When Matthew Shepard was found brutally beaten and tied to a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming on October 6, 1998, shock ran through the small-town community. None of the townspeople could believe that such an atrocious act could happen in their town. Something asdisturbing as a hate-crime didn’t seem to fit the personality of Laramie, and the town’s attitude of”Live and Let Live” now seemed an oxymoron.
For the next year, the name “Laramie” became synonymous with violence, intolerance, and ignorance. The entire town bore a stigma because of the crime two young men committed. Some voices from Laramie expressed sympathy for Shepard while other residents opposed thecrime but couldn’t get past the fact that Shepard was gay.
In November of 1998, the Tectonic Theater Project of New York City traveled to Laramie to gather information for a play about the effects of Shepard’s death on the community. Led by the company’s founder Moises Kaufman, members of TTP conducted over 200 interviews within the next year. He spoke with friends and family of Shepard, townspeople, religious leaders, and students and professors from the University of Wyoming, where Shepard was a student.
The result is “The Laramie Project”; a three-act play including over 60 characters who express their reaction to Shepard’s death through monologues, interviews, and excerpts from trial testimonies. “The Laramie Project” debuted on stage in February of 2000, and has since been produced in New York City and Laramie itself. HBO produced a film version of the play in May of 2002. Currently, “The Laramie Project” is the second-most produced play on college campuses throughout the country.
Beginning Wednesday, February 26, Theatre Fairfield’s production of “The Laramie Project” will run in the Black Box Theatre of the Quick Center. Just ten actors will portray all 66 characters under the direction of Doug Moser
“I feel honored to part of this production,” said cast member Megan Bell, ’03. “We’re playing real people who are directly connected to such an event…their reactions are real,” she said.
These reactions and emotions are what make “The Laramie Project” a play about humanity, not homosexuality. “It’s a story of real people. That’s what makes it different from other plays. It sends a message of tolerance and acceptance,” said director Doug Moser. “I hope it will make people think about the issue of hate-crimes. I hope it affects the Fairfield University audience with its message of tolerance and acceptance,” he said.
What makes the Laramie residents’ responses so moving are their simplicity. During rehearsals, Moser stressed to the actors to “Just talk to us. The words are handling it. You just have to let it come out.” The actors were forced to adapt to reactions to a crime they could not imagine happening.
After portraying characters so deeply impacted by this crime, the question “Could such a crime happen in my town?” comes to mind. “You can imagine what it’s like, but you don’t want to,” said cast member Marisa Marquez, ’03. “However, how we face each other as human beings is an issue on college campuses and we are trying to understand that issue,” she said.
FUSA President Karen Donoghue also shared similar views about the play. “Although you can’t make people agree, this play is making people think. Hearing different people’s views is what makes us smarter,” she said.
“The Laramie Project” runs from February 26th through March 2nd, and tickets may be purchased at the Quick Center box office for $5 for Fairfield students.
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