Event Date:
Event Date Details:
MAR 1 & 6-8 / 8 PM
MAR 2 & 9 / 2 PM
Event Location:
- Hatlen Theater
Event Price:
by Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project directed by Eric Jorgensen
cast of The Laramie Project
by David Bazemore
In October 1998, a hateful act took the life of Matthew Shepard. As the nation struggled to explain threads of intolerance woven into the fabric of American communities, Moisés Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project visited Laramie, Wyoming to listen to the people of the community where the crime took place. Through a text taken verbatim from hundreds of interviews, The Laramie Project reveals a complex truth of the depths of intolerance and the heights of human empathy.
Read more about the performance HERE.
SPECIAL EVENT
The Laramie Legacy: A Conversation With Judy Shepard
Judy Shepard's bio
In October 1998, Judy and Dennis Shepard lost their 21 year-old son, Matthew, to a murder motivated by anti-gay hate. Matthew’s death moved many thousands of people around the world to attend vigils and rallies in his memory. Determined to prevent others from suffering their son’s fate, Judy and Dennis decided to turn their grief into action and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on Matthew’s legacy. The Foundation is dedicated to working toward the causes championed by Matthew during his life: social justice, diversity awareness & education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
Judy Shepard is the founding president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors, and served as its first executive director as well, from 1999 to 2009. In her continuing role as board president, she travels across the nation speaking to audiences about what they can do as individuals and communities to make this world a more accepting place for everyone, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity and expression, or sexual orientation. Speaking from a mother’s perspective, Judy also authored a 2009 memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew,” exploring the family’s journey through the prosecution of Matthew’s assailants, the ensuing media coverage, and their continuing work to advance civil rights. Originally trained as a teacher, Mrs. Shepard holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wyoming where she later pursued some post-graduate studies. She and Dennis continue to make their home in Casper, Wyoming.