THE LARAMIE PROJECT Begins Tonight at McDaniel College

McDaniel College theatre arts students perform in Moisés Kaufman's explosive drama "The Laramie Project," originally developed with members of Tectonic Theatre Project after the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo. Performances are tonight, September 30 - Saturday, October 3, 7:30 p.m., in WMC Alumni Hall at McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster, Md.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors, veterans, students and those with a McDaniel College ID. For ticket information, call 410-857-2448.

Elizabeth van den Berg, chair of McDaniel's theatre arts department, directs the production, which is based on interviews conducted by Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project after the murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming. The play is a chronicle of the life of the town of Laramie in the year after the murder.

According to van den Berg, "In this day when we have marriage equality, it's easy to forget that it was only 17 years ago that a young man was murdered because he was gay. This piece is still relevant because although much has changed, hate crimes still exist."

McDaniel senior Jessica Anderson, a graduate of Dulaney High School, suggested that van den Berg consider the play. Anderson is lighting designer for the production.

The cast includes nearly 20 McDaniel students, including seniors Samantha Arana of Silver Spring, Md., Joshua Harding of Federalsburg, Md., Jennifer Litzinger of West Windsor, N.J., Ryan Salomon of Bethesda, and John Wontrop of Glen Arm, Md., juniors Antoinette Martin of Cape Coral, Fla., Sakena Martin of Cape Coral, Fla., Brandi Weyers of Northfield, Mass., and Jennifer Shillingburg of Oakland, Md., sophomores Bryan Bowen of North Beach, Md., Torreke Evans of Atlanta, Andrew Frascella of Rockville, Md., Stephanie Golub of Walkersville, Md., Brandon Richards of Chesapeake Beach, Md., Megan Smith of Federalsburg, Md., and Alexandra Tolle of Woodstock, Md., and freshmen Matthew Boykin-Derrill of Baltimore, Christopher Shatzer of Taneytown, Md., and Jennifer Willard of North Potomac, Md.

Visit www.mcdaniel.edu/theatre for more information about McDaniel College and the theatre arts department.

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