The Laramie Project Summary

The play 'The Laramie project' by Moises Kaufman addresses the brutal murder of openly gay teenager Matthew Shepard in a small town of Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. The chronological structure of the play draws together interviews conducted after the event by Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theatre Project. Additionally, Kaufman uses these journal entries to retell and reconstruct what happened on the night of Matthew's assault, addressing the issue of gay hate crime. The play itself was structured into three acts. The first act consists of several interviews from townspeople, however builds intensity towards the end. The last scene brings the actors together to show how the characters are related, showing us the messages and ideas behind the play. 'The Laramie Project' is also realistic in its nature; as the underlying subtext requires actors to portray their characters using realistic aspects. As well as …show more content…
This allowed me to go in depth, so I could later show a contrast in each of my characters. From reading my lines it became evident that each had conflicting personality traits. For instance, Aaron Kreifel's is a young man who finds Matthew tied to the fence. This monologue is chronological in its events; therefore, I made the decision to present his dialogue in a reflective way. To do so I added dramatic pauses, to indicate he was rethinking his experience. Stage directions throughout his monologue are not stated by the writer, leaving this up to the director and the actor. The tempo and rhythm of this piece altered, although it still flowed. In stark contrast to Aarons powerful dictation, Alison Mears scenes were filled with diligence, vibrancy and bountiful energy. Therefore, I adopted a proud, upright posture, to present her as a confident character. The set was fairly blank; however, three chairs were placed upstage and Alison was placed next to her long-time