The Sidekick Players Club is kicking off its 17th season next week with The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays America today.
The Laramie Project delves into the horrific events that took place shortly after midnight on Oct.
1998 in Laramie, Wyoming, which would become one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in American history.
"This has been a very emotional trip for us and has made all of us better people because of the experience," said Carroll Lefebvre, who is directing The Laramie Project for Sidekick.
We hope the community will embrace the 'erase hate' message that this play sends to everyone."
The life and death of Matthew Shepard changed the way people talk about, and deal with, hate in America and around the world. Since his death, Shepard's legacy has challenged and inspired millions of individuals to erase hate all its forms.
Although Shepard's life was short, his story continues to have great impact on young and old alike. His legacy lives on in thousands of people who actively fight replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance. Shepard died on Oct. 12, 1998 the age of 21 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado with his family by his side. His memorial service was attended by friends and family from around the world and garnered immense media attention that brought Shepard's story to the forefront of the fight against bigotry and hate.
The horrific events spawned an activist movement that, more than a decade later, would result in passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a federal law against bias crimes directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people.
Five weeks after Shepard was beaten and died, Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theatre Project went to Laramie and, over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200 interviews with people of the town. From these interviews they wrote The Laramie Project, a chronicle of the life of the town of Laramie in the year after the murder.
Lefebvre, who is assisted by Bernice Fehr, has assembled 22 actors from Tsawwassen, Ladner, North Delta, New Westminster, White Rock and Vancouver to portray more than 60 characters.
She said the challenge for each actor is becoming several people and bringing them to life on stage. These people were and are residents of Laramie, Wyoming. There are no fictitious characters in the story.
The interviews were so profound that Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Company didn't embellish them whatsoever, but just used them to form the story, which was also made into an HBO movie.
Lefebvre admits it has been the most challenging play she's ever encountered, but one that she has wanted to tackle for many years.
"In this day and age, bullying is almost at epidemic proportions in our schools, the streets and in the workplace. This play deals with bullying in its extreme. If you leave the theatre without feeling something or vowing to do something about this injustice, then you just didn't get it."
The company's Oct. 12 performance is the 15th anniversary of Shepard's death.
The Laramie Project opens Thursday, Oct. 10 and runs until Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre, 1172-56th St. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for seniors (60+). Seating is bistro style. Call 604-288-2415 to reserve.
