Greta Nerad
News Editor
And Tess Heagy
Staff Writer
The Costa Drama and Tech Department opened its fall production, “The Laramie Project,” on Nov. 2 in the small theater.
The play is centered around the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming, who was brutally beaten to death and left tied to a fence only to die in the hospital five days later. The play shines light on the homophobia and hatred that led to his murder and the national debate it sparked over treatment of people with different sexual identities.
“Because our conversations of sexual identity have grown more complex, this is a good time to revisit some of those core issues and how they affect the nation,” Drama teacher and director Jonathan Westerberg said.
The play featured 20 students and was ensemble-based, rather than the traditional focus on a few lead characters. The actors sat on either side of the stage, entering when their scenes began. Playwright Moisés Kaufman wrote the show with few stage directions, leaving directors to make it their own, Westerberg said.
“There aren’t any true lead actors or actresses,” Westerberg said. “The script is just a compilation of interviews, which gives a whole bunch of unique stage opportunities.”
The play is a compilation of excerpts from interviews, media coverage and press releases that followed the murder. Each student played anywhere from two to six different roles.
“Usually, you only have one person you are being in a show, so only one point of view to think about,” cast member and junior Ansley Rowell said. “It was challenging and exciting to go in and out of five different characters all within one show.”
The Drama Department rehearsed the play for two months and the Tech Department designed and created the set, which featured an LED light-up map of Wyoming. The department also designed costumes to match the time period.
“Production was amazing,” cast member and sophomore Bryson Ehrhard said. “I had a lot of fun and it was really great in general.”
According to Westerberg, one of the challenges of “The Laramie Project” was the demanding and heavy, yet hopeful, material of Shepard’s story. The play requires a particular emotional maturity from the actors and focus in order to pull off, Westerberg said.
“It was really difficult material to work with because it hit home for a lot of members of the cast,” cast member and junior Devin Boden said. “We had to take frequent breaks in order to process all of it.”
Shepard’s parents gave his ashes a permanent resting place at Washington National Cathedral on Oct. 26, following the 20th anniversary of his death. The first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal church led a public service in which the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. also performed.
The Drama Department will present its annual Holiday Benefit on Dec. 4 in the small theater to raise money for the Adopt-A-Family organization. Students will perform skits, songs and dances centered around the holiday season.
“I’m looking forward to the holiday benefit because it’s a great way to get in the mood for the holidays and a great opportunity to perform original work,” Rowell said.
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