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“The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, an Epilogue” — a follow-up to the acclaimed “Laramie Project” — will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12 at Hall Auditorium. As part of a nationwide endeavor initiated by Tectonic Theatre Project, the play will be performed as a staged reading in more than 120 theaters across the United States and abroad.
The play was written by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, who also created “The Laramie Project,” the acclaimed play about the 1998 murder of a 21-year-old gay man, Matthew Shepard. Since 2000 “The Laramie Project” has been one of the most performed plays in America. The worldwide, simultaneous debut of the “Epilogue” on Oct. 12 occurs on the 11th anniversary of the death of Shepard.
Paul Jackson, professor of theatre, directs the staged reading, which includes Miami students, Talawanda High School students and local community members among the cast. The production is a collaboration between the Miami University Performing Arts Series and the department of theatre. A member of the Tectonic Theatre Project company was in residence in September to work with the cast.
The epilogue focuses on the long-term effect of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie, Wyo. It explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community, and is based on dozens of interviews with residents there, including Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew, and Aaron McKinley, who is serving dual life sentences for Shepard’s murder.
The Tectonic Theatre Project production of the “Epilogue,” to be held at New York’s Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall, will be connected to the other productions across the world via the Internet. An online interactive community has been established by the Tectonic Theatre Project where participants can blog, upload video and photos and share their experiences about the “Epilogue. ” Go to www.laramieproject.org.
This event is sponsored by the Center for American and World Cultures, the Cromer/Flory Artist-in-Residence Endowment, Kona Bistro, the Talawanda-Miami Partnership, and the Ohio Arts Council.
Tickets are $14 for adults, $13 for senior citizens, and $7 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, order online at www.muohio.edu/PerformingArtsSeries or call the Miami Box Office at 529-3200.
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