Hi all,
I also did
Laramie Project about 5 years ago. Let me preface this by saying that we are a
Catholic school. After 2 years of conversations to make
Laramie a reality, we performed to very supportive audiences. We did not cut out anything. We had many conversations with the cast and crew and faculty about the performance. We found that by involving the community in authentic ways, it wallowed for their to be a general sense of acceptance.
We, too, spoke with the Matthew Shepard Foundation and partnered with Techtonic. We had a great skype conversations with Andy Paris. The kids asked incredible questions and gained much insight (especially the student playing Andy in our production). Via Techtonic, we also partnered with another Catholic High school in California who was doing
Laramie about the same time as us. Our blog is still on their page in case you are interested.
In addition to the above, we invited Judy Sheppard to the table to hear her story. She spoke with the student body during an assembly. After that, she connected with the cast about her story and the characters in the play. This was then followed by a presentation that evening for the community. I had an alum of the school sponsor this event. I would also add, that we are an all boys school just outside of Philadelphia. We had many alums come back just because we did the show and had Judy present. Some remarked that they finally felt accepted.
At the same time we were doing
Laramie there was a gay couple brutally beat up walking home one night in Philadelphia. The students and I spent the next 2 rehearsals talking about this experience. What I found so meaningful throughout this process was the seriousness and respect that the students had while journeying through this production. Students began discussing the themes with their parents at the dinner table. One parent shared that she had been trying to have conversations about life and respecting others for awhile. It wasn't until
Laramie that the conversations became a reality.
We, too, received news that Westboro would be protesting, but no one showed up to the school. About 2 months after the production, we received a call from an anonymous person trying to correct the reasoning of Matthew's death. He said that it was a drug deal that went wrong. A colleague also received a similar call.
At the end of the day, our small, Catholic, all boys, conservative community performed
Laramie and led the community in some real world conversations. For me, it is a highlight of my theatre career.
I would be glad to speak more about this in case you are interested.
Good luck with the production. Its an awesome, and emotional, ride.
Jim
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James Fry
Director of Student Life and the Malvern Theatre Society
Malvern, PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-10-2019 11:19
From: Marla Blasko
Subject: Laramie Project
Survey:
Who has directed The Laramie Project at the high school level?
Did you make any cuts? (with permission of course)
Need to make a case to be the first to direct it in my county. Anyone from the state of Maryland would be really helpful.
Thanks!
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Marla Blasko
Director/Teacher Theatre Arts
Long Reach High School
Columbia, Maryland
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