Honoring Life’s Spark: A Lasting Legacy
By Sarah Robinson, Programming Operations Manager/Orchestra Liaison
Works of theatre have long served as a reflection of their creator’s time. As
the Greek Protagoras suggested, “Man is the measure of all things.” Shortly
after, tragedies also began to focus on the human elements of mythical and
historical events, rather than on the unexplained whims of the supernatural.
These surviving plays emphasize the importance of contemporary events,
using the chorus to comment on the protagonist’s actions and decisions.
In his introduction to The Laramie Project, Moisés Kaufman discusses the late19th-century trials of Oscar Wilde and the murder of Matthew Shepard, explaining
how these watershed moments in history provide insight into the culture of their
respective times. While both events center on the persecution of homosexuals,
it is evident by Wilde’s trials that the Victorian culture in which he lived was not
conducive to open discussion about sexuality. For Kaufman, The Laramie Project
presented an opportunity for discussion that had not been possible previously.
In Elizabethan times, actor and playwright Ben Jonson was imprisoned several times
throughout his early career for his political satires. In Lincoln’s own time, adaptations
of Uncle Tom’s Cabin played throughout the North and South as tensions of the
1850s led to war in the 1860s. Political themes are not unusual on the stage, and
drama has the ability to bridge gaps in public discourse in ways debate cannot.
For Matthew’s story, how communities have responded to his murder,
the subsequent trial, and The Laramie Project reveal the lasting impact of
his legacy. In his statement at the end of his son’s murderer’s trial, Dennis
Shepard commented that “[his] son has become a symbol—a symbol
against hate and people like you; a symbol for encouraging respect for
individuality; for appreciating that someone is different; for tolerance.”
The trial and the resulting dialogue surrounding Matthew’s murder led to
new cultural works and laws, all of which fight hate and promote equality
and understanding: The Laramie Project, the Matthew Shepard Foundation,
and the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention
Act. Communities like Colorado Springs, which fostered some of the first
anti-gay legislation in the country, now have local organizations striving
for equality of all, with a local high school producing The Laramie Project
in 2008 after a three-year battle with the school’s administration.
While progress has been made, the conversation must continue and can be assisted
by the production of new plays. In Tectonic Theater Project’s follow-up play, The
Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, it is evident that change can be slow in coming.
But hope for progress can be found in the local populations who courageously
stand up for equality for all. In these movements, a bit of Matthew lives on. As his
father remarked, “the spark that he provided to pe ??????????????????????????t)Q???1??????A????????((0