Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Laramie Project

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   Well folks, this last October saw one of the most challenging production I think I will ever have the honor of doing.
The Laramie Project (if your not aware) is the story of the Matthew Shepard murder back in 1998. Moises Kaufman of the New York City-based Tectonic Theater Project made several trips over yrs to conduct interviews, collect transcripts etc. They then took over 200 hours of interviews and turned it into a 3hr production. The story line starts just before the murder and follows the citizens reaction from start to final court proceedings.
Other than the incredible emotional load this production packs, it is a very difficult production to stage. There are about 63 characters for 8 actors. Here's what we did to work through the logistics. Me? I was the assistant director for this monster.

First thing I did was to figure out which character went to which actor (I used the cast list at the beginning of the script). Listed them as M1-4 and F1-4. After auditions I'll put the actors names in. I also did a spreadsheet so we could see who was on stage on any given page. Works out to be about 7 characters per actor.

The other thing we did was to make the Narrator an isolated character. This makes one character that the actors don't have to worry about, and helps cut down on audience confusion.

And the director wanted the part of Dennis Shepard so that was one more part taken out of the mix (grin).

Each actor had their own table and coat tree for props, and costumes. and on the wall above a chart with the characters listed in order of appearance, and the prop/costume.

It also helps to have a VERY organized and strong stage manager to make sure everyone is ready.

I'd really recommend doing this production. It will challenge you, and your theater on so many different levels.

Break a leg!

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txhern Walk-On Joined: 4/01/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: Laramie Project Posted: 12/26/07 at 2:23am
	Well folks, this last October saw one of the most challenging production I think I will ever have the honor of doing. The Laramie Project (if your not aware) is the story of the Matthew Shepard murder back in 1998. Moises Kaufman of the New York City-based Tectonic Theater Project made several trips over yrs to conduct interviews, collect transcripts etc. They then took over 200 hours of interviews and turned it into a 3hr production. The story line starts just before the murder and follows the citizens reaction from start to final court proceedings. Other than the incredible emotional load this production packs, it is a very difficult production to stage. There are about 63 characters for 8 actors. Here's what we did to work through the logistics. Me? I was the assistant director for this monster. First thing I did was to figure out which character went to which actor (I used the cast list at the beginning of the script). Listed them as M1-4 and F1-4. After auditions I'll put the actors names in. I also did a spreadsheet so we could see who was on stage on any given page. Works out to be about 7 characters per actor. The other thing we did was to make the Narrator an isolated character. This makes one character that the actors don't have to worry about, and helps cut down on audience confusion. And the director wanted the part of Dennis Shepard so that was one more part taken out of the mix (grin). Each actor had their own table and coat tree for props, and costumes. and on the wall above a chart with the characters listed in order of appearance, and the prop/costume. It also helps to have a VERY organized and strong stage manager to make sure everyone is ready. I'd really recommend doing this production. It will challenge you, and your theater on so many different levels. Break a leg!

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magicguy Walk-On Joined: 12/25/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 12/26/07 at 7:28pm
	This sounds great. Where did you find the script? Will this work on a small stage? Our theatre group has a stage that is about 22 feet wide and 18 to 20 feet deep.
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txhern Walk-On Joined: 4/01/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 12/27/07 at 1:10am
	The script is available through Dramatists ISBN: 0-8222-1780-5. http://www.dramatists.com/index.asp We also have a rather small stage, and I had done several different set designs before Charles and I decided to do this in a more intimate setting of sort of in the round. We wanted to convey a town hall meeting feel. I have pictures uploaded to flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/txhern/sets/72157603557609397/) That should give you a good idea of how we did our staging. Romain Patterson (a friend of Matthew Shepard) has some wonderful information on her site http://www.eatromaine.com/ Any help I can give just holler, and I'll be happy to do what I can for you.
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