My oldest daughter was involved in a high school one act competition today. Her school's entry..."The Laramie Project." If you are not familiar with the play it is a collection of interviews with different people who were involved in or affected by the brutal torture and murder of a young man that took place in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming. The young man's name was Matthew Shepard, and he was murdered because he was gay. Heavy, right? I decided at the last minute to take my lunch hour and try to make it out to the school to see the play. Because of the snow here, they were not able to do a performance for parents. I didn't really know what to expect. Hearing my daughter talk, it just wasn't ready for an audience. I also didn't know how a high school audience would react given the subject matter. My fears soon dissipated as I watched the story unfold. Each student actor knew his part and even though many were playing several characters, each had a distinct and different feel. They really captured the emotion of the piece. I found myself wiping away tears several times in the short 30 minute version of excerpts from the original play. I was very impressed but more than that I was proud of this group of high school students for handling such heavy material with , no pun intended, the weight it deserved. I was also proud of the auditorium full of teens who listened intently and with respect to this horrendous story, something that would have never happened in my high school days back in the early 80's.
This wasn't a play about homosexuality. It was a play about human beings and how we treat each other. It was about love and hate and indifference and triumph. Sometimes theatre has one purpose and one purpose only...to entertain. Other times it's purpose is to make us think, and examine ourselves and the world in a different way. My trip to Laramie definitely changed my world. Thank you cast.
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