Thu Oct 12, 2023 - Sat Oct 14, 2023
Fringe ArtSpace 54 W Church St, Suite 201, Orlando, FL 32801
The Laramie Project: A 25th Anniversary Reading
Ghost Light Theatricals in association with Fringe ArtSpace and Florida Theatrical Association present readings of The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death.
In honoring the memory and legacy of Matthew Shepard, this unique event strives to inspire our community to see themselves in the citizens of Laramie and reflect on their own reaction to recent attacks on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, both here in Florida and nationally. This moment is an opportunity to connect, comfort and organize in this troubling time and to honor the mission of the Matthew Shepard Foundation to amplify the story of Matthew Shepard to “inspire individuals, organizations, and communities to embrace the dignity and equality of all people. Through local, regional, and national outreach, we empower individuals to find their voice to create change and challenge communities to identify and address hate that lives within our schools, neighborhoods, and homes.”
With a cast composed of local actors, artists and community leaders this reading will bring a whole new perspective on the work by putting community at the center of the storytelling and offering space for conversation and reflection. What can we learn about ourselves by examining the words and actions of another community?
“...this emotionally searing production asks us
to listen to the citizens of Laramie and see ourselves.” Extra, Extra
Thursday | October 12, 2023 - 7:30 PM
Saturday | October 14, 2023 - 2:00 PM
Saturday | October 14, 2023 - 7:30 PM
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The Laramie Project is a breathtaking theatrical collage that explores the complexity of identity and the human experience through the lens and voices of a community in crisis. The piece invites us to see ourselves in the fullness of our individual humanity and as a member of a larger community. The piece tempers an honest look at a horrific crime with the coming together of a community to say “Hate is not a Laramie value.”
In October 1998, twenty-one-year-old Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming. His bloody, bruised and battered body was not discovered until the next day: Matthew died several days later in an area hospital. Matthew Shepard was the victim of this assault because he was gay.
Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town and the breadth of reaction to the crime is fascinating. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical event from these interviews and their own experiences.
The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later examines what happened in the decade following Matthew Shepard's murder. Has Matthew's murder had a lasting impact on society? How has the town changed as a result of that event? What does life in Laramie tell us about life in our own communities? How much of history depends on who is telling the story?