Rolling Meadows High School is using its own production of The Laramie Project, running Feb. 6-8, as an educational resource and discussion piece for its students and the community.
The Laramie Project is based on the reactions surrounding the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student in Laramie, Wyo. The murder was classified as a hate crime and, as a result, brought attention to the lack of hate-crimes laws in various states. Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project's original play centers on hundreds of interviews the theater company conducted with the town's residents, company members' journal entries and published news reports.
"I think it's very eye-opening for the community," said Rolling Meadows High School tech director Paul Dombrowski. "It affects everyone. Matthew Shepard, he was a victim of a terrible crime and they targeted him because he was gay, but the character of Matthew Shepard could have been a straight student, a Jewish student, a Muslim student, a Christian student. It's about someone hating something that's different than they are."
Since its premiere in February 2000, The Laramie Project's cast typically consists of eight actors portraying more than 60 characters in a series of short scenes. In the school's upcoming winter production, 18 students were cast to tell the story of those 60-plus people. While the high school selects from a gamut of shows three times a year, this pick, Dombrowski insisted, provides an educational component.
"I think the earlier kids get introduced to these subjects, the smarter they are about it," said Dombrowski. "I think Matthew's murder, he was the boy next door. He was your brother, he was your cousin, he was your classmate, and it opened up a lot of peoples' eyes and helped them see if it happened there it could happen here. I think it's important for LGBT students to see this. I think it's important for straight students to see this and see these are the things that happen and this is part of LGBT history."
High-profile visitors added an educational component for the show's young cast, crew and Rolling Meadows' gay-straight alliance ( GSA ). Tectonic Theater Project company member and Laramie Project original co-creator Kelli Simpkins visited Jan. 16 to talk to the students about her own experience in creating and performing in the original play 14 years ago.
"Who can ask for a better educational experience than talking to someone who was actually involved in writing this piece of theater? She gave such a gift to our cast by coming and talking," said Dombrowski.
Laramie Project Specialist from the Matthew Shepard Foundation Susan Burk will also be traveling from Casper, Wyo. to host talk-backs with the cast and audiences directly after the Friday and Saturday performances.
"I love doing talkbacks after the shows," Burk said. "Each company, each cast in each production brings a fresh perspective and a fresh voice to this work, so you see differences and nuances and they have a personalization to it. I don't preach and I facilitate, so that people can talk about what they have felt, what the cast felt about doing this production, how people in the community feel about seeing it, how they feel about what is the nature of these issues within their own community."
At the time of Shepard's murder, funeral and killers' trials, Burk was the executive producer and senior anchor for the evening news at statewide NBC affiliate KTWO Television in Casper. In her position, Burk arranged and reported all of the events surrounding the tragedy and the community's reactions and responses. In addition to covering the murder, Burk produced an award-winning news series on the filming of HBO's film The Laramie Project.
"High schools these days also, they don't know Matt's story," said Burk. "These kids were just toddlers when Matthew was murdered and the story that was a watershed moment in history for a lot of us, may be only a line in a history book or lost forever, so this is sort of a new thing. It resonates, I believe, with young people because there is so much bullying out there, there's so much hate, there's discrimination, and I truly believe that the young people are our hope, our biggest hope for ending, erasing hate in the world."
Burk, on behalf of the foundation, supports productions of "Laramie" throughout the United States and overseas. She listed to Windy City Times numerous groups that produce the show such as high schools, community theaters, professional theaters, regional theaters, church groups, PFLAG groups, LGBT groups and anyone else who licenses the show.
"It really speaks to a lot of people and it speaks to a lot of young people who have been harassed, or discriminated against, or tossed out of their family for coming out," said Burk. "I love to see this done in the high schools because young people, I think, are less hesitant to stand up at a certain point and say, 'enough is enough, we're not going to put up with this anymore.'"
Burk—who attended Chicago's Goodman School of Drama, now known as the Theatre School at DePaul University—said her professional theater background, on top of her journalism experience, deepens her connection with Shepard and his case, as she has performed "Laramie" with the same theater group he acted with as a child. She also had a role with one of the acting companies that participated in the international webcast premiere of "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later."
"I've been touched through the years in a number of different ways by this story and by these people," she said, expressing how much Shepard's story has touched her life.
The Rolling Meadows GSA, with Links PRIDE Youth Group, will also be inviting GSAs from other local high schools to the performances and will host a post show social event for all high school students. An LGBT information and resource table with pamphlets and brochures will be available following each show. Dombrowski said it is common to provide resources for LGBT students.
"I come from that background where I like to make it a learning experience and Rolling Meadows was letting me do that," said Dombrowski. "Our goal is to start discussions in the community. If people come to see this and discuss it, we're in better shape than before we did it. With each of these experiences, whether it's Kelli Simpkins or Susan Burk, or our play, we're going to affect people, we're going to educate people—and that's what schools are all about."
The Laramie Project will take place Feb. 6-8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5, and are available at the door or by calling 847-718-5615. The performances will be at Rolling Meadows High School's Gilbert Theater, 2901 Central Ave., Rolling Meadows.
