Interview: Sarah Celec of THE LARAMIE PROJECT at Shenandoah University

In October of 1998 Matthew Shepard, a twenty-one-year-old University student was kidnapped, beaten, and left to die on a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. The reason for his killing: he was gay. One of the first murders to be labeled a hate crime, it brought attention the lack of 'hate crime protection' several states possessed. Five weeks after his death, Moises Kaufman and other members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie and interviewed its citizens for a whole year after the event. This is the true story of how residents in Laramie, Wyoming reacted to the murder of Matthew Shepard.

One of the most performed plays in America, Shenandoah University will be presenting "The Laramie Project" this weekend only. I was fortunate enough to sit down with director Sarah Celec and hear her thoughts about the historic and moving work.

Christopher Castanho: This show is said to be 'one of the most performed plays in America', have you ever worked on "The Laramie Project" before?

Sarah Celec: Yes, I was a cast member in the show about four years ago, and now I'm directing it at Shenandoah. One of the things that is definitely different, from the last time I did it, is making our production unique, because there are traditionally eight actors cast and there are about 28 people in this cast. So when I did the show myself I played 15 different characters, which means I touched a lot of the show from an acting point of view. I've paid a lot of attention to that fact, so as to not give the actors notes on how I chose to create those characters previously. We've got some people who have several large roles and then we have some people who have less talking to do, so making sure everyone stays engaged throughout the entire run of the show has also been a focus.

CC: I actually have never seen this show live, I read it when I was in your wife's class my freshman year of college, and we saw the film afterward. What do you think the film adaptation captures that the show does not, and in turn what does the stage production have that makes it special?

SC: It's hard to compare those two things: film is a different medium than theatre. One of the things I love about the theatrical production is that it is a show that you cannot look away from. In the film, as with any film, you can distance yourself from what's happening. In our production, I've staged it so that all of the actors are on stage the entire time, and they also go out into the audience. My goal is that audience doesn't feel like they're only audience members, but a part of what's happening. For the play, you're in the nitty gritty of what's going down, we can't pretend that we're not seeing what's happening, which several characters actually speak on in the show saying things like "We don't grow children like that here in Laramie, Wyoming." I hope the audience realizes, recognizes, and remembers that this could happen anywhere, and so we can't just say that 'this happened x amount of years ago, therefore it will never happen again' as it's happening still today. These are real people [characters], these are their real words, and so you're hearing real people's thoughts and feelings, and I love that aspect. In turn, the film allows us to be where everything was, this stage piece is very minimalistic: it's designed that way. The audience has to do a lot of creating, in their own minds, where these characters physically are.

CC: What does this play mean to you, on a personal level?

SC: At one point in the middle of the show they [the characters] go to the fence, and I am having the performers create the fence in our production. When these performers are doing this section I tell them "You are representing the 49 people who died in a shooting in Orlando, you are one of those people. You, as the fence, are representing the nameless LGBTQ community members who are harassed, beaten, killed on a daily basis: you are those people." As a lesbian, one of the greatest things I can personally do, and the way I live my life, is simply by being. And what I mean by that is I make no excuses or apologies for who I am. I am very proudly who I am, but I don't feel that my identity rests in being 'a lesbian'. However, you never doubt that's a ginormous part of my personality. I think that we as a society tend to hide, we don't want to hear terrible things, we don't want to listen to stories different from our own, and one of the beautiful things about this show: they interviewed everybody, whether they were for or against persecuting who did this to Matthew [Shepard]. They created this beautiful arch of showing everybody's reaction. I think it's so important to continue to tell stories, stories are how we learn, how we engage, how we grow as human beings. Matthew's story is powerful in helping eradicate all forms of hatred, not just against LGBTQ+ community. So for me, this is simply another extension of being who I am: telling stories.

CC: As a gay man I completely understand when you said 'my identity doesn't rest in being a lesbian' because being gay is only one part of me, and I think it's really important to tell a story like this in order to protect others in the future...

SC: I mean this could be me. This could be any of my children, simply because they have two moms.

CC: On a lighter note, what's your favorite part of the show?

SC: The candlelight vigil, once the candles are added in the funeral scene, which sounds really morbid, but it's so powerful and they're doing an amazing job. The whole show is my favorite honestly. It's so well written, it's compelling, the show is incredible to me.

CC: You mentioned that there are about 28 people in the cast, and several actors have performed before compared to others who are giving it their first go. How is it working with a wide spectrum of experience?

SC: It's definitely challenging but immensely rewarding. One of the things that I usually ask on audition forms is 'what compelled you to come and want to do this show?' And answers ranged from 'I wanted to do something fun' to 'I am a gay person who is afraid of coming out and I think this would be a great way for me to feel free to do that.' or 'I have felt like my life has been in danger before and I want to be a part of ensuring that this doesn't happen to other people.' And so when a person, who has never performed before, comes in to audition and writes something that compelling I realized that: who am I to shut their voice down? I don't look at this show simply as a piece of art that requires the most transformative acting in order to be powerful, however everyone has stepped up their game. I am very impressed with what's happening. The maIn Focus is not creating dynamically distinct characters, with different accents and etc, we're using minimal props in order to differentiate between characters that the same person plays, so the actor can focus on telling the story.

CC: That's a great way to not have all of these exterior layers complicating the performance--

SC: Right, and I also think stripping away all of those exterior layers has made it delightfully honest and beautiful. They have worked their butts off, and frankly for the amount of people who have never acted before, they have put together a piece of theatre in a very short amount of time. They are working like a fairly well-oiled machine, and I am deeply impressed with what I have been watching happen. They're doing amazing work. In the program I made sure to list all of their majors because I think that's important for viewers to recognize that there are all kinds of people doing this show.

CC: Other than amazing work done by the performers, why should people come to see "The Laramie Project" at Shenandoah University?

SC: This show is centered around social justice. The playwrights invited every person in the town to be interviewed, which is great to see all different sides, no matter how scary. By supporting this show you are saying that you want to be a part of the change that is occurring in our world. You want to be a part of making sure this kind of hatred gets destroyed. You are a part of saying "I support these people who were brave enough to form this show in order to make sure this kind of this doesn't happen again." The more we engage, the more we listen, the harder it gets to say 'this stuff doesn't happen' cause it's still happening. You'd be supporting change, it's not about coming and seeing a theatre performance, it's about listening and hearing about a story of a man who died and was tied to a fence. You come to this show to honor the life of a man whose death has made changes, we do this to honor him, to honor his parents. In fact, all of our ticket sales go to the Matthew Shepard foundation. It's an incredible show and I am proud to be a part of it.

The Laramie Project runs this weekend only at Shenandoah University: Friday & Saturday, November 11 & 12 at 8:00 p.m. on Campus in Goodson Chapel / Recital Hall as well as on Sunday, November 13 at 8:30pm. Tickets are $1 and can be purchased at the door. All proceeds benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

"The Laramie Project" is sponsored through Intercultural Programs and Gender and Women's Studies at Shenandoah University. Make sure to come out and attend this important and transformative piece of theatre. Goodson Chapel / Recital Hall is on Shenandoah University's campus at 1400 L. P. HILL DR., Winchester, VA 22601.