Upper School Play: The Laramie Project

Eastside Preparatory School presents The Laramie Project written by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.

* Please be advised, this production contains strong language and graphic descriptions of homophobia and violence.

“In October 1998, a twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten, and left 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, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he 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. Some people interviewed were directly connected to the case, while other were the citizens of Laramie, and the breadth of the reactions to the crime is fascinating. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience from these interviews and their own experiences in Laramie. The Laramie Project  is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.”

A cast of 16 students will perform in this production. Direction by Ian Duncan and Sam Baldwin, Technical Direction by Rick MacKenzie and Alek Edmonds. The show will run approximately two hours ten minutes.

  • When: February 5 @ 7:00 PM

*The production is most appropriate for 8th graders and older. If you have questions, please contact Production Coordinator and MS Drama Teacher, Lisa Frystak.