DIRECTOR’S NOTE
When the Tectonic Theater Project arrived in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 they found a community divided. There were the university employees and the townies, those who knew Matthew and those who knew his murderers, those who demanded hate crime legislation and those who didn’t, those who supported the death penalty and those who didn’t. The media and the world looked to Laramie to understand what a place defined by hate looked like. This piece of theater and the interviewers who created it, managed to capture this divide, but also explore it and perhaps begin to heal it. One of the legacies of The Laramie Project is that by retelling this story we re-invest in the hope that art can and will heal our collective trauma.
We now find ourselves in a moment when we are faced with the reality that communities are deeply divided all across our country. Our most vulnerable populations remain disproportionately affected by violence and illness. Protest, art, and legislation are desperately needed if we want to see a world that is not dominated by hatred. There is much work to do, but I am proud that the theater students at Putney have devoted their time and energy to making this play come to life. May tonight provide you with a moment of H-O-P-E.
