Compiled by: Karli Wallace/ Exec. Theme Editor, Emilee Ray/ Theme Editor, Lucy Nickerson/ Illustrator
Drama’s production of “The Laramie Project” highlights the social relevance of hate crimes based on sexual orientation in the United States
Assailants Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney robbed, pistol whipped, and left Matthew Shepard, a gay college student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming, for dead, tied to a log wire fence on Oct. 6, 1998.
After a cyclist found Shepard’s body, local police forces responded to the scene, where Shepard was found unresponsive. Shepard was rushed to a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died on Oct. 12, 1998 from four skull fractures and a crushed brain stem. His death inspired the play “The Laramie Project”, which Mira Costa’s Drama and Tech department performed as their fall play from Nov. 2-10 in the small theatre.
“The first time I did the table read for Aaron McKinney, I cried,” junior Colin Kelly said. “To play a part like McKinney went against all my morals, so when I was getting in character, I had to put myself in his shoes. During rehearsals, I’d try to add hints of sympathy, but nothing seemed to fit. That was the most charcterization I’ve ever had to put into a role.”
Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project wrote “The Laramie Project” which is solely based on Shepard’s murder and how Laramie, Wyoming responded to the hate crime. The play draws on more than 200 interviews of Laramie residents conducted by the theater company and has been performed around the world.
“It’s a tough story, it’s sad and powerful and it affects everyone in a different way to deal with themes and contents like this,” Assistant Director Maddie Hutchinson said. “The students all approached it with maturity and respect that I thought spoke so much to their character.”
According to Hutchinson, Shepard’s death has now become one of America’s most infamous hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Since 1998, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Crimes Prevention Act and the Matthew Shepard Foundation have been established to defend the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Since Manhattan Beach is such a nice, sheltered community, it seems shocking that there are people out there who still feel hatred towards the LGBTQ+ community, ” Sound Board Operator and junior Winter Hagstrom said. “As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, there’s a lot of hope that come from our ability to produce a play like this.”
After searching for a safe resting place for Shepard, his parents decided to lay him to rest at Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C. 20 years after his death, The Smithsonian Instituition received a collection of Shepard’s papers and personal objects on October 15, 2018. Shepard’s legacy and story will continue to live on and make an impact for many more years to come through the LGBTQ+ community’s advocacy against hate crimes against sexual orientation.
“The Laramie Project’ is definitely still socially relevant in this day and age.” Kelly said. “The whole point of the play is to promote the idea that people shouldn’t discriminiate against other solely because they are different. Because of the focus on Laramie, the play also focuses on the people involved. It’s aimed to bring people together to make change.”
Costa’s Drama and Tech Department dedicates hours to accurately tell the story of Matthew Shepard’s murder and the aftermath of his death
Mira Costa’s Drama and Tech Department took many steps and went through a long process in order to prepare adequtely for the fall production of “The Laramie Project”.
Forty eight overall members, including the cast and crew, helped in preparing the play to tell the story of gay University of Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard’s murder in a reported hate crime.
“Generally speaking, there are always a ton of moving parts to any production and the students are responsible for owning all of it,” Assistant Director Maddie Hutchinson said. “From start to finish, there was a lot of thoughtfulness put into every decision made by the students and that made me really happy.”
Costa’s Drama and Tech Department started preparing for their fall play as early as Sept. 4 with auditions and with callbacks the next day. The Drama Department requires students auditioning to perform a monologue of their choice, and then reaudition if they got a call back. Director Jonathan Westerbreg announced on Sept. 7 the official cast and crew of “The Laramie Project”. Once casting directors expected students to memorize lines, learn blocking and rehearse every day, Hutchinson said.
“For Laramie, because every member of the cast was on stage at all times, we had to come everyday absolutely ready to work,” Junior Natalie Rebenkoff said. “Once we hit tech and hell week, both the cast and crew were here from the start of their school day until about 9:00pm in full costume, hair, and makeup, running the show everyday until opening night.”
Additionally, Tech students built sets, managed lighting and managed sound aspects of the play. Those responsible with making the set used longboards and stained them to make them look aged. They then used LED lighting tape and ran it underneath the longboards to make each city and road light up, Tech member and junior Camden Strickfaden said.
“We worked on the set every day until it was finished in class and then after school three days a week until it was finished,” Strickfaden said. “I really liked the soundtrack and projection that was used to set the mood for the play. Overall, the set and tech management that went into preparing for the play were difficult, so when we finished showing the play, we knew that we’d done our part.”
The cast and crew of “The Laramie Project” had Tech Week from Oct. 22-27, where students who were both acting and working behind the scenes could adjust to practicing on the stage. Costa Drama and Tech then held what they call “Hell Week”, their last chance to practice before they started performing on that Friday, from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.
“I’m so incredibly proud of how the play turned out,” Hutchinson said. “I think that the students both on stage or working backstage or up in the booth or front of house, they all really owned their role in telling this important story.”
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