The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later Comes to The Warner

A riveting production of THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER will be performed in the Warner's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre February 1-3, featuring the students of the Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education Performance Lab.

On October 6, 1998, gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard left the Fireside Bar with Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. The following day he was discovered on a prairie at the edge of town, tied to a fence, brutally beaten, and close to death. Six days later Matthew Shepard died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Ft. Collins, Colorado. On November 14th, 1998, ten members of Tectonic Theatre Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming and conducted interviews with the people of the town. Over the next year, the company returned to Laramie six times and conducted over 200 interviews. These texts became the basis for the play The Laramie Project. Ten years later on September 12th, 2008, five members of Tectonic returned to Laramie to try to understand the long-term effect of the murder. They found a town wrestling with its legacy and its place in history. In addition to revisiting the folks whose words riveted us in the original play, this time around, the company also spoke with the two murderers, McKinney and Henderson, as well as Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard. THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER is a bold new work, which asks the question, "How does society write its own history?"

**Due to mature language and subject matter, this play is not intended for very young audiences.** THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER was written by Andy Paris, Greg Pierotti, Leigh Fondakowski, Moisés Kaufman, Stephen Belber. Performances are February 1 & 2 at 7 pm and February 3 at 2 pm. To purchase tickets, call the Warner Box Office at 860-489-7180 or visit warnertheatre.org.

The WTCAE Young Actors Series is sponsored by The Lufkin Family Foundation.