Two worlds will become one for the next two nights as Hillel and Black Caucus put on the drama Fires in the Mirror at 8 in 112 Kern.

Part drama, part documentary, the story of Fires in the Mirror is told through a series of monologues detailing the tragic events that occurred in Crown Heights, a Brooklyn suburb, back in 1991. After a 7-year-old black child was killed when hit by a car in the entourage of a Jewish spiritual leader, riots broke out which led to the murder of a Jewish man, suspected to be a sort of retaliation for the child's death.

Fires' monologues are based on more than 100 interviews conducted by playwright Anna Deavere Smith with Crown Heights citizens and other high-profile people of the country.

The show's director, Rena Yael Polonsky (junior-Jewish studies), explained it was an obvious choice to put on Fires.

"Matt Konigsberg, from Hillel, mentioned having seen this show done at another university," Polonsky said. "We both thought it would be really incredible to not only explore these issues, racism, diversity, anti-Semitism, bias and discrimination, but also to really make this an open dialogue by co-producing it with the Black Caucus. I think we knew that just the two names appearing together would turn heads."

Konigsberg believes Fires is not only a beneficial experience for those who come to watch but even for those involved with the play itself.

"One of our main purposes was to think outside of the box, casting our actors into roles they were unfamiliar with, whether it be casting a black student as a rabbi, or a Jewish student as black activist," Konigsberg said. "Because of this, our rehearsals are bound together by cultural exchange, and it is this cross-cultural experience that will benefit both the players and the audience."

The actors involved agree that they got just as much out of the experience as any theater-goer would.

"The play is also unlike any other play I've ever heard of," Joseph Fulco (freshman-architecture) said. "I play a black Caribbean male in his 20s as well as a white Australian Jewish man in his 30s. I think this makes the message pretty clear. It doesn't matter what race or sex you are. What matters is your character and the way you react to a situation."

Polonsky warned that coming to the show with a closed mind will only hinder one's enjoyment. "Everything that is said and done is thought-provoking and pushes you to the limits of what you have believed to be true," Polonsky said. "We want to shake you up. We want to start you thinking. We want to start the real dialogue."

Fires in the Mirror can be seen at 8 tonight and tomorrow night in 112 Kern. Admission is free.