February 24, 25, 26 at 8pm
Recommended for Ages 14+
Keyano Box Office is open Monday to Wednesday 12:30 pm to 4 pm, Thursday and Friday 12:30pm to 8pm, Saturday 11am to 4pm and an hour before a ticketed event.
To purchase tickets call the box office at 780-791-4990 or buy online at www.keyano.ca/theatre
A Review of Laramie Project: Ten Years Later
Last night I attended the Preview performance of the Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. The cast was made up of students in their first and second years of the Visual & Performing Arts Drama Program with Keyano College. Throughout the course of the evening I was continually impressed with the abilities of the cast as they carried the heavy subject matter of the story in the intimate setting of the Rehearsal Theatre. With minimal support in the way of props and consuming the actor's individual and collective skills were able to be highlighted. The simplicity of the presentation was a conscious choice of director/Drama Instructor Misha Albert, he states in the play’s brochure that “[he] wanted it to be about the story; everything out in the open, no chance for rumour or hidden meaning”. This was an effective approach; it provided me with the opportunity to focus on the narrative and emotions presented in each dialogue.
The content presented in Laramie Project: Ten Years Later is taken from interviews conducted by Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project. In 1998 young and openly gay, Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. Members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie to conduct interviews on two different occasions for to gather information for two different plays. Five weeks after Matthew’s attach and subsequent death, the Tectonic Theater 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 play The Laramie Project, which chronicled the life of the town of Laramie in the year after the murder. The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later is a secondary play presenting a sequel to the original chronicle.
The content of this play is presented through a series of monologues and one to one discussions based on transcripts or recordings of original interviews. Although each cast played multiple characters throughout the play – each actor was able to embody their individual characters in a way that presented the audience with an individual and not just the reiteration of words from a transcript. I was extremely moved by this play and I would recommend it to all.
Well done to the cast and crew involved, I have no doubt this show will garner much deserved attention and praise.
Cheers,
Connor
For more info about the Laramie Project please visit the dedicated website: http://www.laramieproject.org/
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