendance was key to the production, Chin said.

“Because it’s such a large cast, you have emergencies and actors getting sick, and we’ve encountered that. We’ve had some challenges. We can’t afford to have people missing,” she said. “We’re like a vehicle, and when someone’s gone, it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re missing two tires today.’ We are all vital. I always emphasize to the students that they are an essential part.”

Chin and many members of the cast agreed that BC students should see “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” because of the learning experience it offers.

“When these riots happened, most students were probably babies, if they were born at all,” said Willis, 50, art major. “This would be a great way to see what it’s about. The media only shows you so much. I’ve learned a lot doing this play.”

Chin gave her actors an optional assignment to find and interview people affected by the L.A. riots.

To show the audience that people are still affected by the riots, after the play, some of these interviews will be shared as an epilogue, Chin said.

“These riots were not so long ago, in Los Angeles, only two hours away from us,” said Chin. “Issues presented in this play still affect us today. Some people might say it’s too heavy or dark, but I don’t know how those people live. This is reality, we have to know our history. This could happen all over again.”

“Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” will be performed in BC’s Indoor Theater and starts on March 4, with more performances on March 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the play starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $3.50 for students, staff, seniors and military and $5.50 for general admission.