‘Laramie project’ confronts controversial questions at USU
Few plays have ever hit this close to home – either physically or ideologically.
Set in Laramie, Wyo, a town approximately 150 miles away from Logan, the play is a unique recreation of interviews that took place over a year and a half period.
The play, written by Moisés Kaufman, outlines the events of the town in the wake of the murder of Matthew Shepard.
“It takes place about three weeks after the event with Matthew Shepard and it ends about a year and a half after that,” said director Kevin Doyle. “It’s actually not about him as much as it is about the town reaction to what happened to him. We do learn about him, we find about him and we find others who demonize him, but we never get to know the man himself.”
In interviewing the town members and recreating precisely what they said (even their factual and grammatical mistakes). The play attempts to show a community dealing with an event that is actually affecting everyone, Doyle said.
Shepard, an openly gay student attending the University of Wyoming, was beaten to death on Oct. 12, 1998, because of prejudice against his sexual orientation.
According to www.thefileroom.org, the play was banned from Broward County Community College because “the play was about a gay man.”
“I’m a little surprised that someone banned it because it is the most produced play by professional theaters, colleges and high schools over the last three years,” Doyle said. “It’s shattered all records and its being produced still now all over the country. The only reason people might think it’s controversial is because it, like all good plays do, presents a present situation and portrays both sides of it.”
Doyle even compared the plays reception to the current debacle over Michael Moore’s visit to Utah Valley State College.
Actor Tyson Smith agreed, adding that the controversial nature of the play might stem from the universal questions the play raises, especially those concerning homosexuality.
“This play is like the reality-TV of the theater,” Smith said. “It’s a living documentary, because it’s real, because these are real words said by real people who live 150 miles away. I think that scares a lot of people because it’s so much like talking to your neighbor or your friend about these issues that really aren’t that pleasant to talk about, but I think that’s were the growth comes too.”
Another member of the production, Amber Dawn, said that especially in conservative Utah, people have preconceived notions and they don’t want people to tell them that’s not how it is.
“I think this [play] really tells them you can still think what you think, but you need to know that its not always that way,” Dawn said.
In commenting about the questions concerning homosexuality the play raises, Doyle said, “It will be in your town – it is in your town.”
Simply from the actors standpoint, the “Laramie Project” is unique. The 60 plus roles in the production are split between 10 actors.
“Actors don’t get to do this ever, to show your range, from a loud outspoken Southern Baptist to a soft-spoken LDS CEO of a hospital,” Smith said. “And I hope it’s exciting for the audience to see one man morph into six or seven other characters and honestly portray what they have to say.”
“The Laramie Project” runs Oct. 5-9 in the Caine Lyric Theatre. Tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for non-USU students. Students get in free with ID.
-mattgo@cc.usu.edu