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By Laura Wire
photo by Laura Wire
Student director, sophomore Sean Baldwin looks through notes while directing a
Nov. 11 rehearsal in the Communication Arts Center
UW-Fox Valley’s drama club will present The Laramie Project, a documentary-style play Dec. 3-5 at 7 p.m.
Sophomore and drama club president Sean Baldwin will be directing the production.
The play is about Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was brutally murdered because he was homosexual.
Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten and tied to a post for death October 1998.
In Laramie,Wyoming, the Tectonic Theatre Project collected accounts of the murder with 200 interviews and created The Laramie Project.
The play shows the town’s reaction to Matthew Shepard’s death.
“It’s the first docu-drama ever created, which makes it really unique,” Baldwin said.
“It shines a light on a difficult piece of our American history. One I hope is over,” associate professor and director of theatre Susan Rabideau said.
The Laramie Project expresses key themes of equality and acceptance. “The message of the play is to accept everyone no matter who they choose to love.
Matthew Shepard was killed because he was gay and this play raises awareness to the fact that we are all equal,” sophomore and narrator of the play Alyssa Rehel said.
“I feel that the audience will appreciate the message of the play and the way the message is delivered.
The show is beautiful [and has] many important, griping moments that make you think about how you treat other people who may be different from you.”
“I want the audience to take away the message of the play and remember it and follow it: we are all equal,” Rehel said.
“I don’t want to change the views of an audience member but I definitely want them to open their minds to different ideas in this world,” Baldwin said.
According to Rabideau, UW-Fox Valley also presented The Laramie Project in April of 2003 and had a strong turnout.
“There was some controversy, but most people were very moved by the show,” Rabideau said.
The cast is fearless in presenting this controversial play again. “[What] the audience will appreciate the most is that we’re actually doing [the play]; that we’re not scared to push issues like this.
It is a very controversial play.
A lot of people find homosexuality as wrong and such but this play goes from both spectrums,” Baldwin said.
The cast spends about six to seven hours rehearsing together each week.
Extra time is spent memorizing lines and practicing delivery.
The number of cast members provided a few challenges.
“One of the biggest challenges is the small cast. Each cast member, except me, plays three or four, sometimes five different people.
"This presents the challenge of portraying such different characters with one actor, costume changes, memorizing so many lines, and delivering them with the same amount of power for each character,” Rehel said.
“As the narrator, I need to see the other actors in their different costumes, which may only be a different t-shirt, to know who to introduce.
I also have to know the script backwards and forwards so that I know what the next part is.”
“Another thing that is more difficult is that it’s separated by moments.
Some of the cast actually are in the end of one moment and the beginning of the next one.
“We [don’t have] official costumes like you would see in musicals and things, but we do have props and little things like jackets or a hat so that you can tell who is who.
“Sometimes it is really hard for them to actually make a change, so we’ve had to adjust some of the timing and make sure to have people there to help everyone get ready,” freshman stage manager Mark Hawbaker said.
The Laramie Project is an ensemble play, meaning that no particular part dominates the play. Yet all parts are necessary.
The audience can look forward to the vigil scene and Moment: Snow. “Moment: Snow is one of my favorite and most hated moments because this moment takes place at Matthew’s funeral.
There are a lot of actors on stage at one time and the entire scene is very emotional.
[It’s] a true eye opener because it shows the type of world we live in and how cold some people can truly act,” Baldwin said.
“My favorite scene is the vigil scene where each cast member has a lighted candle and there is a beautiful song playing and I am describing the overwhelming amount of vigils that were held for this young man.
It is a powerful scene,” Rehel said.
The cast is having fun and working efficiently as a team.
“The cast gets along great.
If you need help with lines or character development, they are there for you. Some of the cast are older and some are my age, but we work well together and bonded.
All of the other members of the cast were strangers to me at the beginning, but now they are my friends,” 19- year old Rehel said.
“We actually did very quickly get to know each other and kind of became, as many casts do, one big family,” Hawbaker said.
Baldwin notes the valuable directing experience he has gained from The Laramie Project.
“I have now made the transition from being an actor and a stage technician to a director, which has really allowed me to become a more well-rounded actor.
“The experience that I have gained as the director of The Laramie Project will forever be priceless to me and will prove to be very beneficial to me in my years to come in my theatrical career,” Baldwin said.
“This entire experience has been very rewarding and I cannot wait for the show to finally open so I can show my work to an audience as a director.
There just was no better show that I could have chosen as my opening debut production as a director,” Baldwin said.
“It’s really a tough play for my first production, but I’m loving it.”