Matthew Shepard’s death in October 1998 was denounced as a hate crime when he was kidnapped, brutally beaten to death and left tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyo., because he was gay.
Shepard died 50 days before his 22nd birthday.
Five weeks after Shepard’s death, the tectonic theater traveled to Laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town.
All of the interviews gave rise to the poignant play, The Laramie Project.
The play, by Moisés Kaufman, member of The Tectonic Theater Project, and Director Scott Stoney, is a powerful depiction of one town’s healing in the aftermath of the horrific ordeal.
“The function of the play is to let people know exactly what happened in Laramie,” Stoney said. “I believe that their [Kaufman and members of the tectonic play] primary mission is one of raising consciousness about hate crimes and trying to do what they can to take an active part to try and diminish hate crimes all over the country.”
As an ensemble, the Laramie Project is divided into three acts, and nine actors portray more than 60 characters in a series of short scenes. Actresses Angela Dermer, Cydnie Hampton, Rachel Wilson, along with actors John Dunn, Chris Hammond, John Ray, Matthew Smith, Matt Turner, Robb Willoughby, are the cast members who will depict how the small town of Laramie struggles with intolerance and compassion.
“What they end up with is a composite of small town behavior,” Stoney said. “They haven’t edited out anything, so you have people dealing with the results of what they believed to be a hate crime, and those that believed he was killed because he was gay.”
During the interviews, the townspeople, Stoney said, have differing opinions about the death of Shepard.
“Some people will think that is exactly the way it happened and that the crime is an awful thing,” he said. “You will have people that think that he deserved it because it is a lifestyle that they don’t approve off—because they feel that he is immoral.”
Shepard’s death occurred 24 years ago, but the themes of intolerance, prejudice and hatred are present today.
“The Laramie Project is a really important story to be told. Not only do the Tectonic Theater do really great work, but they tend to work on very important topics,” said Theater Director Stephen Skiles. “We also have a lot of LGBT youth here at Sinclair, and I think is important to do it so that we are nurturing that group of students, as we nurture all of our students.”
Actor and Communications major at Sinclair John Ray said that it is important to keep the conversation about Shepard alive.
“The Laramie Project is definitely something that doesn’t need to be forgotten,” Ray said. “Gay rights are the civil rights issues of this time. It is important to keep telling the story of Shepard and learning the lessons.”
The Sinclair Theater Department will open the Laramie Project on May 18 at Blair Hall Theater in Building 2. All tickets cost $10 for students and seniors. For adults, the tickets cost $15.
“This could happen in our neighborhood,” said Theater Performance major Angela Dermer. “People think ‘oh that happened in Laramie that could never happen here,’ but the realization is that it can happen anywhere.”