Using those interviews, tectonic theater project wrote a second play, entitled the laramie project. On saturday, october 5th, i attended the play, the laramie project. A chorus of voices brings to life the thoughts and feelings of the people of laramie, wyoming, in the wake of the murder of matthew shepard, a young gay man. With christina ricci, steve buscemi, kathleen chalfant, laura linney. The laramie project is a 2000 play by moises kaufman and members of the tectonic theater project specifically, leigh fondakowski, writerdirector. The laramie project by moises kaufman and the members of. The three trials of oscar wilde, and the laramie project which he cowrote with the members of tectonic theater have been among the most performed plays in america over the last decade. Synopsis the laramie project is set in and around laramie, wyoming, in the aftermath of the murder of 21yearold matthew shepard. For a year and a half following the murder of matthew shepard, moises kaufman and his tectonic theater projectwhose previous play, gross indecency, was hailed as a work of unsurpassed originalityconducted hundreds of interviews with the citizens of laramie, wyoming, to create this portrait of a town struggling with a horrific event. At first, i was not really excited to see this play. The laramie project analyzes the death of matthew shepard, an openly gay college student who was brutally murdered in laramie, wyoming, in 1998 because of his sexual identity. Matthew shepard was a twentyoneyearold student at the university of wyoming. There are myriad ways in which the laramie project has become part of our national lexicon, but ill begin our semesters discussion with a very recent example the mass shooting in tuscon on january 8, 2011 claimed the lives of six and wounded thirteen others, including representative gabrielle giffords d, az district 8.
Essay about the laramie project 1907 words bartleby. The laramie project summary from litcharts the creators. Tectonic theater have since handed over the laramie project to other companies to perform, and london now sees the fine production by the red chair players that was a sellout at edinburgh last year. The laramie project, about the killing of a gay man, matthew shepard, in wyoming in 1998, returns to new york with the city premiere of the cycles second part. On a cold night in october, he was robbed, tied to a. However, i thought this play was well done and i actually enjoyed the play. In the aftermath, moises kaufman and members of the tectonic theater project went to laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with its citizens. The laramie project is the movie to watch on the matthew shepard ordeal. Buy the paperback book the laramie project by moises kaufman at indigo. During the next year, we would return to laramie several times and. For one, and this is important, the movie kind of plays a different role than the book even though each tell the same story.
The laramie project is a 2000 play by moises kaufman and members of the tectonic theater. Police officer who found matthew shepard at the fence jonas slonaker. The laramie project is a documentarystyle play created by the venezuelan playwright moises kaufman and members of the tectonic theater project, an experimental company whose work has often touched on social themes. Stephen belber, greg pierotti, barbara pitts, stephen wangh, amanda gronich, sara lambert, john mcadams, maude mitchell, andy paris, and kelli simpkins about the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay university of wyoming student matthew shepard in. Matthew shepards death became a national symbol of intolerance. The laramie project, book by moises kaufman paperback. The first sentence of the laramie project is not a description of matthew shepards beating or of laramie, wyoming, rather the play opens by detailing the construction of the play by the tectonic theater company, ending with the statement that the play you are about to see is edited from those interviews, as well as journal entries from members of the company and other found texts. In 1998, matthew shepard was murdered in laramie, wyoming.
With the lowlying clouds, its uh its the blue lights that bounce off the clouds. The laramie project study guide from litcharts the. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. After the residents of laramie introduce their town, members of tectonic theater project describe how the theater companys leader, moises kaufman, asked them to join him in laramie, wyoming. The night he and i drove around together, he said, laramie sparkles, doesnt it. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
It premiered at the 2002 sundance film festival and was first broadcast on hbo in. The play lays out viewpoints of different sorts of people in society in a way that is unbiased and yet encouraging of self reflection, and motivates change without actually calling for change. It is both a retelling of the events that transpired and a portrait of the residents and town of laramie in the year following matthews murder. Kindle ebooks can be read on any device with the free kindle app. Kaufman along with his theater troupe made six visits to laramie, wyoming, where the murder. It was a saturday night and i hate going to any kind of theatre, including movie theatres. To this point, the play is all but a work of nonfiction. Shoppers at a strip mall in laramie rental car agent in laramie stephen belber.
The laramie project by moises kaufman overdrive rakuten. The true story of an american town in the wake of the murder of matthew shepard. After the brutal murder of mathew sheppard in 1998. The laramie project, cochrane, london stage the guardian. Script o rama afterwards for more free movie scripts. The laramie project begins as various members of the laramie community praise the town of laramie, wyoming, speaking glowingly about towns closeknit community and expounding on its natural beauty. Moises kaufman and his tectonic theater project have written a play documenting the aftermath of the savage killing of matthew shepard, including the. Based on the play of the same name, the film tells the story of the aftermath of the 1998 murder of matthew shepard in laramie, wyoming. The laramie project is a critical play that addresses the brutal murder of openly gay teenager matthew shepard in the small town of laramie, wyoming, an incident that sparked national debate back in 1998. The laramie project at bams harvey theater the new. In this expanded edition, it is joined by an essential and moving sequel to the original play.
He gathered interviews, recorded reactions to the murder, and structured or formatted the play as if it was a reenactment not merely a. Another example which relates to the laramie project is that i know someone who thinks not. Editor of the daily laramie boomerang, local laramie newspaper governor freudenthal. On november 14, 1998, the members of tectonic theater project traveled to laramie, wyoming, and conducted interviews with the people of the town. After reading the laramie project and watching the movie i have noticed a few things that have stricken me as peculiar. Although far from perfect, this is a well acted and directed docu drama that tells a remarkable true story. However, i found one scene to be strikingly different.
Although the movie follows the play, i noticed some differences between the two from the beginning. On october 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a. The laramie project is a series of wordforword reallife interviews conducted with people in the town of wyoming. The laramie project themes from litcharts the creators.
The author of the introduction to the laramie project writes. Throughout the laramie project which has largely been shaped from interviews conducted during six visits to laramie by mr. The task in this essay was to pick a side from the book the laramie project argue and support it. The contrast between who the two murderers had become was striking, and the whole thing was one long lightbulb moment of oh, thats how my classmates all had such terrible opinions in 2006. Because of this, the towns religious leaders have tremendous power to shape public opinion, and their reactions to matthews. Ten years after the premiere of the laramie project, the creators of the play returned to wyoming to do additional interviews with the residents of laramie. The laramie project is a docudrama, and kaufman wrote the play as if he were filming an actual documentary.
Its like the movie is actually attempting to lead its. The play covers many of the issues i intend to focus on ie. Ten years after was new to me, and i enjoyed it almost as much as the original. The 1999 play the laramie project explores the true story surrounding the death of matthew shepard, a young gay man who was beaten and left to. I basically bought this to use as a case study for an upcoming college exam in moral theology.
The laramie project, one of the mostperformed theater pieces in america, has become a modern classic. To create the stage version of the laramie project, the eightmember new yorkbased tectonic theatre project traveled to laramie, wyoming, recording hours of interviews with the towns citizens over a twoyear period. The laramie project summary and study guide supersummary. After all, not to create only, or found only, but to bring perhaps from afar what is already founded, to give it our own identity, average, limitless, free. The laramie project kindle edition by kaufman, moises. For a year and a half following the murder of matthew shepard. This triggered many new hate crime laws to be passed, and also got moises kaufman to. Religion is a strong presence in laramie, and many people of different faiths are represented in the laramie project. The laramie project isnt really about homosexuality or the matt shepard murder its bigger than that. Members of kaufmans theatrical group, tectonic theater project, volunteered to travel with their director from new york city to the wideopen ranges of the west in order to gather inperson interviews from laramies populace. I believe these things because someone in my life has been deemed badevil in society but within themselves and even spiritually are amazinggood people. The assignment submitted considers what should be the responsibility of the community when it comes to shaping and influencing the actions of its individual members.