me arts ed

The Arts Reach and Teach

Theater teacher Lucy Rioux recently sent an email with information on the Open Book Players next work being performed “The Laramie Project”. It will be on October 23rd at 7:30 p.m. and October 24th at 2:00 p.m. in Gardiner at the Johnson Hall Theater. After reading the information I was reminded of how sometimes it takes artwork to communicate clearly and sometimes it makes people uncomfortable. It always has the potential to reach and educate. Below is Lucy’s email with information about the performance.

“This play by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project in New York, is the story about Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old University of Wyoming student, who was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence in the middle of a prairie outside of Laramie, Wyoming, in October of 1998, the victim of a hate crime.  The play is a deeply moving theatrical experience, the result of over 200 interviews with the people of the town who were in some way either involved or touched by what happened.

It seems that this production and our theatre group have been added to a list of “potential” areas for protests organized by the Westboro Baptist Church which is run by the “Reverend” Fred Phelps.  If his name sounds familiar, it is because he and his organization are the “military funeral” protesters who are now being judged by the Supreme Court for their previous actions.  This same group protested at Matthew Shepard’s funeral 11 years ago.

My actors were informed of this possibility and they are all sticking with the show and acting very “professional”.  I am proud to be associated with a wonderful group of people.

Along with the production, there will also be guest panelists for a brief post-show Q&A with the audience and cast, to include Thom Harnett from the AG’s office, Steve Wessler from the Center for Prevention of Hate Crimes, and Dr. Robert Bernheim from the UMA Holocaust Center.

I am writing to you to ask your assistance in making this particular show the very best attended show ever presented by Open Book Players. I have been in constant touch with Steve and Thom and the local authorities have been contacted. More than likely this group will not choose Gardiner, Maine for their protest (there were several theatre groups on the flyer that were targeted who are also doing “The Laramie Project”) but the best thing we can do against this type of “hate” is to support the actors who are in the show.

The show’s content is, of course, mature with some strong language, so it is not intended for young children, but certainly high schoolers are mature enough to handle this. If you intend to come, bring someone (or several someones) with you…and let me know and I’ll reserve you some tickets.  Prices are $8.00 for general admission, $6.00 for students/seniors, and $4.00 if a member of a high school civil rights team. Thank you for your support and your help in making this very important and well written piece of theatre a success!  Take care…all of you!
Lucy

If you have questions please feel free to contact Lucy at lucyrioux@gmail.com