3028 Laramie Project Workshop
Planning Committee Sponsored
In the wake of the kidnapping and brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, the Tectonic Theater Project, Inc., went to Laramie, Wyoming, to speak with the people there. During their six visits, they interviewed over 200 residents of the city about their relationship to Shepard, and the impact of his
death. The outcome of their conversations is the stunning play, The Laramie Project, authored by Tectonic's Artistic Director Moisés Kaufman. In his script, Kaufman allows the voices of the residents of Laramie to talk about the impact the murder of this young gay man had on them as individuals, and the city itself. We hear the voices of the bar owner where Shepard was kidnapped, a rural farmer, a university professor, the young woman who discovered Shepard tied to a fence, the police woman who arrived first on the scene, the local parish priest, and up to 60 other residents sharing their words.
At this General Assembly, six members of the Meadville/Lombard Theological School community presented the play: Jeff Briere, Hugh Visor, Beth Marshall, Dennis McCarty, Sandy Wilson and Melissa Ziemer. The production was directed by the Rev. John Tolley, Dean of Students and Assistant Professor of Ministry. Tolley introduced the play, stating that there were three main
reasons M/L undertook this project. The first, he said, was to raise social justice issues in society, in order to help motivate people to work for changes in the community through positive action. Secondly, by working on such projects within the academic and educational arenas, it heightens the sense of community of those so involved. By close interactions, they find out things about each other, and are reminded that we can and need to work together. Finally, by this sort of production, individuals gain an opportunity to discover their own capacities and uncover talents that might not have been apparent to them before. It is, as the quote from Moisés Kaufman on the program states: "The experience of working on The Laramie Project has been one of great sadness, great beauty, and perhaps most important, great revelations-about our nation, about our ideals, about ourselves."
Reporter Lisa Presley; Web Designer Julie Albanese
General Assembly 2002 · Program Grid 2002 · General Assembly Home