The Wheatley Theater Company is revisiting a tragedy next weekend that occurred 15 years ago in Wyoming when it presents its version of “The Laramie Project.”
The play, written by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Company, chronicles the reaction to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, among the residents of Laramie, Wyo.
Shepard was beaten and left to die hung on a barbed wire fence outside of Laramie.
Wheatley English teacher Colin McKenna said the 15th anniversary of Shepard’s death and this semester’s 10th grade English curriculum on the theme of human rights and standing up for one’s beliefs made the choice of the play he’s directing a natural one.
“We thought this would be an excellent opportunity for the community to have a dialogue about this. And the students agree with me,” McKenna said. “It’s a great educational opportunity and I think they’re passionate about this.”
The cast members in “Laramie Project” each face the challenge of portraying several different characters in the play with differing viewpoints about Shepard’s death. And they are well aware that they are speaking words recorded by members of the Tectonic Theater Company when they visited Laramie with the mission of producing a play from what residents told them about the murder.
Wheatley senior Caitlin Calio said the show is a unique stage experience for all of the actors, in part because they are playing real people.
“This show’s different from anything we’ve done. It’s more serious than anything I’ve done,” she said. “You feel like you know these people.”
Wheatley senior Julia Cooper, president of the high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, portrays Fred Phelps, a fundamentalist minister who instigated a protest during Shepard’s funeral.
“It makes it easier to say these words because I have no connection to them,” Cooper said.
One of the characters Calio portrays is a priest who says he hopes that Shepard had time to repent for the sins he committed due to his lifestyle while he was hanging on the fence dying.
“You have to say the lines like you mean them, knowing you don’t believe them,” Calio said.
Wheatley senior Tom Stroud said he has used the memory of losing his grandfather in trying to portray Shepard’s father in one of the play’s most compelling monologues.
“I couldn’t even fathom losing a son like that,” Stroud said. “Connecting with that is very emotional.”
Beyond the inherent emotion of the production, McKenna said members of the Wheatley Gay-Straight Alliance have been visiting English classes to encourage discussion about the implications of Shepard’s death.
They’ll also be in the lobby outside the Wheatley School auditorium on the nights the play is being performed to engage audience members in the theme of human rights the play evokes.
“The Laramie Project” will be performed this week at the Wheatley School on Nov. 21, 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. each night. Tickets are $10. Admission is free for senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.ewsdonline.com.
