Ford's Theatre Announces LINCOLN LEGACY PROJECT Events, Sept-Oct 2013

Paul R. Tetreault, Director of Ford's Theatre Society, announced the special event schedule for the third year of The Lincoln Legacy Project-this year thematically connected with the Society's production of the stage play The Laramie Project (September 27-October 27, 2013), and recognizing the 15 years since Matthew Shepard was abducted and killed in an anti-gay hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming. The multi-year Lincoln Legacy Project encourages people of differing viewpoints to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue about diversity and understanding through a range of programming including performances, panel discussions, special museum exhibitions, education programs and more. This fall, Ford's presents The Laramie Project to spark conversation about social injustice, bigotry, bullying and violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and to take steps toward understanding, inclusion and equality.

Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault remarked, "Matthew Shepard's death in 1998 ignited a debate about the definition of hate crimes and strengthened the resolve of many to advocate for social justice. In our third year of The Lincoln Legacy Project we are honored to welcome Dennis and Judy Shepard, local youth and partner organizations from across the nation and the District to continue the

dialogue about bullying, bias and hate directed at the LGBT community. By inviting multiple perspectives to the stage, we hope this fall's programming will propel us forward in the spirit of Lincoln's ideals of understanding, acceptance and reconciliation."

In conjunction with the play, Ford's offers a series of free Monday night panel discussions beginning September 30 at 7 p.m., with Cokie Roberts in conversation with Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother, in With Malice Toward None: Judy Shepard, a Mother's Response to Hate. On October 7 at 7 p.m., The Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart moderates a discussion titled With Charity for All: Lives Changed by Hate, with former Laramie sheriff Dave O'Malley, former Jasper, Texas, sheriff Billy Rowles and members of KhushDC, Washington's South Asian LGBTQ community, about hate crimes that have changed the course of their lives and led to greater outreach in society. The third panel, To Bind up the Nation's Wounds: Communities Respond to Hate, on October 21 at 7 p.m., centers on the methods local and national communities have created or used in response to hate crimes and features Tony Banout from the collegiate Interfaith Youth Core. The discussion series concludes October 28 at 7 p.m. with To Achieve and Cherish a Just and Lasting Peace: Envisioning a World Beyond Hate, featuring local youth from Split this Rock and Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL).

A world-premiere exhibition at the Center for Education and Leadership (514 Tenth Street NW) featuring letters addressed to the Shepard family in the wake of Matthew's death is on display September 10-November 3, 2013. Not Alone: The Power of Response pairs artist Jeff Sheng's hauntingly beautiful photograph, Where Matthew Lay Dying, (Laramie Wyoming), 2007, with a selection of letters sent to the Shepard family in order to explore the themes of empathy, community response and personal responsibility. Admission is included with regular daytime visit tickets to Ford's Theatre.

Ford's Theatre hosts a Pay What You Can (PWYC) preview performance of The Laramie Project, September 29 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Ford's Theatre box office on the day of the performance starting at 5:30 p.m. Limit of two tickets per customer. Cash only. Seating is on a first-come basis.

Ford's Theatre hosts a special faith night performance of The Laramie Project on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. Groups of 15 or more receive a 50 percent discount on performance tickets and admittance to a special post-show discussion about how the faith community can promote tolerance and inclusion. The discussion will feature Dean of Washington National Cathedral Gary Hall. Interested groups should contact the group sales office at (202) 638-2367 or email groups@fords.org.

The weekend of October 11, 2013, marks the 15th year since Matthew Shepard died. Ford's Theatre will donate all proceeds from the October 11, 7:30 p.m. performance of The Laramie Project to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Following the evening performance, audience members and the public are invited to participate in a candlelight vigil in memory of Matthew Shepard's life and in recognition of National Coming Out Day. Matthew's father Dennis Shepard, leaders of the Washington, D.C., faith community and others will be on site to lead participants in a brief program outside of the historic Ford's Theatre.

Ten years after the hate-crime murder of Matthew Shepard, Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project revisited Laramie, Wyoming, to see if and how the town had changed. What were the long-term effects on Laramie? How had the community reconciled, and did their recollections of the murder or attitudes toward the crime change over time? On Sundays, October 6 and 20 at 7:30 p.m., Ford's Theatre presents readings of the companion play Ten Years Later in repertory with The Laramie Project. This play captures what Kaufman and his team discovered, illuminating the ongoing consequences of Matthew's murder and how his death led to social change in America. Tickets for Ten Years Later are $8 and are available for purchase in person at the Ford's Theatre Box Office or online at www.fords.org (Ticketmaster fees apply).

Additional Ford's Theatre events for the Legacy Project include facilitated talk-backs following evening performances of The Laramie Project (except October 2 and 11).

Special pre- and post-performance education programs for school groups and classroom teachers are available. A limited number of Student Matinee tickets are available free of charge to Title 1 schools. Interested teachers should contact education@fords.org for more details. Ford's also extends its Operation Discovery discount ticket program to all student groups of 15 or more for The Laramie Project. Operation Discovery tickets are available for $12 to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances through the Group Sales office at (202) 638-2367 or groups@fords.org.

Events for The Lincoln Legacy Project will be presented in cooperation with several partner organizations including the Matthew Shepard Foundation, The Trevor Project, Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL), Facing History and Ourselves, Not in Our Town, Split This Rock, Teaching for Change, Anti-Defamation League, Southern Poverty Law Center, The DC Center, Human Rights Campaign, Tectonic Theater Project, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and PFLAG-Metro DC Chapter.

The Lincoln Legacy Project is made possible with support from Founding Sponsor Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. Additional support provided by Gregory Craig; The Pew Charitable Trusts; and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, Harold Holzer, Chairman. The Washington Post is the Official Media Partner of The Lincoln Legacy Project.

Tickets to The Laramie Project and Not Alone: The Power of Response are currently on sale. Beginning September 16, tickets to the Monday night discussion series and Ten Years Later may be reserved in person at the Ford's Theatre Box Office, through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787 or online at www.fords.org. Ticketmaster fees apply. Groups of 15 or more may reserve tickets by calling (202) 638- 2367. All panel discussion tickets must be picked up by 6:45 p.m. to guarantee admittance. For more information about school and teacher resources and programs, email education@fords.org or call (202) 434-9537.

The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, directed by Matthew Gardiner, will run September 27-October 27, 2013 as part of the Lincoln Legacy Project.

The Laramie Project presents a deeply complex portrait of a community's response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man living in Laramie, Wyoming. In a series of poignant reflections, the residents of Laramie react to the hate crime and surrounding media storm with anger, bewilderment and sorrow. The play portrays the seismic and deeply personal impact Matthew's death had on this small

town while also demonstrating the power of the human spirit to triumph over bigotry and violence. Fifteen years later, Matthew Shepard's story still reverberates, urging us on with its clarion call to confront the destructive power of hate, in all forms. The Laramie Project is the third offering in the multi-year Lincoln Legacy Project-an effort to generate dialogue around issues of tolerance, equality and acceptance. Experience the story that TIME Magazine calls "a pioneering and powerful stage event."

Ford's Theatre Society: One of the most visited sites in the nation's capital, Ford's Theatre reopened its doors in 1968, more than a hundred years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Operated through a partnership between Ford's Theatre Society and the National Park Service, Ford's Theatre is the premier destination in the nation's capital to explore and celebrate Abraham Lincoln's ideals and leadership principles: courage, integrity, tolerance, equality and creative expression.

The mission of Ford's Theatre Society is to celebrate the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and explore the American experience through theatre and education. For its accomplishments, the organization was honored in 2008 with the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given by the U.S. government to artists, arts institutions and arts patrons.

Since the arrival of Paul R. Tetreault as Director, critics and the theatregoing public have recognized Ford's Theatre Society for the superior quality of its artistic programming. With works from the nationally acclaimed Big River to the world premieres of Meet John Doe, The Heavens Are Hung In Black, LiberTy Smith and Necessary Sacrifices, Ford's Theatre is making its mark on the American theatre landscape.

In 2006, the mission of Ford's Theatre Society expanded to include education as a central pillar. This expansion led to the creation and construction of the Center for Education and Leadership, which opened in February 2012. The new Center brings the values and ideals of Lincoln from the past into the present, examining Lincoln's multi-faceted legacy through exhibits, workshops, seminars and speakers, as well as community outreach programs.

For more information on Ford's Theatre and the Ford's Theatre Society, visit www.fords.org.

ADVANCE RESERVATIONS: Tickets to The Laramie Project and Not Alone: The Power of Response are currently on sale. Beginning September 16, tickets to the Monday night discussion series and Ten Years Later may be reserved at the Ford's Theatre Box Office, through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787 or by visiting www.fords.org. Ticketmaster fees apply. Groups of 15 or more may reserve tickets by calling (202) 638-2367. Tickets must be picked up by 6:45 p.m. to guarantee admittance.

LOCATION: Ford's Theatre is located at 511 10th Street NW, Washington, DC (between E and F Streets).

PARKING: Paid parking for Ford's Theatre is available at several independent neighborhood garages: the 24-hour QuikPark at the Grand Hyatt (entrance on 10th Street between G and H Streets NW), the Central Parking Garage (entrance on 11th Street between E and F Streets NW), and the Atlantic Garage below Ford's Theatre (at 511 10th Street, NW).

METRO: Metro Center station (Red, Blue and Orange Lines) is two and one half blocks north of the theatre from the Eleventh Street exit. Gallery Pl-Chinatown station (Red, Yellow and Green Lines) is two and one half blocks north of the theatre from the G Street exit. For further information, call Metro at (202) 637-7000.

Tickets at www.fords.org and Ticketmaster: (800) 982-2787 ** Information: (202) 347-4833 Groups: (202) 638-2367

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