Autumn in Athens

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (Post Performance)

Last night, all over the world, at one hundred and fifty theaters, it happened. The reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later was quite an event. Our production went off without a hitch. The live feeds before and after the show were broadcast on a large screen behind the stage, and the show itself received a fairly good response. One of the characters I played, Romaine Patterson, closed the play with a lovely speech about defining her friend Matt Shepard in two ways, "There's Matt who I knew and the good friend I had, and then there's Matthew Shepard. And Matthew is very different from Matt. Matthew Shepard is this iconic hate crime that has happened in our history, and Matthew Shepard is not necessarily about Matt, it's about a community's reaction, it is about the media that followed, it is about the crime, but it's not about Matt..." When I finished the speech, and we all shut our notebooks, the audience stood up.
It was great to be part of a project with such magnitude and power. I am very proud of what we accomplished last night, and I'm honored to be part of this global community.

Laramie Ten Years Later, It's Happening Tomorrow

We've done 25 to 35 hours of rehearsal as a cast. Today we were in the beautiful rotunda on campus where we'll be performing (it's like acting in the Jefferson Memorial). Tomorrow night, October 12, 2009, it's happening, all over the world.
One important update to mention is that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in the senate the other day! This act will expand the national hate crime legislation to include crimes motivated by the victim's gender or sexual orientation. Yes! Theatre and politics!
As for the show itself. I don't know if I can really express how much this experience has meant to me. Suffice to say that I am very deeply affected by it. I now have a more pressing understanding of the importance of taking responsibility as a culture for the negative events in our history and the importance of using that history to inform our cultural changes. I believe we can and will make this world a safer, better informed and more loving world for all of us.
If you're near a reading tomorrow night go see Laramie Ten Years Later.
These are some photographs from today's rehearsal.