The Laramie Project

The Laramie Project, portrayed as a play by the Tectonic Theater Project is the story of Matthew Shepard and the hate crime that lead to his death. This play involved the recalling of events by many people in close relation to Matthew Shepard, and also some of those who had never met him. In each interview conducted another account and perspective of the event is given, leading to the construction of the play as a whole. The play portrayed many perspectives, all of which were important in piecing together a story that could be told, demonstrating the effects of this event to not only family and friends of Matthew Shepard, but also to complete strangers. From reading these interviews I came to the conclusion that this was a very sad story caused by people not thinking their actions through, and doing something that would change their lives and those of many around them forever. 

The perspectives of many different people were given in this play, all of which added to the overall story. Many of the interviews were with people who knew Matthew, or those who had seen him the night of his death. Each person has a different reaction to the crime, and are impacted by it in various ways. The perpetrators of the crime, seem to show little remorse, instead try to justify their actions. On the other hand, the sadness of those who were close to Matthew is also shown, making me as a reader try to relate to their feelings, becoming emotionally involved in this story. The perspectives of the interviewers also add an important aspect, as they did not know Matthew, but are spreading the awareness of hate crimes, and the permanent impacts that they have. All of these perspectives were very different, but added something to the story making it easy for me as a reader to create my own perspective.

The multiple perspectives included by the Tectonic Theater Project accurately portrayed the events of this story, and also the emotional ties that went along with it. When reading the interviews it helped me to get a better sense of the story and  how much it affected those who were involved in it. Each interview was very important in adding another perspective, giving many viewpoints on one event, allowing me to make my own conclusion of the story. Multiple viewpoints were used, causing an accurate recalling of an event, and the different impacts it had.