SENIOR SCHOOL
The Laramie
Project
Year 12 Drama production
The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman
and Members of the Tectonic Theatre Project
Directed by Murray Dowsett
This year, the Year 12 Drama production was a challenging,
controversial and in some respects harrowing performance. It was
a bold step to present The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and
Members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, directed by Perth actor/
director Murray Dowsett. However, it was a step saturated in value,
as we all embarked on an amazing journey exploring the themes and
issues embedded in this play.
The play is a documentary-style drama and is an account of a
hate crime committed in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. A young
gay university student from Laramie, Wyoming, was the victim of
a horrendous hate crime. Matthew Shepard was tied to a buck
fence, savagely beaten and left to die. He died a few days later in
hospital with his loving family around him, he was 21 years old. If
the circumstances of his death had not been horrifying enough, his
funeral was then picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church with antigay slogans. Matthew Shepard became a national symbol of the need
for tolerance, acceptance and understanding in a world where many
people’s fear becomes the bedrock of prejudices and limiting attitudes.
The Tectonic Theatre Project from New York travelled to Laramie
and conducted over 200 interviews with the residents of the town,
unearthing a range of viewpoints. For some there was a deep-seated
homophobia, prejudice and intolerance, others were open, accepting
and respectful taking a ‘live and let live’ approach. It was from these
interviews that director Moises Kaufman and his group of actors
constructed a Verbatim Theatre style play, presenting the points of
view as truthfully as possible. The play is an account of what people
actually said, it is not a fictional story, thought up by a playwright in
the comforts of their imagination, this is a slice of real life. The events
happened and we as audience are challenged to think and reflect on
this sobering reality.
Under the professional guidance of
Murray Dowsett, the Year 12 Drama
students immersed themselves in the
script, honouring the real life people/
characters they were charged with
performing and holding in mind that they
were delivering a deeply moving play
about a difficult subject matter. In the
scheme of things, Laramie has been a
journey of deep learning for all involved.
Ms Jane Diamond
Head of the Arts Faculty
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