THE LARAMIE PROJECT by Moises Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project
- Directed by Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson
- Scenic Design and Technical Direction by Dathan Powell
Friday, November 7; Saturday, November 8; Sunday, November 9 & Thursday, November 13; Friday, November 14; Saturday, November 15. (All performances at 7:30pm, except for the Sunday, Nov 9 Matinee at 2:00pm)
“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. 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 in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. 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.” --Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
"The award-winning 2000 script by Moisés Kaufman and his Tectonic Theatre Project chronicles the shocking, reverberant murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard...
But “Laramie Project” is a biography of a community, not one individual. The town, mirrored in interviews with citizens conducted soon after Shepard’s 1998 slaying, is the main character...
The play tells a gripping crime story, while giving a diverse circle of Americans their say — even flaming bigots, like the railing anti-gay minister who disrupted Shepard’s funeral...
A portrait of Laramie coalesces as a place where Americans of different classes, cultures, religions and sexual orientations coexist under a deceptive ethos of social tolerance — until a horrific episode of violence reveals how little genuine acceptance and understanding of difference really exists. And how, when people face such truths, and bear witness, real change may be possible."--From Misha Berson's July 16, 2010 Review of the Play for The Seattle Times
Performances will take place in the UIS Theatre Acting/Directing Studio, in the Visual & Performing Arts Building (VPA 170) on the UIS Campus.
Park in Lot B and walk to VPA 170.
