The Laramie Project

Sierra Stages and the Miners Foundry will present The Laramie Project on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.  The Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project and directed by Sharon Winegar, is the next installment of Theater By the Book, a series of informal play readings for the community.

In October 1998, a twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten, and left tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming. His bloody, bruised, and battered body was not discovered until the next day, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he was the victim of this assault because he was gay. Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half, in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town. Some people interviewed were directly connected to the case, while others were citizens of Laramie, and the breadth of the reactions to the crime is fascinating. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience from these interviews and their own experiences in Laramie. The Laramie Project is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m.  Admission is free with a $10 suggested donation.  Advance tickets are available online, in person or by phone at the Miners Foundry, or at the door.

Sierra Stages is a community theater which enriches the cultural life of Nevada County by providing high quality, affordable and accessible performances for everyone. Among our goals is to create an ongoing and viable community theater in the Grass Valley and Nevada City area.