Tectonic Theater Project:
Process and Construction
“Just deal with what is true. You know what is true. You need to do your best to say it correct.”
- Father Roger Schmit, The Laramie Project
The name of Tectonic Theater Project, the theater group that created The Laramie Project, gives us a
glimpse into their mission and process. Tectonic, based in New York City, is not a company but a project, an
ongoing productive process of art and humanity. The word “tectonic” refers to the act of building or construction,
yet it also brings to mind the earth’s tectonic plates. These plates are pieces that have disconnected and
reconnected throughout the earth’s history in order to form the world we see around us. At times these shifts
cause great disasters, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes. Other times, these shifts create mountain
ranges, valleys and other vistas of extreme beauty.
In order to construct The Laramie Project,
Moisés Kaufman, the artistic director of Tectonic,
enlisted eight actors to accompany him to Laramie,
Wyoming, just one month after the murder of Matthew
Shepard. These actors traveled to Laramie six times
over the course of 18 months. They conducted over
200 interviews with the town residents in order to
investigate this typical American town’s reaction to a
heart-wrenching crime and the resulting media
hailstorm. After collecting these interviews, Tectonic
convened in New York, and the members collectively
determined how to present their many hours of
interviews, hundreds of pages of notes and various
confounding feelings into one work of drama.
The result was The Laramie Project, a
docudrama that unites form and content. In
accordance with their mission, Tectonic’s work
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