TheatreExtreme Presents 'The Laramie Project'

From TheatreExtreme:

TheatreExtreme’s first Readers Theatre production of the season, “The Laramie Project,” runs one night only on Sunday, October 23, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. at Stiles Auditorium in Cartersville. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

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.

Directed by Meghann K. Humphreys, “The Laramie Project” features eight actors who each play several roles: Michele Elliott, David Ely, Mallory Holder, Chris McAbee, Erin McCulley, Amanda Monson, Tom Owens, Kyle Redden, and Corinne Scott.

After the dramatic reading of the show, a Question & Answer Session will take place to talk issues introduced in the show and to find out if audience members want to see this show performed as a main-stage show in an upcoming season.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 678-719- 8898 or e-mailing TheatreExtremeCartersville@gmail.com.

A light supper will be served and is included with the cost of admission. Vegetarian options are available.

Stiles Auditorium is located at the corner of W. Cherokee Avenue and School Street at 320 W. Cherokee Avenue, Cartersville, Georgia 30120. From I-75: take the Cartersville-Main Street exit (#288), continue on Main Street through Historic Downtown Cartersville, turn right onto School Street, and the entrance to the parking lot is on the left then immediately to the right between the Cartersville Public Library and Olin-Tatum Building.

For more information about TheatreExtreme, please visit TheatreExtremeCartersville.com or e-mail TheatreExtremeCartersville@gmail.com.

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