Tickets are on sale now for the New York one-night-only reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, the compelling and groundbreaking epilogue to the play, The Laramie Project, which was written in response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard. The epilogue, which is written by Tectonic Theater Project members Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber, will be performed simultaneously in theatres across the globe on Monday, October 12 starting at 8 PM (EST).
“We are thrilled to have over 120 theaters in all 50 states and seven countries participating in this historic event, from major regional theaters like Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., to University-based partners such as Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah, to community theaters like the PURE Theatre in South Carolina,” said Greg Reiner, Executive Director of the Tectonic Theater Project. “This premiere has been organized in the spirit of Hallie Flanigan’s Federal Theatre, but with some very modern technological twists, including the online connection and an interactive Q&A following the performances and our own Facebook-like online community at www.LaramieProject.org,” concluded Reiner.
In New York, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later will be directed by Moisés Kaufman and held at Lincoln Center’s AlIce Tully Hall (1941 Broadway). Tickets can be purchased at www.LincolnCenter.org or by calling 800-721-6500.
Immediately after the global reading, theatres will be able to participate in a special talkback featuring a panel that will include creators, cast members, and other key individuals involved in The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later. The talkback will be available via a special satellite hookup from AlIce Tully Hall with participating theatres from around the country able to submit questions via Twitter. Additional details on how to submit questions during the talkback will be announced in the coming weeks.
Information about participating theatres, including, when available, local links to tickets can be found on local links via www.LaramieProject.org.
The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later focuses on the long term effect of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie. It explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community. The play also includes new interviews with Matthew’s mother Judy Shepard and Mathew’s murderer Aaron McKinney, who’s serving dual life sentences, as well as follow-up interviews with many of the individuals from the original piece.
In tandem with the premiere, an online interactive community will be launched where participants can blog, upload video and photos, and share their stories about the play, experiences in preparing and presenting the epilogue in their communities. The members of Tectonic Theater Project will be active participants in the online community, offering participants feedback and encouragement.
On October 6, 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. He died 6 days later. His murder became a watershed historical moment in America that highlighted the violence and prejudice lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people face.
A month after the murder, the members of Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie and conducted interviews with the people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play The Laramie Project, which they later made into a film for HBO. The piece has been seen by more than 50 million people around the country.
Tectonic Theater Project would like to acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of The Rockefeller Foundation in supporting the development of the original Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.
