The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘The Laramie Project’ opens Nov. 15
MIDDLETOWN — Wesleyan University’s Theater Department presents “The Laramie Project” written and developed by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project and directed by assistant professor of the practice Edward Torres.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. Nov. 1516 and 2 p.m. Nov. 1617 in the CFA Theater, located at 271 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown.
What happens when we put someone else’s story into our own mouths, amplify it on stage, and attempt to fill in the gaps with our own speculative, cacophonous desires? During the 201920 season, the Wesleyan Theater Department is presenting two collaborative works of ensemble theater: “The Laramie Project;” and “The Method Gun” by Rude Mechs, directed by assistant professor of theater Katie Pearl, May 13, 2020. The plays are ensemble creations, culled from interviews or historical documents, that tell the stories of absence and departure; of loss, survival, and the way a community attempts to make meaning with what is left.
The Wesleyan production of “The Laramie Project” features a set design by visiting assistant professor of theater Andrew Holland, light and media design by visiting assistant professor of theater Calvin Anderson, sound designed by Tye Hunt Fitzgerald, and 12 Wesleyan undergraduate students playing multiple roles to tell the heartwrenching and soulenriching story of tragedy and compassion. Wesleyan’s production educates about difference and offers a human voice to sound the call of remembrance and communal faith.
“I feel that ‘The Laramie Project’ is timeless because the main issues of the work are still relevant today, with the Supreme Court hearing cases that will determine the future of LGBTQ rights,” said Torres. “I picked this play because I wanted to explore the impact of this hate crime and how it was dealt with by the town. The work is not very linear or structured — it is driven by monologues and focuses on significant moments that actually happened, which I am approaching directly in order to emphasize their sense of urgency and immediacy. I want to give this visceral story it’s due — a modern version of ‘The Rimers of Eldritch’ by Lanford Wilson, or ‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder.”
Edward Torres and his Teatro Vista cofounder, actor Henry Godinez, along with the company’s current Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez, received the 2019 Special Equity Jeff Award in Chicago on October 21. Founded in 1990, Teatro Vista has theatrically depicted the human experience from its unique Latinx perspective, featuring haunting, humorous, historical, and magical stories.
Admission for “The Laramie Project” at Wesleyan is $10 for the general public; and $5 for senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/ staff/alumni/students, nonWesleyan students, and youth under 18. Tickets are available online at https://www.wesleyan.edu/boxoffice; by phone at 8606853355; or in person at the Wesleyan University Box Office, located in the Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance.