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SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

March 31, April 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 2 at 2:00 p.m.

In 1998 a young gay university student, Matthew Shepard, was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming. Two young men offered him a ride home from a bar, brutally beat him up, tied him to a fence in a remote location and left him to die. The sheer brutality and horror of this crime shocked the nation.

After this happened, playwright Moises Kaufmann and the Tectonic Theatre Company traveled to Laramie and interviewed hundreds of its residents, trying to find out exactly what had happened and what people's views were of this event. From these interviews, they created The Laramie Project, a play that is based solely on the words of the Laramie citizens and the interviewers. The play is a docudrama, in that all the words and media images from the event have not been altered. Yet, eight actors play over sixty roles, making this a very theatrical event, as well as an important exploration of controversial subjects.

Penn State Erie is producing The Laramie Project this spring at the Studio Theatre. Over the past few months, an ensemble of eight actors (Sarah Aulenbacher, Kameron Greene, Amanda Kinross, Kristy McCoy, Alex Mooney, Christopher Schmidt, Kaylynn Smith and Ryan Westwood) and I have researched the Matthew Shepard case and in the process have explored notions of hate crimes, tolerance versus acceptance, religious beliefs in relation to homosexuality, class and politics. In our production we hope not only to bring attention to what happened to Matthew Shepard, but also to challenge audiences to confront their own views on issues surrounding the case.

PRODUCTION ARTISTS AND STAFF

Set and Lighting Designer, Technical Director ................... T. J. Laffan

Stage Managers ........................... Eric Bell, Mallory Blasic, Abdul Kanu

Costumes and Props .......................................................... The Company

Lighting Technician ..................................................................... Eric Bell

Sound and Powerpoint Technician .................................. Mallory Blasic

Assistant to Technical Director ............................................ Erin Mathes

Special Assistant to the Technical Director ............. Random JJ Laffan

Set Construction and Lighting Assistants ..... TH 189: Amanda Bingham, Sarah Anthony, Mallory Blasic, Amanda Charney, Christen Chase, Robert Cook, Ariel Denman, Lawrence Glick, Nicholas Goss, Benjamin Haire, Tony Hill, Josh Kaplon, Greg Kristen, Christine Lambert, Erin Mathes, Tim McNeal, Thomas Reilly, Michael Roddy, Jennifer Shah, Chris Schmidt, Elise Ventura, Michael Weber, Ryan Westwood

Special Assistant to Theatre 189 ......................... Ivy Freya's Joy Laffan

PowerPoint Design .................................................... Christine Mangone

Poster/Program Design .................................................. Wendy Kallgren

Program Layout ............................ Wendy Kallgren, Christine Mangone

Videographer ............................................................................ Jon Diurba

Company Photos ............................................................ John Fontecchio

The Cast: Sarah Ann Aulenbacher, Kameron Greene, Amanda Kinross, Kristy McCoy, Alex Mooney, Christopher Schmidt, Kaylynn Smith, Ryan Westwood

Thank You to the following organizations and people for their donations, time and support:

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Wendy Kallgren
John Fontecchio
Norma Hartner
Brenda Bane
Ken Miller (and the Office of Student Affairs for its generous funding
for the rights to this production)
Dewayne Wright
Chris Palattella
Stacey McCoy
Richard Davis at the Erie Playhouse
Richard Konkol (of Konkol Welding at 825-6976)
Cindy Laffan
Damon Kelliher
Meeghan Hollis
Grise Audio Visual Center
John Diurba
Jeremy Korwek
Maintenance and Operations Staff