Tectonic Theater Project, the creators of the highly acclaimed play "The Laramie Project," will premiere the compelling, groundbreaking epilogue to the original piece in New York at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. It will be performed simultaneously in more than 100 theaters in all 50 states, Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Hong Kong and Australia. The UAB reading of the play will be its only performance in Alabama.
"The Laramie Project" examines the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wy., widely considered to be a hate crime motivated by homophobia. The play draws on hundreds of interviews with the town's citizens conducted by Tectonic's members, the members' journal entries and published news reports. Since 2000, it has been one of the most performed plays in America.
The epilogue reveals the long-term effects of Shepard's murder on Laramie. It explores ways in which the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community. It also includes new interviews with Shepard's mother and his murderer, who is serving two consecutive life sentences in prison. Playwrights are Tectonic Theater Project members Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber.
UAB Theatre is partnering with Tectonic Theatre Company to present the event, and donations can be made at the door. Associate Professor Dennis McLernon, M.F.A., will direct. UAB Theatre performed "The Laramie Project" in 2008, directed by student Luke Harlan. "Laramie" writer Moises Kaufman, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated director, award-winning playwright and Guggenheim Fellow, came to UAB to speak with students about the play and hired Harlan to work for Tectonic.
The cast of the UAB reading features students Atom Bennett of Decatur, Benoît Johnson of Huntsville, Hannah Hughes of Birmingham, Brittney Williams of Birmingham, Jessica Walston of Hoover, Stephen Webb of Madison/Huntsville and Sarah Hereford of Huntsville, with UAB Theatre faculty Karla Koskinen, M.F.A., associate professor; Marlene Johnson, M.F.A., assistant professor; and Jack Cannon, M.F.A., assistant professor.
After the reading, audience members will be able to tweet questions to a panel of Tectonic members and the panel will answer those questions. Their responses will be projected live on a screen in the theater via the Internet. In tandem with the premiere, an online interactive community will be launched at www.LaramieProject.org where play participants can blog, upload video and photos and share their stories about the play and their experiences in preparing and presenting the epilogue in their communities. The members of Tectonic Theater Project will be active participants in the online community, offering participants feedback and encouragement.
About the UAB Department of Theatre
The UAB Department of Theatre has won the highest honors awarded to university theaters, including best in region from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). In 2008, UAB's production of "In the Blood" was one of three shows chosen by KCACTF from 300 in consideration nationwide. Faculty members in the department continue to work professionally in addition to teaching. UAB Theatre performances are presented at the Alys Stephens Center, UAB's own world-class performing arts center. Next year the department will celebrate its 40th anniversary.