How a Group of Texas Students Saved Their Production of The Laramie Project
By Sassafras Lowrey
Art is an important way that we can celebrate diversity and understand difficult topics. The Laramie Project was created as a collaborative theater piece by The Tectonic Theater Project from New York City. To create The Laramie Project, the theater group traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, and interviewed residents about how Matt’s murder had impacted the town. These interviews were turned into a theatrical production to explore how real people were impacted by living in the center of a hate crime. The Laramie Project was first produced in 2000 and continues to be widely produced today at schools and in communities across the country. I have very clear memories of going to see the Laramie Project in 2002 when I was a senior in high school and first getting involved in queer community organizing. I remember how impactful I found the piece then and the way it was sparking conversations I had never heard before. The Laramie Project continues to inspire these important conversations today.
Cancelation Of the Production
Recently, Timber Creek High School in Texas canceled a planned production of The Laramie Project. The school community learned of this in an email that was sent to parents without any meaningful explanation. Although The Laramie Project is regularly performed by high school students, the school decided to change their mind about moving forward with the production, citing only that they were going to pursue a show that inspired more “community excitement.” Understandably this cancellation, and vague “explanation” did not sit well with community members. There is so much homophobic/transphobic rhetoric happening right now, and much of it centering around censorship of queer bodies, lives, and stories including banning books with LGBTQ+ characters. Students and the local community quickly sprang into action against this censorship.
Community Response to The Canceling
When cultural representations of LGBTQ+ people are removed, queer people of all ages are left feeling more isolated. It also speaks to a homophobic/transphobic culture being encouraged by some politicians and community leaders across the country that school leaders thought that it was acceptable to pull the production of this vital theatrical piece. Particularly concerning is that the entire purpose of The Laramie Project is to spark conversations and understanding around violence against LGBTQ+ people, diversity, and acceptance. Canceling diverse stories sends a clear message that LGBTQ+ people are not safe or welcome, and that discrimination will be tolerated. Thankfully the local LGBTQ+ and ally community rallied around the student production of The Laramie Project. The school community created a Change.org petition that gathered more than 4,000 signatures and helped to create awareness and pressure ultimately resulting in the school district reversing their decision to cancel the production.
Reinstatement of The Laramie Project
Students spoke out at the local school board meeting on February 24th, explaining they had spent months preparing to put on The Laramie Project, only to at the last minute learn it was being censored. More than 70 students were to be involved in the production, and at the school board meeting, some of those students spoke about how upset they were personally that the production wasn’t moving forward, and how they felt that it was a clear silencing of LGBTQ+ stories.
Students felt Matthew Shepard’s story was vital to be told now and made their voices heard by school district administration. Staying loud and making it clear that the community was not comfortable with censorship is what ultimately got the school board to reverse their decision. In an email to the school community that was then shared with the media, the district Superintendent Tracy Johnson said:
““Keller ISD’s administration recognizes the time and effort that has been put into the adapted version of ‘The Laramie Project’ by students and staff members…Upon further consideration of this, the administration has decided to proceed as previously planned with the May performance of ‘The Laramie Project.”
When faced with censorship and discrimination it is easy to feel hopeless, but this win spearheaded by Timber Creek High School students and their allies who fought to keep their production of the Laramie Project is a great reminder that our voices matter, we can demand they be heard, and we can create change in our local communities.
About the Author
Sassafras Lowrey’s novels and nonfiction books have been honored by organizations ranging from the American Library Association to the Lambda Literary Foundation and the Dog Writers Association of America. Sassafras’ work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, and numerous other newspapers and magazines. Sassafras has taught queer writing courses and workshops at LitReactor, the NYC Center For Fiction and at colleges, conferences, and LGBTQ youth centers across the country. You can find more of Sassafras’ written works, including an edited collection exploring LGBTQ+ youth homelessness entitled Kicked Out, at www.SassafrasLowrey.com.
