Next Monday evening, October 12, 2009, Portland will be one of 100 cities to participate in a project to premiere “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, An Epilogue.” The play will be performed on the same night in theaters in all fifty states, Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Hong Kong and Australia. We are tremendously proud that Oregon Children’s Theatre’s Artistic Director, Stan Foote, has been asked to direct the staged reading of the play in Portland’s Newmark Theatre. Stan has recruited a “Who’s Who” of Portland theater artists to participate in this one-night project—a testament to his standing as a director and artistic collaborator in this community.
In October 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die in the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. A month after his murder, the members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, where they conducted interviews with residents. Out of those interviews, they wrote the play “The Laramie Project,” which was later made into a film. The play and film have been seen by more than 30 million people.
Ten years later, playwright Moisés Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project returned to Laramie to conduct new interviews. How had the community changed in the intervening decade? How is the event being reinterpreted over time? In addition to re-interviewing many residents, the team interviewed Matthew Shepard’s mother, Judy Shepard, and his murderer Aaron McKinney, who is serving two consecutive life sentences. The resulting play examines how the murder continues to reverberate in the community.
A play presented as a “staged reading” is typically read by actors without full staging, costumes, sets, etc. In the simplest form, the actors sit on stage facing the audience, with their scripts on music stands. A stage manager or other performer reads stage directions from the script. Readings such as this are a great way for playwrights and actors to see how audiences will react to a play. The role of the director in a staged reading is to guide the actors in interpreting the characters and to set the overall the tone that fits the playwright’s intentions. For audiences, a staged reading is an opportunity to hear the play out loud and in the company of others–a chance to focus on its content and language.
For Portland’s reading of the play, Stan has assembled a cast comprised of many of his colleagues and talented theater artists and local figures. Byron Beck will serve as narrator. Other participants are:
Allen Nause (Artistic Director, Artists Repertory Theatre)
Scott Yarbrough (Artistic Director, Third Rail Repertory)
Beth Harper (Artistic Director, Portland Actors Conservatory)
Dan Murphy (Founding General Manager, Broadway Rose Theatre),
Rose Riordan (Associate Artistic Director, Portland Center Stage),
Helen Raptis (Host of AM Northwest, KATU)
Chris Murray
Paul Glazier
Sharonlee McLean
Troy Lakey
Kelley Marchant
Kathleen Cafiero
Jake Michels
Katie Sundt
Monday night’s reading will be a fundraising benefit for The Matthew Shepard Foundation and Basic Rights Oregon, and is sponsored by Bling Dental. The New Century Players, based in Milwaukie, Oregon is a producing partner. The New Century Players will be presenting a three-week run of the original production of “The Laramie Project” from October 16-31st
Details:
THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER, An Epilogue
A Staged Reading to Benefit The Matthew Shepard Foundation and Basic Rights Oregon.
When: Monday October 12, 2009
Where: Newmark Theater, PCPA, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland OR 97205
General Admission: $20, Student Discount Available, $50 VIP Ticket includes entrance to BLING VIP Party at Ten 01 with food by Tabla Mediterranean Bistro.
Tickets are on sale in person at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. By phone: call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Or online at www.ticketmaster.com
