Interview: Ben Dawkins, director of THE LARAMIE PROJECT at Proud Mary Theatre Company

Proud Mary Theatre Company launches its fourth season on October 6 with the 20th anniversary production of THE LARAMIE PROJECT, the powerful and award-winning play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the
Tectonic Theater Project about the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998.

THE LARAMIE PROJECT is the company's first full in-person production since February 2020. All rehearsals have been virtual but the project is being filmed for streaming purposes without an audience and within strict social distance parameters at their performance space at the Artists Collective Spartanburg.

BroadwayWorld asked director Ben Dawkins to tell us more.

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BWW: First, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm an actor/singer/director from the Atlanta area, and I moved to the Upstate in 2014 when my wife and I were married. I have a day job in retail administration and spend a lot of my evenings performing in the Spartanburg scene. I'm also a private voice teacher with a DMA in vocal performance, so I enjoy helping local talent find their voices and take their performances to the next level. THE LARAMIE PROJECT is my Upstate directing debut, and I'm thrilled to help bring this story to the Upstate.

How does the show resonate for you?

THE LARAMIE PROJECTresonates with me in two particular ways. First, I was in high school when Matthew Shepard was murdered. I vividly recall the media frenzy, and I was struck by the violence and hatred against this young man, who by most accounts was quiet, peaceful, and positive. My response to his murder began my journey as an ally, and I am grateful to the people I met once I opened my heart and eyes to the community around me. I have been involved in the theatre since I was young, and I have learned a great deal from the LGBT+ people I have met. In college, I was fortunate to be cast in one of the earlier collegiate productions of THE LARAMIE PROJECT at my undergraduate alma mater, Berry College. It was a life-changing experience that broadened my acting horizons and was largely responsible for making performing a lifetime endeavor for me. The production was met with controversy and a few minor protests, but we sold out every performance and started a conversation about LGBT+ inclusion that continues on campus to this day. When the opportunity to pitch my concept for THE LARAMIE PROJECT to Proud Mary's board, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm so grateful to them for the opportunity to tell this still-relevant story.

What is your approach for doing this show?

Originally, this was going to be a live multimedia production with projections, music, and other stylized elements to enhance the story. When it became clear that COVID was going to prevent that production until a later season, I still felt the story could be told in a meaningful way. I had a wonderful, challenging audition process, and ended up casting more actors than I originally intended (i.e. fourteen instead of eight). After casting the ensemble, we workshopped the roles to determine as a group who would play which role. I wanted the actors to feel ownership for their "track" of roles, and then we proceeded to a rigorous rehearsal schedule via Google Meet. Due to physical distance, we spent most of our time refining the language and subtext, and the fruits of that labor are now evident in the filming process. Theatres all over the country are leveraging video conference readings to keep their audiences engaged and their actors sharp. For LARAMIE, we had access to some quality video and audio equipment to film our production in person, usually one actor at a time. We are following CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to be good stewards of our ensemble's health. We are roughly 75% done with filming, and then my wife and I will spend a week in post-production refining the video presentation for public exhibition via Proud Mary's Vimeo channel.

It's such a powerful piece of theatre, how do you hope to capture it for a virtual audience?

We are mostly framing close shots for the moments of the play. Our method will lend itself to both larger television screens for a living room audience, as well as personal computer screens for solo viewing. There is minimal staging, which allows the text of the play and the broader themes of inclusion, community, and healing to play to the audience. I'm very proud of the work our cast and production crew are doing. They are truly committed to this production, and I think the audience will appreciate their energetic efforts.

What do you hope audiences will take away from this production?

I hope audiences take away that healing and understanding following tragedy is not only possible, but it is a community's responsibility to examine a tragic event and move forward to common understanding. The play highlights the destructive nature of both hate and apathy, and I hope the audience members will start to view their neighbors in a more empathetic light. Matthew Shepard's murder could have happened in any community in this country, and it is incumbent upon us to recognize hate in our communities and ourselves and seek instead to listen and understand.

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THE LARAMIE PROJECT will be presented as a theatrical/documentary experience available for streaming Tuesday, October 6, 2020 on the 22nd anniversary of Matthew Shepard's attack in Laramie, Wyoming, and ending on October 12, the day Shepard died and became a martyr for hate crime legislation and the gay rights movement in the United States.

Directed by Ben Dawkins, THE LARAMIE PROJECT features Ryan Barry, Michele Colletti, Ava Davis, Jonathan Davis, Kelly Davis, Doug Egge, Samantha Eyler, Darryl Harmon, Jim Huber, Dave LaPage, Rebecca Schledwitz, Tyler Smith, Audrey Waldrop and Chase Wolfe. Ashley Zimmerman is stage manager.

Suggested donation of $10 for unlimited streaming.

For details visit ProudMaryTheatre.com.