Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Reading Response: Background to "The Laramie Project"
Reflect on the two articles assigned for today’s class (Moises Kaufman's "Into the West," and Don Shewey's "Town in Mirror"). What struck you as interesting, significant, or even disturbing from the reading? Cite a quotation from either article that represents what caught your attention and explain why you responded the way you did to it. Conclude your comment with a question or two that you might pose about the reading or about the film that you’d like to think further about as we begin viewing it.
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Interesting! I really enjoyed the articles we read for Wednesday’s and Monday’s classes about the kind of research this theater company did in order to prepare a play. First off, the topic is something controversial and you can’t really promote a “right” answer about it. It was interesting how the people that were homosexual ventured into the town and continued to find out details about the event in order to create their play. In Kaufman’s article “Into the West” he states “Other members of the company were concerned with intruding as outsiders where we didn’t belong”. This statement is also interesting and something I would definitely be concerned about as well. The topic is so uneasy in many cultures and I respect their motivation to bring it to the public and to stand behind the facts of the situation. I was extremely disturbed by the situation and I think its great their bringing it to public attention to get feedback. In general I wonder if there were people of the town that would have stood up for Matthew or were too afraid of getting themselves into trouble. Also, a little bit of background information was mentioned about the people of the town although I want to know more about why people were so against homosexuality or if it was just specific people.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading these articles I was shocked to learn about the harsh discrimination and treatment of homosexuals in small towns such as Laramie. I can't understand how anyone in modern America can go so far as to kill someone for being different. It seems as though we should have moved past this level of violent discrimination many years ago. The Don Shewey article did a wonderful job explaining the culture of Laramie and explaining how something of this nature could take place. It also provided excellent detail on Moises Kaufman's Laramie Project. I commend Kaufman for taking on such a difficult project, surely dealing with this controversial issue first hand was no easy task. The opening sentence to his article, "There are moments in history when a particular event brings the various ideologies and beliefs prevailing in a culture into sharp focus", really helped me to understand what his project is all about. He obviously recognized the Matthew Shepard case as one that held great cultural significance. I think that the play along with the video that came after are successful attempts at raising awareness of this issue. I wonder though, what has been done in regards to other cases in which the same type of violence has taken place?
ReplyDeleteI found the articles to be very interesting and very informative because I did not know anything about the murder of Matthew Shephard or The Larmie Project before reading these articles. I was in disbelief of the discrimination and prejudice against homosexuality explained in the articles. I have always been bewildered about prejudice in general. I was also astounded by the dedication of director Moisés Kaufman to capture the story of Matthew Shephard and of the discrimination against homosexuality in his masterpiece, The Laramie Project. “Fifteen months, five more trips and four workshops later the company presented the world premiere of The Laramie Project at The Denver Center Theatre Company.” This quote exemplifies the time and effort Kaufman put into the production of The Laramie Project. I found Kaufman’s work very inspirational with his dedication to visiting the town of Laramie itself numerous times throughout the production of The Laramie Project in order to add to its authenticity. I believe that it is necessary for all the people involved in the production of anything to be immersed into the environment in which the event they are portraying occurred. Therefore, I believe that we can all learn from his determination and dedication in the work we do on a daily basis. While viewing the film I would really like to delve more into the visual and emotional environment of Laramie. I also would like to learn more about the two roofers that Matthew Shephard met in the bar.
ReplyDeleteI thought the articles about the Laramie project and the brutal murder of Matthew Shephard were extremely interesting. What interested me the most in the articles was the fact that homosexuality have come so far in just a few years. By this I mean that culture as a whole has changed. I believe that within ten years culture in America has conformed and is more accepting to homosexuality. I cannot believe that in this amount of time that the country could change this significantly, but through these articles it is evident that only a few places in America accepted homosexuality in the 1990’s; Whereas, today homosexuality is basically accepted everywhere. It is disturbing to me that just that few years ago a homosexual man was murdered. I also think that it is disturbing that the homosexuals involved in the Laramie project had to fear going to Laramie to conduct interviews and find a base for their new play. In "Town in Mirror", Don Shewey said “The New Yorkers arrived in Laramie with a fair amount of trepidation, expecting to encounter a hotbed of Wild West homophobia”. I love that they did the Laramie project because it is a social controversy that I believe will stay intact for awhile. I know I said that homosexuality is basically accepted everywhere but there are still some areas of gray. I wonder how different the process of going to Laramie would be if there was a murder of a homosexual there today. I wonder if American culture did change this much or if I just live in a bubble that is accepting?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about something positive that came from a very unfortunate, sad, and tragic situation. Moisés Kaufman, actors, as well as other creators of the Laramie project theater production took a negative, appalling, story and made it into a positive learning experience. Kaufman and other confederates of homosexual rights felt strongly affected by Matthew Shepard's murder. Through his theater production of Gross Indencency, Kaufman conveys his opinions regarding the tragedy, as well as ideas of acceptance and freedom. I liked the fact that the producers of the play decided not to match a character to Matthew Shepard. Don Shewey, author of Town in Mirror writes, "The choice not to represent Matthew Shepard onstage ingeniously sidesteps sentimental images while giving the play a mysteriously satisfying spiritual dimension. His unseen presence is much more powerful than the overly familiar depiction of a crucified figure.” I feel like actually acting out the scene where Shepard is murdered is too disturbing, sad, and powerful that it could never be displayed in theater the way it actually occurred. It is respectful to Matthew and his family to resist reenacting something so surreal and horrible. I appreciated how much time and effort was put into the Laramie Project. The attendance of Kaufman and other participants at the case trials, the countless interviews, and the involvement in Laramie, Wyoming reflects all of the effort producers put into the project. The Laramie Project was not about the acting or the play, but about the prejudice and hateful opposition of homosexuality in America. I want to know more about the specific situation of Matthew Shepard, about him- why his friends described him as “a blunt little shit who lacked common sense?” I also found it disturbing that gay and lesbian citizens felt threatened to even jog in Laramie. I would have like to read more about the reaction of the town to this tragedy and whether people were disturbed or unaffected.
ReplyDeleteMoises Kaufman's "Into the West," and Don Shewey's "Town in Mirror" revealed the shocking story of a brutal murder. Reading about people’s reactions to what happened was very interesting. It was also interesting to read about how they took the story into play form, using just eight actors to represent dozens of characters, and hundreds of interviews. I was intrigued by the way the used the theatre to present a social commentary on the hate crime against Shepard. Since there were many interests going into this production, many viewpoints were looked at. For example gays in the community, the police, the residents of the town, the Christian right.
ReplyDeleteThe quote that adequately describes the tensions going on was from the Kaufman article was: “In the immediate aftermath of his beating and subsequent death, the nation launched into a dialogue that brought to the surface how we are thinking and talking about homosexuality, sexual politics, education, class, violence, privileges and rights, and the difference between tolerance and acceptance.” This event sparked a new perspective on not just homosexual relations, but many other aspects of society. It opened people’s eyes to the injustices many were facing. Producing a play around this idea requires looking at the many facets of the situation, making it powerful, and ethics based.
In watching the movie, I hope to learn more about Matthew Shepard’s situation. What about his past and his current situation led his murderers to act out so savagely. What events sparked this horrible murder?
I was stunned by the subject that these articles dealt with; I did not know anything about the murder of Matthew Shepard, or the Laramie Project, and found it surprising that something like this could have happened so close to home and yet slip by me unnoticed. As sad as the event was, the way the articles deal with it is fascinating because they deal with chronicling the aftermath of the murder as well as delving into the culture of Laramie and citing possible reasons that things like this take place. I realize that this is not an isolated incident; hate crimes and prejudice happen in all parts of America, so I was interested to see these thoughts on Laramie’s culture and get more of a sense of the places where these tragedies happen, and hopefully, learning how they can be avoided. It is difficult to treat a problem if the problem is unknown. The main question I had while reading was similar to the question Kauffman had that inspired his project; why was Matthew Shepard murdered? One of the parts of the Shewey article that caught my attention in particular was the paragraph about the interviewees in Laramie, starting with the quote, “… the theatre artists found they had to reconsider their stereotypes of small-town Westerners”. It goes on to talk about the diversity in the community, and a strong mix of different types of people is not an element that I personally often associate with a city that would experience such an awful hate crime. This leaves me wondering what kind of people the perpetrators were, and what cultural elements influenced them to take such a dramatic action. I am also curious as to whether Laramie has had any similar crimes lately since Matthew’s murder.
ReplyDeleteThe two articles, “Town in a Mirror” and “Into the West,” both deal with the process that was undertaken for the formation and writing of The Laramie Project. “Into the West was interesting as it described the process from the point of view of Moises Kaufman, who is the director for Tectonic Theater Project. His insights as to the process of how the interviews with the various citizens of Laramie were conducted following the murder of Matthew Shepard are important for understanding both the intent as well as the background for the theatrical production. I thought it was interesting that he identified the diversity of the theater group as a great advantage for what they were seeking to do. Due to that diversity, the group was able to approach the various diverse communities of Laramie to get a much fuller understanding of not only what happened that fateful night but also what were the emotions and sentiments of various people and groups. It was also significant that as the “project” developed, it became much more than simply something to do, but that the actors became personally involved and invested in those they interviewed.
ReplyDeleteIn “Town in A Mirror,” Don Shewey describes not only the process of what Kaufman and his group went through in order to produce The Laramie Project, but also provide more insight and description concerning what was happening at the various points. I thought it was interesting that Kaufman had dramatized Oscar Wilde’s prosecution in Gross Indecency which became a public referendum on Victorian England’s attitudes about sex and gender and class and eduction. In many respects, The Laramie Project had the same potential to become a referendum on America’s attitudes toward many of the same issues.
I thought a very short statement in the article by Shewey was most significant. At one point, in describing what happened when the group became to meet with people of Laramie, he states: “Nothing was as simple as it may have seemed.” I thought this was important because it highlighted the reality that while it is easy to deal with people and situations based on stereotypes, so often the reality of the situation is very different. The group from New York went to small-town Laramie with some stereotypic thinking about small-town Westerners and their attitudes. What they found was that no matter where you are you need to understand the individuals there and not assume that they are all one way or another.
Because of that quotation, one question that I want to reflect on is “how much, if any, stereotyping of people shows up in The Laramie Project or is The Laramie Project a careful reflection of what individuals truly said and believed?” I also wonder what the reaction of the individuals shown within the theatrical product would be to how they are portrayed, that is, whether they feel that what they said and what they believe and how they reacted was portrayed accurately and fairly.
While reading both articles regarding the Laminar project, I began to read the first article by Shewey and the topic interest me.I barely started reading this article when I decided to get a little more information about Matthew because I never knew why he was so important. As I read both articles it interest me to see how big of an impact one hate crime had on society. Not only did it effect the people that were part of Matthew's life but the people putting on this play. I liked that they took an interest and research the perpesective of the ones close by and the one that attended that university. What really caught my attention in the article "Town in Mirror" which was when the lady of theatre department stated, "I feel that you just kicked me in the stomach. The students here need to talk, because the coverage has cut off all dialogue on the subject." This quote shows that even though this could of happened to anyone, this happened in this town and people need to stick up for one another and let their voices be heard. Finally, when I was searching the web on this topic, I noticed that the parents' of Matthew also wanted to be heard, they spoke at many universities about how hate crimes should be noticed and something should be done. And also, not only did Matthew's parents try to be heard, but the pople producing this play wanted to know the real story and make a difference. And finally my question for the play, How much did it affect the people in it and people who did not know about the story like the parents of Matthew?
ReplyDeleteThe opening remark of Town in a Mirror definitely was very eye-opening for me. “…a gay college student named Matthew Shepard had been savagely beaten tied to a fence on the edge of a town and left to die by two local roofers he met in a bar” is one of the most shocking stories I have ever heard. I had no idea anything this violent had occurred in Laramie, a place I had previously considered attending for college. I think it is exceptionally brave and shows amazing character on the part of Kaufman to want to express this dramatic story through theater, and retell it to the world. I think it was very interesting that Moises Kaufman turned a personal interest and quest for understanding into a national ordeal that aimed to inform people everywhere not only about the events that occurred in Laramie but additionally the town and its culture. I like that he fully analyzed the situation and did the hundreds of interviews to get it perfect and really express what the circumstances were. He had clear goals and carried them out. After reading these articles, I am left questioning if there are other instances of extreme violence toward homosexuals that may even hit closer to home, and I wonder if this is a bigger problem than I’ve ever even considered.
ReplyDeleteReflecting back on these two articles about Matthew Shepard and the Laramie Project makes me wonder how such an advanced nation as the United States can still be so far behind in human relations. It is disturbing to see that a man was murdered over his sexuality. Although it was disturbing and very sad, it also brought awareness to the issue. "When news reports started emerging from Laramie, Wyoming in October of 1998 that a gay college student named Matthew Shepard had been savagely beaten...Kaufman sensed that this was no fleeting news event." Moises Kaufman, a New York-based writer and director, heard of such a story and it immediately caused him to be curious of this town called Laramie, Wyoming. This initally shocked me because we would later learn that Kaufman was also gay so why would you want to go somewhere where they just murdered a person for being gay. But to Kaufman, finding out more about the West and this small town was more important to him than any safety concern he had. It was interesting that Kaufman raised awareness to this issue to a national level and eventually created a documentary from the story. My question is how to do you take all these interviews and make them into something meaningful? This is not an easy situation to derive interviews from.
ReplyDelete“Artists are recording our times, and artists are the diaries of our time.” Obviously, Kaufman takes this Robert Wilson quotation very seriously.
ReplyDeleteTo hear of the news of Matthew Shepard’s horrifying death and feel shaken up by it is one thing. To be so moved by the incident that an entire theatrical production came to life is awe-inspiring not only to fellow artists, but to all citizens. Having the courage to fight through the the town of Laramie, WY to hear first hand thoughts on the incident was a brutal risk for everyone involved. Kaufman knew that if his art was going to be as powerful as need be, he couldn’t let even his own safety stand in the way.
Some artists never tackle the assignment of commenting on real-life events. (Being a composer who finds it more manageable to write music that does not attempt to portray extra-musical events, I can empathize.) Using the “Epic Theatre” approach, I would like to bring the reader’s attention to the fact that what will follow is a listing of my own thoughts on this subject. “Art might be powerful, but when it comes down it, art is just art. How can one be so arrogant to think that pure abstraction could come to grips with the emotional turmoil of a hate crime? Shepard’s family is still suffering from the reality of this event, and an artist wants to make art about it? Does this strike anyone as absurd?! How does one approach this with a tasteful amount of sensitivity?” I could go on, but I will spare you.
Kaufman may have fought with similar thoughts, but his craftsmanship and knowledge of tectonics led him to a creative safe-haven. He describes his approach as being similar to “an eyewitness demonstrating to a collection of people how a traffic accident took place.” I found this particularly ingenious, because it allows the artist and the audiences’ perspective to remain objective amidst the stream of heated emotion. As far as the success of the work itself, this “uber aware” approach allows for conflicting points of view to remain present without entangling themselves into something indiscernible.
Before reading this article, one thing I had never thought much about was the notion that homosexuals are forced to define themselves. Homosexuals either feel they are born homosexual, or become aware of this later in their lives. (I’m assuming most heterosexuals feel they are just born hetero.) To come to terms with one’s sexual preference could in some cases mean an evolution from one’s initial awareness, confusion and insecurity (for a time), all the way to a comfortable acceptance of one’s sexual identity.
This in itself is extremely courageous.
I'd like to think that Kaufman’s analysis of Matthew Shephard’s personal journey also gave him the courage to ignore his artist insecurities and follow through with his artistic vision, commenting on a something much larger than art; humanity. This isn't only a good thing, it's a great thing.
Both of the articles were rather disturbing, shedding light on the dim topic of discrimination. The Laramie Project exemplifies brutality in its purest form, and both articles made that very clear to me. The most interesting thing about these articles for me is that when events similar to this occur in movies or books, there is always an uneasy feeling, but to hear it told as a true story and to get a sense of just how difficult the after effects of this case were for actual people was so much more impacting than I could have imagined. I greatly admire Moises Kaufman for having the courage to bring forth such a horrific event, one that I would never have imagined possible. In a sense, this sort of thing re-affirms my steadily declining hope for equality in today's society, because let's face it, there are so many discriminatory acts even today. However, the diverse theatre group and the valiant of both Kaufman and Shewey to get the true accounts of Matthew Shepard's death were certainly meaningful in that there are several advances being made in order to ensure this type of thing cannot happen again. As Shewey says, when speaking of Matthew Shepard, "His unseen presence is much more powerful than the overly familiar depiction of a crucified figure." was the most important statement to me because, although this was a terrible time for many people, Shepard will forever live on and help people to realize how extremely difficult it is to be different in such a culture. Some questions I have are: do many people know about this event, and if so has it changed any community in a substantial way? Also, how effectively has this event been re-enacted and will it be as moving in a film as it was on paper?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how the group decided to take action that shortly after Matthew Shepard died. The actors went to Laramie just 4 weeks later after the violent incident. Obviously the citizens of Laramie were still extremely emotional, no mater what they believed. Everything was just still so raw. I also thought the actors’ approach was interesting because the majority of these people had never conducted an interview before. Their approach seemed to build up trust in the citizens so they could therefore uncover the ways in which such hatred could have occurred. The actors tried as best they could to gain information, even though most were terrified before they began the Laramie Project. One claimed he had a “panic attack” on the flight there because of the immense uncertainty. From unfortunate and awful events as these, come “great revelations.” We learn “about our nation, about our ideas, about ourselves.” The volunteers were successful. They exposed the various opinions about sexuality in Laramie, Wyoming. They also brought forth the great impact of Matthew Shepard’s death on the people of the town. And while revealing these hardships and struggles within a community, they found that “nothing was as simple as it may have seemed.”
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