Yoh Theater Players Present "The Laramie Project"

On Friday, October 6th, the Yoh Theater Players opened the 2017-18 season with their production of The Laramie Project, written by The Tectonic Theater Company.

The play tells the story of a town marred by tragedy as revealed through personal interviews following the 1998 death of Matthew Shepard, a gay university student, who was beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming. The play is presented through quotes from community members of all opinions and backgrounds and gives insight into a town struggling with its identity.

Opening night held a connection that remained unrealized until the week of the performances. The first performance held at Woodstock took place 19 years to the day that Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten, and left to die, giving the opening night performance a special meaning.

The Yoh performance of The Laramie Project brought the group in contact with The Laramie Project Project, a group of theater companies performing The Laramie Project in order to raise awareness of hate crimes and honor the memory of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting.

There were a total of 4 performances over the course of the weekend, with an in-school performance Friday morning, in addition to the usual Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon performances.

The set was very minimal, with a buck fence in the background and assorted chairs and benches on the sides. A special screen called the scrim was also used to play with some lighting effects. The minimal set allowed many actors to be on stage at once without overcrowding.

For a lot of the actors, it was a really interesting play to perform. In the hustle and bustle of rehearsals, it was easy to forget the gravity and the significance of what we were doing. To perform it reminded us what the play meant. Many of us were crying backstage and holding back tears onstage.

The play yielded positive feedback from audience members, many of whom were crying themselves. I overheard an audience member saying that the play should be mandatory for the entire town. Many others were simply speechless.

It was really moving for us as actors to see the audience so affected by our work. It was also cool to do the performance Friday morning, because we don’t usually get to perform in front of our peers. We were glad to get the message to more people, especially kids like us, because it is so important.

Both the perpetrators and the victim were only a few years older than the performers, emphasizing the play’s relevance in our school community. The play reminds us that we have to remember that hate can come from anywhere, and we need to constantly remind ourselves to be more kind and accepting of all people.