June (2014)
6/29/2014
All Good Things
6/23/2014
Penultimate Post
6/15/2014
Envisioning Greatness
6/2/2014
The Proctor Difference
May (2014)
5/1/2014
Ties That Bind
April (2014)
4/11/2014
Cary House Remembered
March (2014)
3/25/2014
George's Gift
3/14/2014
Pick Yourself
February (2014)
2/23/2014
Letter from Mike: On Being Remarkable
2/9/2014
Trustees and Volunteers
December (2013)
12/27/2013
Holiday Card
12/4/2013
Good Causes
12/2/2013
Frozen Assets
November (2013)
11/16/2013
Sally B.
11/10/2013
End Game
11/6/2013
Have Fun, Learn, and Work Hard
11/2/2013
Seasons of Change
October (2013)
10/29/2013
Process of Affirmation
10/6/2013
The Notion of Stewardship
September (2013)
9/21/2013
Self Study
The Laramie Project
11/9/2006

Shortly after midnight, on October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a first year politcal science major at the University of Wyoming, was horribly beaten by two young men outside the city of Laramie. Tied by his shoestrings to a buckfence by a remote, dirt road, he was discovered--barely alive--18 hours later by a passing mountain biker.

Following Shepard's death several days later, members of New York's Tectonic Theater Project visited Laramie, interviewing 200 individuals who knew the victim in various ways. The content of these interviews became the text of the theater company's extraordinary The Laramie Project, which opened in 2000. The show opens Friday night at 7:00 PM in the Norris Family Theater.

Matthew Shepard was a slight, openly homosexual young man. His death, and the trial that convicted his murderers, clarified the ethics and legalities of hate crimes on a national scale. Rejecting traditional "scenes" and "acts," this play takes us to dozens of "moments," each of which reveals the complex perspectives of diverse individuals.

This production is powerful and challenging to both the talented cast and the audience. The stage is sparse, backlit with blue that silouettes the iconic fence. The architecture of the text breaks our focus into declarations, declamations and personal revelations, as characters explore their attitudes towards homosexuality.

A climax occurs when Reverend Fred Phelps, a Topeka-based Baptist minister played by Jake Johnson, shouts "God hates fags," a phrase that--today--is his ministry's website name. Students donned angel wings to protest his rants after Shepard's murder.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of The Laramie Project! The show plays Friday and Saturday at 7 PM. Email alexe@proctornet.com for tickets.

__________________________________________________

Director Michael Littman: "Three minutes!"
The cast includes several veteran student actors, including Joey Goulart.
And Saam Aiken, shown here as Matthew's college advisor.
And Georgia Freed. Each actor plays multiple roles, and they do so with conviction.
New actors demonstrate their talents.
Here, Sarah Canelas plays the role of a tough, Hispanic boy.
Jake Johnson in the role of Fred Phelps, a reverend whose God is filled with hatred.
Several faculty assist in quality roles, including Dave Kenney, here as the doctor who first faces Matthew Shepard's horrible injuries.
Edna Peters, who last appeared in Proctor Drama's 1983 production of The Music Man, is back as the grandmother of a killer.