LC Theatre will present The Laramie Project April 12 – 15 in Dillard Theatre. The Laramie Project was written by Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project following the kidnapping, beating, and death of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who was attacked because he was gay.
This deeply moving theatrical collage explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which humans are capable. The show is directed by Melora Kordos and features a cast of 11 students.
Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater members made six trips to Laramie, Wyoming over the course of a year and a half in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town who expressed a breadth of reactions to the crime, and these interviews are the core of this play.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. April 12 – 14 and 2 p.m. on April 15. The box office (544.8380) will open April 9 daily from 1 to 4 p.m. and 30 minutes before curtain time. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $5 for students.
Students are planning several campus events in conjunction with The Laramie Project, and two will be open to the public. These include:
April 14, 4 p.m. Talk-Back Session with the cast and director after the 2 p.m. Sunday matinee.
April 16, 7:30 p.m. Candlelight Vigil for those affected by hate crimes in Friendship Circle with Associate Chaplain Anne Gibbons speaking.
A campus-only event, “Storm the Dorms” fundraiser, will be held to collect funds for a donation to the Matthew Shepard Foundation in University of Lynchburg’s name.