“The Laramie Project” At NHS This Weekend

When it comes to deciding what shows he’d like to direct, Steve Duprey is a risk taker, often straying from the traditional path to do something new, different or challenging. His drama pick this fall is no exception. “The Laramie Project,” which Duprey has stressed well in advance is “not suitable for younger audiences,” is a hot button story line by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about reaction to events surrounding the tragic death in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student. Shepard was brutally beaten October 6, 1998 and tied to a fence outside Laramie. He died six days later of those injuries. The two men convicted of his murder, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, were said to have been motivated by hate because Matthew was gay. The event drew national attention. In its wake the play was written and based upon interviews with Laramie residents conducted within a year after Shepard’s death by the theatre company members; their own journal entries and news reports. Since 2002, the play has also been performed by high schools, colleges, and community theaters across the country and in venues throughout the world and not without controversy. The script is packed with serious subject matter and strong language, so much so that Duprey advised in a flyer to students considering whether or not to audition in early September to research the story along with their parents or guardians. So why did he decide to do “The Laramie Project”? He explains his reasoning in the program. “I’ve been asked by many people why I chose to direct this play. It’s a simple answer really . . . the message is important. In this day and age when it has become easy to dehumanize our fellow humans in order to heap insult and injury upon them, especially through social media, I felt it was important to spread a message of love, concern, tolerance and acceptance through the medium of the stage. “Beyond an important message, this is an incredibly difficult show and I felt that this cast, especially my seniors, deserved to do something with some ‘meat on its bones.’ And this play certainly fits the bill . . . I can’t tell you how proud I am of these young actors for stepping up to the plate and taking on the challenge of this show,” Duprey wrote. “The Laramie Project” is divided into three acts with 11 performers portraying more than 65 characters in a series of short scenes. The student actors and actresses who each portray several different characters, include: Faith Bornheimer, Katie Brinkman, Alexa Bushart, Mara Cornwell, Spencer Edmonds, Joel Fowler, Corey Gardner, Mercedes Jensen, McKenna Martin, Ryan Tracy and Sam Wersinger. The difficulty with each performer portraying different roles is that they often represent conflicting points of view.

Duprey says there has been a lot of give and take in producing the show, including the removal of some “profanity.” “While we have removed some of the profanity that naturally occurs during interviews of this type, we have been very careful to preserve the feelings and the actual words of the people represented in the play,’’ he wrote in the program. They are after all, real people. It’s easy to improvise around the words of a playwright, but when it comes to speaking the actual words of actual people you feel a certain responsibility to “get it right”. . . to “say it correct.” Besides directing the show, Duprey has been in charge of set, lighting and program design. Nicole Rodriquez and Bri Adkins are the stage managers. Sets were constructed by Terence Tracy, Greg Brinkman, Rich Martin and Duprey. The lighting board operator is Mario DeRenzo. Kate Duprey, Danielle Florentino, Ryan Tracy, Spencer Edmonds and Sam Wersinger are members of the light crew. Greg and Tami Brinkman have been in charge of costumes. Anthony Comella deisgned the poster and Ryan Bush is the cameraman. The play will open at Newark High School tomorrow, October 11 at 7:30 p.m. The following night’s performance on Oct. 12, the 15th anniversary of Shepard’s death, will also be at 7:30 p.m.The Oct. 13 performance is at 3 p.m. Tickets are $6 at the door. Audience members are being invited to stay and participate in a “talkback,” and informal discussion about the play and its themes with members of the cast and crew. A portion of the proceeds from the play will be donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.