THEATREOFDARE

In October 1998, a 21-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 others were 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.

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AUDITION INFORMATION:

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Men and women of all ages will be needed for this staged reading (no line memorization!) performance. Actors will likely be playing multiple roles during the performance. A full list of characters in The Laramie Project can be found here. We are hoping to include a variety of persons of different backgrounds to be cast to help portray the diversity of the subject matter and story of The Laramie Project. 

Auditions will be held May 13 at 7 p.m. in the theater. Those auditioning will be asked to perform cold reads from the script and will be prompted to relate a brief story from their lives. The purpose of the audition is to see who is able to tell a story.

 

If you're planning to audition, please fill out this audition registration form. We hope to see you there!