The Laramie Project
The true tale of a Midwestern town after the tragic hate crime that led to the murder of a homosexual college student
By Adam Lowe, contributing writer
Posted on November 9, 2006

When a small Midwest town is faced with a brutal murder considered to be a hate crime against homosexual University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, it seems everyone has a story to tell. Armed with a powerful and moving script, as well as exceptionally terrific actors, the JMU School of Theatre and Dance opened its production of “The Laramie Project” Tuesday night. Written by Moisés Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project, it retells the tragic events surrounding the brutal murder.

The eight actors brought more than 60 different characters’ perspectives and insights to the heartbreaking story that unfolded in 1998 in the quiet town of Laramie, Wyo. Especially noteworthy performances were by junior Asher Nicholson and sophomore Lauren Ramsey. The two actors provided pure characterizations as they shed all their personal idiosyncrasies for those of the characters they portrayed.

According to director Roger Hall during the question-and-answer session following the performance, the actors performed in a style much like “a reader’s theater piece,” often speaking their parts to no one in particular except the audience. Written in the style of “moment work,” many of the scenes would have several seemingly unrelated stories taking place at the same time, but connected with similar underlying themes, Hall said.

The technical aspects of the show were minimal, ensuring that the audience’s main focus was on the actors and story. Train whistles, howling winds, gospel music and bar-room noise provided the perfect ambiance, adding just enough theatrical realism to the scene. Each actor’s costume generally remained the same throughout the show, adding only an article of clothing or two with the onset of each different character from Laramie.

The lighting artistically and simplistically set the tone, casting shadows on some of the psychologically darker characters while illuminating those individuals thrown into the public spotlight. Six mammoth skeletal wood frames dominated the stage, which created an overbearing presence that seemed to be the only part of the show that hindered the separation of the “moment work.”

Often the scene’s dramatic integrity would be compromised by distracting upstage action, whether by an actor preparing for the next scene, rotating the colossal set frames, or the montage of comprehensive footage taken from the original media coverage.

Though the events took place more than eight years ago in the Midwest, “The Laramie Project’s” subject matter is still very relevant to JMU students today. Hall points out this situation occurred “in the lifetime of students … at a college campus, to a college student, in a town not very different from size than Harrisonburg.”

The show runs in Duke Hall’s Latimer-Shaeffer Theatre through Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 for general admission and $6 for JAC Card holders, senior citizens and children under 12 (though the show is recommended for mature audiences only.)