The Laramie Project

[Techieboi]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 11:00pm

I was wondering if anyone on the site has seen, The Laramie Project. I am currently working on a lighting desing for it for a class project, and if anyone has any advice/comments/suggestions let me know.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 11:19pm

My school is getting ready to do the show right now. I haven't seen it on the stage, but I have read the play and seen the movie.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 11:20pm

I saw the original cast and then later I saw a community theater production of it that was suprisingly effective. The first time I saw it I really wasn't thrilled with the first two acts, I kept thinking they were going to do exactly what the story didn't call for, which was to make a martyr (and a saint) out of Matthew Shepard. But then, the third act suprised me when it actually did not do that. And that is how I learned to love The Laramie Project. When I saw the community production I was interested if it wouldn't work without the original people from Tectonic who did the interviewing in Laramie. But it worked very well.

A scrim with a slide of an impossibly blue sky over a low, distant horizon is a very effective mood setter.

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 11:34pm

How funny is this? I just finished watching the movie. It was amazing.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 11:45pm

And only about half as long as the stage show.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 11:52pm

I saw the original New York production of THE LARAMIE PROJECT ans was deeply moved by it. It was a fine production and the acting was truly excellent. However, that was a few years ago and I really can't recall the specifics of it. Wish I could be more helpful.

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 4/6/04 at 12:17am

I was in a college production of The Laramie Project last year. We stuck to one simple set, a sky and fence backround- with diff lighting to seperate days/scenes.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/6/04 at 12:23am

whats the cast size for this show? and is it good for high school?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/6/04 at 12:28am

My sister brought her high school daughter to another high school's production last year and reported that the football players sitting behind them (they were supporting a team member in the cast) were crying like little girlie men by the end.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/6/04 at 12:31am

sounds powerful, whats the cast size?

[bially082]

Posted: 4/6/04 at 1:18am

I think it's about 8-10

[Sheri]

Posted: 4/6/04 at 2:14am

GREAT show - I saw it twice in LA - same cast and same creative team, but two different theatres. The first was a very small intimate theatre where there were only about 100 seats. It seemed to work better in an intimate setting - because the actors really drew you in to it when you could see every emotion up close. I saw it a year later in a much larger theatre and though I loved it, it didn't have quite the same impact...

It's still one of the best straight plays I've seen recently. It's wonderfully written and VERY moving.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 8:59pm

As far as cast size, my school's cast is sixteen people playing a minimum of four roles each.

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 9:15pm

This was a beautiful movie.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 9:33pm

My friend and I brought a couple of carloads of high school kids to see the original production a few years back (August 2000, maybe?) It profoundly affected each one of the kids. I remember posting on another board after coming home, that I thought it should be required viewing for all high school students. I'm happy to see that it's becoming a popular choice for school productions. I saw it done a couple of years ago by a school in Montclair, NJ, and it lost nothing...none of the emotion and none of the impact...from the original.

[marincrazy11]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 11:49pm

I love this show. I think it's brilliant. About 3 years ago one of the high schools in our states drama competition did it and was very good, my community theater did it and it was breathtaking, and we are doing it at my school next year! I can't wait!

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 11:50pm

I'm so excited, I get to see it tomorrow!