Essay Questions

What is verbatim theatre?

Verbatim theatre is theater that draws on direct and transcribed testimonies. This play is a verbatim play as it was written based off of a multitude of interviews which were conducted by the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project. This was done in order to bring the reality of people's experiences from the killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay student in Wyoming. Shepard's murder was a hate crime.

Why is this play critical to the evolution of theatre?

The Laramie Project is an important piece of theatre because it is vividly alive due to the reality from which it is written. The play centers on the hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming. The Tectonic Theatre Company interviewed member's of the town where Shepard was murdered, they used published news reports and their own journal entries in order to create the three act play. By doing so they get first hand accounts of people's feelings about the murder as well as the media's portrayal of the events and also the personal experiences of the company members' from going through this process. The play brings to the stage the ripple effect of the hate crime murder and the reality of how we marginalize people. It is not simply a narrative but also a revealing of truths about America and its people.

How has this play become about more than just performance?

The Laramie Project has become a centerpiece of establishing the necessity to educate society in order to combat homophobia. The play has become as a teaching tool in order to help people understand the reality of hate perpetrated upon the gay community. This play has also inspired efforts in local communities across America to fight against the homophobia that many communities have instilled in them. The University of Wyoming now has the largest LGBT library in the state of Wyoming.