'LARAMIE PROJECT' EPILOGUE Premieres 10/12 At Lied

The Lied Center for Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will bring "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later--An Epilogue," a follow-up of the highly acclaimed "The Laramie Project" to Lincoln Oct. 12. As part of a nationwide endeavor initiated by Tectonic Theatre Project, the play will be performed as a staged reading in more than 100 theaters across the United States and abroad. A local cast will perform the reading at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Howell Theatre in the Temple Building, 12th and R streets.

"The Laramie Project" examined the brutal murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., and since 2000 has been one of the most performed plays in America. The play was later turned into a film for HBO. Now, the Tectonic Theatre Project presents "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later--An Epilogue," its compelling and groundbreaking follow-up of the original piece that looks at the long-term effects of the murder on the town of Laramie. The epilogue explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate throughout the community, including new interviews with Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard, and the murderers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson.

The play will be performed by Tectonic Theatre Project in New York and by local casts in all 50 states, Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Hong Kong and Australia on Oct. 12, the 11th anniversary of Shepard's death. Actress Glenn Close will host the opening remarks section that will be Webstreamed live over the Internet to all the participating theaters. As part of the project, Leigh Fondakowski (head writer of "The Laramie Project" and one of five co-authors of the epilogue) visited UNL during September, leading campus discussions and working with the local "Laramie" performance cast.

Lincoln's reading will be performed by a local cast under the direction of Shannon Cameron. To reserve seats, visit http://education.liedcenter.org and click on news. The reading is free and open to the public, and the audience can ask questions to Tectonic Theatre Project via Twitter at the end of the reading. For additional information, contact Petra Wahlqvist, assistant director of community engagement and Learning at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at (402) 472-3215 or pwahlqvist2@unl.edu.

This program is presented by the Lied Center for Performing Arts' education program, AdventureLied in collaboration with UNL's LGBTQA Programs and Services and OASIS/The Culture Center.
For more information about The Laramie Project and Tectonic Theatre Project, visit www.laramieproject.org and www.tectonictheatreproject.org.