Center for the Arts

Wesleyan University’s Theater Department presents “The Laramie Project” by ​Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project Friday, November 15 through Sunday, November 17, 2019

Middletown, Conn.​—​Wesleyan University​’s ​Theater Department​ presents ​“The Laramie Project” (2000), written and developed by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project and directed by Assistant Professor of the Practice ​Edward Torres​, on ​Friday, November 15, 2019 at 8pm; Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 2pm and 8pm; and Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 2pm in the ​CFA Theater​, located at 271 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown. Please see below for more details.

What happens when we put someone else's story into our own mouths, amplify it on stage, and attempt to fill in the gaps with our own speculative, cacophonous desires? During the 2019-2020 season, the Wesleyan Theater Department is presenting two collaborative works of ensemble theater: "The Laramie Project;" and "The Method Gun" by Rude Mechs, directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl from Friday, May 1 through Sunday, May 3, 2020. Both plays are ensemble creations, culled from interviews or historical documents, that tell the stories of absence and departure; of loss, survival, and the way a community attempts to make meaning with what is left.

The Wesleyan production of “The Laramie Project” features a set design by ​Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater Andrew Holland, light and media design by Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater ​Calvin Anderson, sound designed by ​Tye Hunt Fitzgerald, ​and twelve ​Wesleyan undergraduate students playing multiple roles to tell the heart-wrenching and soul-enriching story of tragedy and compassion. Wesleyan's production educates about difference and offers a human voice to sound the call of remembrance and communal faith.

"I feel that 'The Laramie Project' is timeless because the main issues of the work are still relevant today, with the Supreme Court hearing cases that will determine the future of LGBTQ rights,” said director and Assistant Professor of the Practice ​Edward Torres. “I picked this play because I wanted to explore the impact of this hate crime and how it was dealt with by the town. The work is not very linear or structured - it is driven by monologues and focuses on significant moments that actually happened, which I am approaching directly in order to emphasize their sense of urgency and immediacy. I want to give this visceral story it's due - a modern version of 'The Rimers of Eldritch' by Lanford Wilson, or 'Our Town' by Thornton Wilder."

Edward Torres and his Teatro Vista co-founder, actor Henry Godinez, along with the company's current Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez, received the 2019 Special Equity Jeff Award in Chicago on October 21. Founded in 1990, Teatro Vista has theatrically depicted the human experience from its unique Latinx perspective, featuring haunting, humorous, historical, and magical stories.

Admission​ for “​The Laramie Project​” at Wesleyan is ​$10​ for the general public; and ​$5​ for senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni/students, non-Wesleyan students, and youth under 18. Tickets are available online at ​https://www.wesleyan.edu/boxoffice​; by phone at ​(860) 685-3355​; or in person at the Wesleyan University Box Office​, located in the Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance, subject to availability. The Center for the Arts accepts cash, checks written to “Wesleyan University,” and all major credit cards. Groups of ten or more may receive a discount to select performances – please call (860) 685-3355 for details. No refunds, cancellations, or exchanges. Programs, artists, and dates are subject to change.

Content warning: this production contains homophobic content, descriptions and graphic visuals of violence, homophobic slurs, and profanity.

About “The Laramie Project”
Long hailed as a seminal theatrical work that probes the deepest mysteries of human vulnerability and collective strength, “The Laramie Project” recounts the final hours of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard's life following a senseless attack that demonstrated the depths of human rage. The Tectonic Theater Company moved to Laramie, Wyoming in the aftermath and through over 200 interviews—witnessing the trial of the perpetrators and canvassing an array of citizens—they created a theatrical event which gives a place at the table to a disenfranchised LGBTQ community.

RELATED EVENT
Talk It Out: "The Laramie Project" - Centering Queer Voices: Documenting Trauma and Resilience
Thursday, November 7, 2019 from 4:30pm to 6pm
Downey House Lounge, 294 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE! Refreshments will be served.

The Wesleyan Theater Department presents the inaugural "Talk It Out" open conversation, which brings together the voices of LGBTQ artists, scholars, and students to ask: how does a community move through a trauma? What is the work of grieving, of mourning? What did it mean to make "The Laramie Project" as an LGBTQ artist at the time of Matthew Shephard’s murder? What does it mean now and at Wesleyan?

Featuring guest artist Leigh Fondakowski, head writer and member of the original production team of the Tectonic Theater Project for "The Laramie Project;" Professor of English and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Christina Crosby, whose current work focuses on grief and the work of mourning; Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater Calvin Anderson, light and media designer for the Wesleyan production; Nathan Pugh '21, student dramaturg for the Wesleyan production; and journalist, documentary filmmaker and Visiting Instructor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Michelle Memran, offering perspective on the way trauma is documented in the moment and in retrospect.

Co-sponsored by the Creative Campus Initiative and the Office of Academic Affairs.