On November 4, WJ S*T*A*G*E will open with “The Laramie Project” as its annual fall play. The cast and crew have been preparing for five shows, all of which will take place during the first two weeks of November.
“The Laramie Project” is about the aftermath of the murder of a homosexual college student in Wyoming. In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. His torture and murder became a watershed historical moment in America that many feel highlights the faults in our culture.
Five weeks after the death of Shepard, members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie, and over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200 interviews with people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play “The Laramie Project”, a chronicle of the life of the town of Laramie in the year after the murder.
“I am incredibly happy we are doing ‘The Laramie Project’ as this year’s fall play,” senior stage crew member Kaylee Arnold said. “I think it is very important to perform a play with such a strong message during a time when the LGBTQA+ community is struggling to be treated as equals.”
The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the original theater company with inhabitants of the town, company members’ own journal entries and published news reports. It is divided into three acts and eight actors portray more than 60 characters in a series of short scenes.
“The whole nature of [the play] is more reader’s theater than not, where [actors] are telling the story in character and it really challenges their acting skills,” director Colleen McAdory said.
In comparison to past fall productions, “The Laramie Project” sharply contrasts the light-hearted comedy “Rumors” that WJ S*T*A*G*E put on last year.
“[‘The Laramie Project’] is a lot more serious than what we have done in recent years. We try to keep a balance between serious shows and comedies and occasionally we really try to do some issue shows,” Producer Jonathan Bos said.
WJ S*T*A*G*E settled on “The Laramie Project” after choosing “Phantom of the Opera” as the spring musical. They thought “The Laramie Project” would be a perfect fit because there aren’t any complicated sets and the timing relates to recent issues in the LGBTQA+ community following the Orlando shooting.
“I think this show will stay in people’s minds and hearts. It conveys a clear, thought provoking message and it will make people think twice about the world we live in,” Arnold said.
This year, WJ S*T*A*G*E will perform a matinee on November 6 at 6 p.m. This will include a question and answer session with the cast, crew and audience.
“We really do want this show to be something that raises awareness to an issue and that fosters a dialogue about an important issue for the community,” Bos said.
Eleven years ago, WJ S*T*A*G*E put on “The Exonerated”, which carries a similar tone to “The Laramie Project”. Culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files and the public record, “The Exonerated” told the true stories of six wrongfully convicted survivors of death row in their own words.
“We did ‘The Exonerated’ a number of years ago and that was pretty amazing in terms of what we were able to do with that and the discussions that ensued from that. So I am looking forward to see the same kind of thing from ‘The Laramie Project’,” McAdory said.
In the years since Shepard was tortured and beaten to death, acceptance of gays and lesbians has increased dramatically. Yet harassment, humiliation and hatred of gay people goes on. Artistic endeavors such as “The Laramie Project” offer the means to deconstruct that behavior, explore it and discuss it. It’s a tough subject, but it is an opportunity for a teachable moment. Hopefully, this year’s fall production will resonate with the audience.