The Wake

After the brutal beating and subsequent death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in October of 1998 — a death that made Matthew’s a name a household one synonymous with words like “hate crimes” and “homophobia” — playwright Moisés Kaufman and other members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled from New York City to Laramie, Wyoming and surrounding areas to interview those who knew Shepard and knew of him. They also interviewed those who watched as their humble, all-American town — a town in which the mantra of “live and let live” is engrained within many citizens, suddenly was thrust into the harsh glare of the national spotlight. Shepard’s death forced many of those same citizens to come face to face with the murdered as well as the young murderers whom many also knew. And above all, a simple, chilling reality that “we do grow children like that here.”

Through visiting the area at least six times over a period of a year and half, the theater troupe interviewed the bartender who saw Matthew leave with his two would-be killers, police officers involved in the investigation, religious leaders in the community and friends and neighbors, among others. What ultimately results is an innovative “docu-theater” production of raw emotions and provocative discussions all surrounding the unthinkable murder of Shepard, which looms in the minds of the speakers not unlike the wooden fence that hangs centrally above the stage.

The University Theater’s production of “The Laramie Project” seeks to present the material as more of a discussion on how we as a society brought on the events in Laramie. Even before the show begins, the handbill encourages audience members to converse with each other about their opinions of the Matthew Shepard case. Once the lights lower, the actors walk onto the stage to aid in a sense of community and storytelling. And the actors simply add and remove key pieces of their costumes to convey which character they are playing. For example, one actor will place a silver badge on his shirt to represent the sergeant who investigated the case. And while one might think that this method may cause confusion among the audience, for example when a female actor plays a traditionally male character like a Baptist minister, the production succeeds in the idea that the student theater community creates the Laramie community for the benefit of the university community. And while, at times some actors reveal the unease of playing a character who is much older or of the opposite sex, more often than not they shine in bringing these voices to the stage.

The “Docu-Theater” aspect of “The Laramie Project” captures a sliver of ideas and emotions about a single event or topic and then presents it to the stage in a way that the audience can view it linearly. One excellent example is a scene in which Laramie religious leaders are commenting on the case, and although they were all interviewed separately, the common topic enables the playwright to bring them onstage together as if they were in debate. This commonality of issues among all of the communities across America and society is what makes “The Laramie Project” an important and innovative tool to spark conversation among us all.