<em>The Laramie Project</em> Opens February 8

The Theater Department will present the powerful drama, The Laramie Project February 8–18 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

Presented as a docudrama,The Laramie Project portrays the reaction to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was severely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. The horrific, homophobia motivated crime galvanized the nation.

Almost 15 years later, the story still resonates. Gay teens continue to be bullied and victimized. Last fall, 14-year-old Williamsville high school student Jamey Rodemeyer took his own life in a nationally publicized case that shone a harsh light on both school bullying and cyberbullying and opened a criminal investigation.

“If you have a gay kid bullied to the point where he commits suicide, there is something terribly wrong,” said Joseph Price, professor of theater, who is co-directing The Laramie Project with senior Samantha Penziul. “Hatred and violence and bigotry are still around.”

The fact that this topic has been in the news relatively recently “is even a stronger reason to do the play,” noted Penziul. “There are people who remember the Matthew Shepard incident, but there is a whole other group of who hasn’t heard of the case. They can relate to more to the recent news (of Rodemeyer’s suicide).”

Written by Moises Kaufman, the play is a composition of multiple interviews by townspeople in Laramie—students, family members, and the Rev. Fred Phelps, the fundamentalist preacher who protested Shepard’s funeral. Eleven actors in the Buffalo State production play more than 40 characters.

Penziul and Price have reached out to advocacy groups on campus, such as the Pride Alliance, whose members will participate in a talk-back discussion after the 2:00 p.m. performance on February 11.

Additionally, Price said, “We’d like to make connections with people in the community and groups that may be discriminated against. We are looking to create a dialogue and a partnership.”

To Penziul, who would like to pursue a career in directing and stage management, said she wants to do more than just theater. “I want to use theater to make a change,” she said, “and I think this project is really great for that.”

Performances of The Laramie Project will be held at 8:00 p.m. February 8–11 and 15–18, and 2:00 p.m. February 11 and 18 in the Tower Auditorium in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Tickets cost $6 for Buffalo State students; $10 for Buffalo State faculty, staff, and alumni, other students, and senior citizens; all other adults cost $15. For tickets, call  (716) 878-3005 or go to www.buffalostate.edu/theater.