CLAIRE O’REILLY
Special to The Leader
Kidnapped, tied to a fence, beaten and left to die. This describes the murder of former student of The University of Wyoming, Matthew Shepard.
He was gay.
“This is the landmark gay hate crime in the U.S., and it happened in our lifetime,” said junior acting, English and women’s and gender studies triple major James Lillin. “So few people know about it, which is really unfortunate.”
In 1998, there were some who thought Shepard’s story should be heard.
“A group of 10 individuals from the Tectonic Theater Company traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, a month after the murder of Matthew Shepard, and created a play using only the words of those involved, whether it be Matthew’s murderers, his best friends or locals with fascinating opinions,” said Lillin. This play also has an epilogue production called “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.”
“The first play is about Matt as a person. Who he was, what he was passionate about and the loss of a community. ‘Ten Years Later’ is about the progress, or lack thereof, of hate crime legislation and community growth,” said junior musical theatre major Marisa Pizzuto.
“You don’t need to see the first show to see the second, but you should familiarize yourself with Matthew Shepard or do some Googling. You’ll understand both stories as stand-alone pieces, but it’ll be so much more rewarding to see both,” said Lillin.
Both productions will be hitting the stage next week at The Bartlett Theater on campus, as part of The Walter Gloor Mainstage Series.
Director Paul Mockovak seems to have taken a different approach to directing, leaving a lot in the hands of the actors. “This is very much an actor-driven event, and I believe their input vastly exceeds my own,” he said.
Sarah Standinger, junior BFA theatre and video production double major and production stage manager, agreed.
“Overall, Mr. Paul has really emphasized keeping the production actor-driven, so all of our designers have kept their designs simple and elegant,” said Standinger.
Speaking of the set, Standinger is most excited for the turntable that the audience can look forward to experiencing. It is in the middle of a platform and rotates for certain scenes.
The platform, produced by scenic designers Courtney Alberto and Joseph MacNeil, “is beautifully painted with a satellite image of the United States with Laramie, Wyoming in the center,” said Standinger. Above the doors of the theater, Standinger said that there will be signs hanging representing important places to both of the plays. For example, the hospital where Matthew was cared for and the bar that he was last seen in.
As for how the transition from “The Laramie Project” to “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” will work, Standinger said that two signs will be switched out between the plays in order to reflect the changes in Laramie.
“I can’t wait to actually see it in action,” said Standinger.
Getting emotional seems to be a common theme with these productions.
“There’s not a rehearsal where I’m not crying at least twice,” said Lillin. “Physically, because of the actor-driven nature of the show, you need to be focused 100 percent of the time, on and off stage, because if you’re not currently doing something, you will be in a few seconds. It’s not like other shows where you might get 20 or 30 minutes offstage.”
Lillin believes the most important thing to convey to the audience is that they are people, not characters. “Our words are real, natural words that have been transcribed, not written,” he said.
Lillin hopes that after seeing these productions, the audience will think both about how far we have come, but also how far we still have to go.
“Matthew’s was not the first hate crime or the last, and even today there are horrifying numbers of lives being taken based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” he said.
“The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” will be taking place Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m.; March 4 and March 5 at 7:30 p.m.