Thank You, Matthew
Originally published on October 15, 2017.
By H. W. Farris
Bloody, bruised, and battered is how they found Matthew. He died several days later.
Come watch the theatre department perform their show, The Laramie Project, in the next two weeks! The play opens on Friday, the 20th, and also runs the 21st, and the 26th-28th. All shows start at 7:30, and the doors open at 7:00. Tickets are 7 dollars if bought through an actor beforehand, and 10 dollars at the door. Thursday, the 26th tickets are only 5 dollars at the door!
Laramie Wyoming, October of 1998. Matthew Shepard was on the verge of death tied to a fence in the middle of a prairie.
Why? Because he was gay.
Six trips were made to Laramie over the course of a year and a half, during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Matthew. The trips became known as The Laramie Project, which is what the play is based off.
Throughout the trips, over 200 people were interviewed about the case. The reactions of those from the small Wyoming town varied from shock and horror to absolute justification of his death.
The case caused a nationwide awakening on the views as an American society towards homosexuality. Over the year and a half, tensions rose, and eventually fell to a final outcome, but that only skims the surface.
Come learn the true story of The Laramie Project as the theatre department reenacts the real events that took place in Laramie, Wyoming. And help us thank Matthew by learning about his role in changing the American Society.
