Jenna Crowe
Staff Writer
Join the theatre fraternity Alpha Psi Omega as it goes back in time to Laramie, Wyoming in 1998, when Matthew Shepard’s murder shocked a town and challenged the community’s views on homosexuality in its rendition of the play “The Laramie Project” by Moises Kaufman.
ISU students alone will produce and star in this small -town story, playing Feb. 2 – 4 at the Stephen’s Performing Arts Center. The community is encouraged to attend, and the cost for attendance is a $5 donation.
“This is a social injustice play, and we really want to shed light on something that has been forgotten or pushed aside,” said Hailey Dugan, the stage manager for “The Laramie Project”.
“We want to bring that back to the forefront especially considering our circumstances today and recent events.”
As the stage manager, Dugan assists wherever she can. Her responsibilities include organizing rehearsals, assisting the director and calling the show. Dugan is also the business major for the fraternity.
Any ISU student is able to join APO, regardless of their major.
“If you’re involved in the theatre department, it’s another opportunity for you,” said Samantha Murphy, an ISU junior, actress and APO representative. “If you don’t think that theatre’s what you want to do for the rest of your life but you don’t want it out of your life completely, it’s a way to get involved for non-majors as well.”
ISU students will play multiple roles during the performance. One issue director Michael Fornarotto was careful with was color-blind casting, a rule in the theatre community which attempts to reduce “whitewashing,” or the use of caucasian actors in characters that are meant to be people of color.
“It’s unfortunate because we’re not as diverse as we would like to be,” said Venus Gulbranson, a senior, actresses and lighting designer. “I wasn’t going to audition, but when our director spoke with one of the advisors in the theatre department and asked if someone who is white can play a person of color, he said it might come off as offensive.”
During the audition process, students were asked to perform a contemporary monologue that told the audience a story. This storytelling quality was important because “The Laramie Project” is based off multiple interviews that were conducted after Shepard’s death.
Actors in the play rarely have another partner during scenes, so they must be able to paint the picture on their own, without anyone else’s emotion to feed off of.
This production is meant to challenge people’s perception of right and wrong.
“This show is bringing together those people that have been neglected and denied an opportunity to be a person,” said Chandler Fehr, a freshman who will be acting in the play.
According to Dugan, this play has the ability to change people for the better, and she encouraged people to leave any prejudices at the door.
“This play kind of preaches that message that we should love everybody,” said Tristan Berg, a sophomore. “We’re all people.”
Gulbranson stressed that “The Laramie Project” is truly all about perception and encouraged everyone to attend.
“We have 400 seats in there; we’ll find you one I promise,” Gulbranson said.
