The Laramie Project

Originally published on December 2, 2017.

By Jennie McDonald

Matthew Shepard was friendly. He was easy to talk to. He cared about equality. And, just weeks from his 22nd birthday, he was the victim of a hate crime that ended his life and slowly created reform for LGBT+ Americans. Matthew, who was a gay university student at the time, was driven to a remote area in Laramie, Wyoming and beaten by two men he met at a local bar. Although officially the two men intended only to rob him, they allegedly beat Matthew for making sexual advances towards them. Matthew’s death spurred worldwide conversation on hate crimes, and over 10 years later, contributed to legislative change which protects LGBT+ Americans from hate crimes (so named the Matthew Shepard Act).

Glencoe’s reenactment of the events that occurred in Laramie featured contrasting interviews, testimonials, and conversations before, during, and after Matthew’s murder. Ally Giard, who played several characters including Catherine Connolly — an openly gay woman who worked at Matthew’s school — feels the strongest connection to this character,

“Mostly because she just had such a detached view from the whole thing. . . but it still hit home, both with her and me; that [targeted crimes] can happen to anybody, any time, and I know she worried about her son as well as herself, in almost the same way as I do with myself and my friends” said Giard.

On what motivated her to become a part of the play,

“People of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community are still targeted solely for who they are, and I just felt like I really needed to help convey the message of peace and love to the kind of people who would commit this sort of crime or who don’t know the meanings of derogatory language.” said Giard. And, truly, the play seems to reflect this motivation.

“[the mood of rehearsals] was a more connected feeling with each other and the physical script, since we all wanted to spread that peaceful message, and since we all related to the text in some way” added Giard.

On how she feels students received the play, “It seemed to touch a lot of people, especially those with a connection to the LGBTQ+ community, since it was on that specific topic” stated Giard. “We were all very grateful and fortunate that the community was so accepting and welcoming about such a serious show and serious topic.”