Theatre Out Tells Shepard's Story
By Stan Jenson
Three years ago, a group of three gay friends brought their shared dream to life by starting a gay theatre company in their home community, Orange County. Starting a theatre company makes opening a restaurant look like a sure bet, but the three men – Joey Baital, David Carnevale and Jack Millis – combined to form the right formulation of artistic vision, theatrical know-how, and financial sensibility. Later this year, Theatre Out will move into its first permanent home on its third birthday.
This month, Theatre Out is presenting The Laramie Project, a highly unique script from 2000 that is both a theatrical tour-de-force, and one of the strongest messages for tolerance to emerge in this decade. The story is set primarily in Laramie, Wyoming, following the brutal killing of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, who was kidnapped, beaten and finally murdered in 1998 because he was gay. In the play, friends, family, teachers, police, and detractors – a total of 67 different characters – give varied insights into the life and death of Shepard by sharing how the events affected their own lives. The characters use a combination of monologues, short dialogue scenes, and direct addresses to the audience.
The Laramie Project was developed by the Tectonic Theatre Project through a series of workshops, under the direction of playwright Moises Kaufman. The script includes 67 characters and virtually no stage directions, so each new production has great latitude in deciding how it is presented. The original Tectonic production featured eight actors. Theatre Out, through director Darcy Hogan, has chosen to use 13. Five of the actors recently stayed after a rehearsal to chat with The Blade about the production.
Judy Gish, Tim Woods, Kevin Cordova, MaryAnne Mosher, and Robert M. Tulley range in age from early 20s to more than double that, include some straights and some gays, men and women, and hail from Texas, Ohio, and Orange County. The only common thread was that all five actors shared a strong belief in the power of and the need for this production of The Laramie Project.
The script is an exploration of intolerance and bigotry, and has been used by social science classes in universities around the world. Laramie serves as a microcosm of society. Some of the characters express their hatred of gays. Others, such as a gay rancher, share the difficulty of living in the closet in such a close-minded society. Much of the dialogue spoken by Matthew’s friends and family is actually culled from court transcripts and recordings of his funeral service. It is gratifying to learn that The Laramie Project is one of today’s most commonly produced plays on college campuses, and even a few high schools.
As for whether the play has any relevance in Orange County in 2009, the actors unanimously mentioned Proposition 8. Gay rights were more of a hot-button issue than any other decision on our recent ballot. Hell yes, an exploration of bigotry and tolerance is relevant!
“The Laramie Project” plays at Hunger Artists Theatre, 699-A S. State College Blvd, Fullerton, from April 24 – May 24, 2009. Tickets are $15 - $18 and available at www.theatreout.com, by phone at (714)826-8700.