The school of visual and performing arts at University Louisiana Monroe presents The Laramie Project, the story of Matthew Shepard, October 31 - November 3.
The University of Louisiana Monroe School of Visual and Performing Arts presents The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project.
The Laramie Project Will be presented at the Helen Spyker Theater, 3803 Desiard St. on the ULM campus. The Play will begin at 7:30pm on October 31, 7:30 on November 1 and 2 and a 2:00pm performance on Sunday, November 3. General admission is $10. ULM Faculty and Staff tickets are $5. Students are free with ID. Tickets are available at the door prior to each performance or in advance on Eventbrite.
In October 1998, a twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten, and left tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming. His bloody, bruised, and battered body was not discovered until the next day, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he was the victim of this assault because he was gay.
Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half, in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard.
They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town. Some people interviewed were directly connected to the case, while others were citizens of Laramie, and the breadth of the reactions to the crime is fascinating. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience from these interviews and their own experiences in Laramie.
THE LARAMIE PROJECT is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.
“This is a story that is just as relevant today as it was 25 years ago when it first happened.” Said Director Steven Burnside. “It is not just a gay issue, though that is what is portrayed in the play. There is still so much bullying and hate over anything that seems different to people’s beliefs or what they are used to. We have seen hate and hostility over ethnicity, LGBTQ+, religion, politics, nationality and so much more. All we can hope to do with The Laramie Project is to start a conversation where people can be free to be who they are without fear.”
When asked why Laramie, Burnside said, "I had some students in my office one day when deciding what show to do this fall ,and I mentioned The Laramie Project. When I did I had a student, a part of the queer community, who had read the play before and their face instantly lit up. I then did some talking around VAPA and the community and people that knew the show said "yes please''. "
For more information or to purchase tickets for The Laramie Project at ULM visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-laramie-project-tickets-1055424395779
