Last night, Raul and I watched The Laramie Project at the Onyx Theatre. This is a play which I recommend everyone sees. Why? Because it’s an IMPORTANT story; one that needs to be told over and over since hate crimes still do exist in this country. Although it’s been 15 years since Matthew Shepard’s death, listening to his story again made me feel really upset but also feel very fortunate as an openly gay man in this present day. My heart goes out to Matthew and his family…such a short life lived and taken away in a brutal manner because of ignorance and hate.
What makes
this play truly work is the format in which it was shaped. Moises Kaufman and his team at the
Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie six times to conduct hundreds of
interviews of Laramie residents responding to the violent crime, their memories
of Matthew, the perpetrators, and expressing their varied opinions about
homosexuality and tolerance. Those
interviews were then transcribed, edited, and woven together into a series of
monologues which depict an honest portrayal of the Wyoming, rural,
working-class way of thinking.
This play would certainly not be as effective if it was merely
one-sided. Watching this play is
listening to real words spoken in real-life testimonials. To understand ignorance, it’s vital
that we hear ignorance if we hope to learn anything from it.
In the intimacy of the Onyx Theatre,
this ensemble of actors did a wonderful job of merely speaking the words and
delivering emotional honesty, never over-emoting their feelings. Although the actors play various
characters in Laramie and the nature of the staging is intended to suspend
belief, I was able to forget that these were actors and simply focus on the relevance
of the spoken words coming from real human experiences. I appreciated their simple approach - using minimal props and costume pieces against a canvas of billowing clouds, a starry night, and a 3 dimensional buck fence. Director David Ament and his company of actors allowed the storytelling to be their singular focus. I respect that considering there's a sense of responsibility to treat this story with lots of dignity because it does serve a purpose to educate and bring further awareness through the real example of human loss and life.
I found myself baffled and teary-eyed over the idea of
brutal human torture and being abandoned like a scarecrow to die in the middle
of nowhere. What thoughts would
have crossed Matthew’s mind during those 18 hours when there’s no hope in sight?
They described his face as being covered with dry blood except where tears had
run down his face. Especially for
anyone with spiritual beliefs, imagine struggling to remain alive, slowing
falling into a coma, and knowing you’re entirely alone in those moments except
for the presence of the flat open land, the stars, the cold wind, and God. Listening to Matthew’s parents speak in
the aftermath and the idea of losing your son this way, too soon…it breaks my
heart! If I were in their shoes,
would I have been forgiving or show any mercy towards the perpetrators?
I found myself very upset. These were merely kids, fueled by ignorance
and hate; a product of their own environment and their families. Violence like this still happens
whether directly or indirectly…we’ve seen lots of attention on bullying and
teenage suicide.
Finally, I found
myself feeling fortunate because I can live my life openly and honestly without
having concern for my own safety as a result. Being gay doesn’t define me, it’s just a part of who I am,
the same as being Latino, being born Dominican…and I feel fortunate that those
details of my life don’t put me in danger in the community where I live.
There are certain lines in the play that
still resonate with me…especially "Thank you Matthew!" and "H-O-P-E!" Matthew’s death brought national
attention to the lack of hate crime laws in this country. Although violence persists, at least
something is being done about it rather than being brushed under the rug. Also, some Laramie residents despised the
idea that Matthew was being regarded as a martyr. In my opinion, Matthew was an
innocent human being. He wasn’t
perfect, none of us are; we all have human flaws and imperfections. However, Matthew is a sign and poster of
HOPE. Hope that one day hate
crimes targeted towards gay people or any one who is different will cease to
exist...thank you Matthew!
The Laramie Project
continues its run June 22, 28, 29 @ 8pm & June 23 @ 2pm at the Onyx
Theatre. Please don’t miss it!
