Watching The Laramie Project feels a bit like stepping into a time-machine to a not so distant past when homophobia wove insidiously through our social fabric. Collingwood’s Senior School production of the 2000 play tells the story of Matthew Shepard, a Laramie, Wyoming university student who was murdered in 1998 in a brutal hate crime. It’s a moving and poignant story that sheds a spotlight on the subtle – and blatant – ways hate and prejudice can lead to discrimination and violence.

The Laramie Project is a type of production called “verbatim theatre” where the play is constructed through conversations and interviews with people connected to the story. As such, students and faculty who act in the play were tasked with memorizing and performing many monologues, some with visceral emotion, all while taking on characters based on real people. We hear from Romaine, one of Matthew’s closest friends; Reggie, the first police officer on the scene; Matt, a bartender at the last place Matthew was seen alive; and many more. One of the most emotional scenes features Matthew’s father (played expertly by Mr. Klaff) making a statement to the court arguing against the death penalty for the accused. 

Part of the learning that takes place during this play is that violence isn’t just physical; it can be verbal and it can be silence. 

Each character has their unique perspective and reaction to Matthew’s murder, and while none of the main characters exhibit violence (aside from Reverend Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church) many of them seem to justify his death as retribution for his gay lifestyle or warranted because he made unwanted advances toward the accused. They repeat the phrase “live and let live” like it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card but then follow it up with a homophobic slur – something that feels jarring to hear uttered only a few feet away. Students can contemplate how even small actions or words, like a slur, create an environment where hate crimes become more excusable. For some students, hearing a slur during the play may evoke feelings that are difficult to identify. It may be discomfort, surprise, or tension. It’s important to reflect on why these words are hurtful and what power they carry.

Students who attended any one of the matinee performances took part in a Q&A after the show. They were asked how the play made them feel, with many saying words like “sad,” “shocked,” and “angry.” Because the oldest students at Collingwood were born in 2005, they might be surprised to learn that only a couple of years before they were born, same-sex marriage was illegal in British Columbia. And despite how far our attitudes toward people in the 2SLGBTQI+ community have come, crimes like Matthew’s have taken place everywhere – even in a progressive city like Vancouver. We would all like to believe, like the characters in The Laramie Project did, that something like this wouldn’t happen here, that these are problems in other places, but not in our community. Unfortunately, this is simply not true.

Thanks to the cast and crew in Collingwood’s production of The Laramie Project, we are all reminded that it’s up to us to create a community where hate is not tolerated.

Further reading:
Matthew Shepard Foundation
SOGI-Inclusive Education