The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later at Magic Theater in San Francisco
A few nice 10. news images I found:
The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later at Magic Theater in San Francisco
Image by Steve Rhodes
It was performed on the anniversary of the day Matthew Shepard died in 150 theaters in all 50 states and 9 countries.
At the Magic, there was a brass band playing as people entered and the actors looked like they were rehearsing in the stairway and entrance to the theater.
After the performance, there was a silent procession down the three flights of stairs to the Rebar group bandshell where the brass band was playing.
The lights on cars were on and people took prayers and put them in a jar. When the ritual was finished, they were burned.
www.magictheatre.org/season0910/Laramie.shtml
A ten minute video on the project
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgkwl6Zi4VQ
The New York production had an introduction and a post-show Q&A which are online
laramieproject.org/livebroadcast/
www.tectonictheaterproject.org/The_Laramie_Project.html
tectonictheaterproject.org/Tectonic.html
Donations were made to
Media coverage
www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/theater/04theater.html
www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/arts/17iht-laramie.1.16232258….
www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-laramie11-2009oc…
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113663235
Their were strong criticisms in the play of this 20/20 story (actually, it is basically demolished – see the NPR story above)
abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=277685&page=1
journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/recount/article/95/
www.inthelifetv.org/html/episodes/23.html 3rd segment
An interview with Debra Thomsen of the Laramie Boomerang is in the play about the series they did in 2008
www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2008/10/06/news/doc48ea…
www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2008/10/07/news/doc48ec…
www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2008/10/08/news/doc48ed…
www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2008/10/10/news/doc48ee…
www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2008/10/11/news/doc48f0…
They also had an editorial & excerpts from it are read in the play, but I can’t seem to find it online.
A letter from Jonas Slonacker the paper refused to print is also read:
t was depressing to read Sunday’s editorial, Laramie is a Community, Not a Project, which said that many subscribers didn’t understand why the anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s murder qualified as news and that some even requested their newspaper delivery be stopped until that reporting was over. The editorial also said: "that police reports certainly seem to indicate that this was a robbery that went very bad." and "it was galling because the crime was portrayed as a homophobic attack."
Is it customary when robbing someone to drive the victim down a dirt road, tie him to a fence, brutally beat him and leave him to slowly die? Surely there was a powerful emotion like hatred behind the beating of Matthew Shepard. For God’s sake, they broke his skull. A popular story is that drugs made McKinney and Henderson do it. Even if drugs were involved, drugs don’t make you hate; they simply magnify what already exists. I remember reading that both the perpetrators said homophobic things when they were interrogated and it is public record that McKinney tried to use Gay Panic Defense in his trial.
Many citizens of Laramie want to move on but denial isn’t the best way to accomplish that. Understanding, love, honesty, and bravery might be better paths to that end and numerous people in Laramie have responded that way. There is no disgrace for Laramie in acknowledging that part or all of the motivation was homophobia. NO, the crime certainly does not define Laramie. How we react to the crime, how we talk about it, and if we do or don’t do anything to prevent this from happening again does define Laramie. If someone paints a swastika on the home of a Jewish family, is it graffiti that went bad or hatred? If someone burns a cross on the lawn of an African American while robbing them, is it a robbery that went very bad or a hate crime? When a gay man is tied to a fence and viciously beaten, is it just a robbery that went very bad or perhaps something more?
(from a ways down in this interview)
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