The Laramie Project

In his introduction to The Laramie Project, Moisés Kaufman explains that he wanted to pose the following question: “Is theatre a medium that can contribute to the national dialogue on current events?” (12). Respond to Kaufman’s question considering both the play’s contents and its formal elements. What might prevent the theatre from providing an effective commentary on current affairs, and does Kaufman’s play overcome them?

While Matthew Shepard is at the heart of this play, we learn very little about him and never hear his voice. Was this a deliberate decision by the theatre company? If so, what might their reasoning be?

The play is composed of material taken from interviews with Laramie residents and people involved in the Matthew Shepard case. What is the effect of hearing these different people’s voices? What techniques are used to shape the way we receive these attitudes and are they effective? Do you think the play offers a balanced view of what happened in Laramie? Use specific examples from the text to support your answer.

The phrase “live and let live” is used to describe Laramie’s attitude to LGBT people and recurs throughout the play. Trace how the meaning of this phrase evolves as the play progresses and it is used by different people.

Laramie’s religious leaders express a range of response to the murder of Matthew Shepard. Compare and contrast at least three of these and suggest how religious beliefs influenced the situation in Laramie in the wake of Matthew’s death. Are religious people necessarily homophobic, or is religious faith flexible enough to allow acceptance of—even love for—LGBT people? 

Doc O’Connor asserts that there are more gay people in Laramie than are immediately apparent. At the same time, he tells us that the gay people in Laramie are not “the queens, the gay people, the queens, you know run around faggot type people” (32). What does Doc’s comment suggest about how LGBT people are popularly portrayed? Do these stereotypes persist and how might they be damaging?

Father Roger Schmit makes a powerful point about the violence of language, its ability to wound and maim, and the need to fight verbal as well as physical violence against LGBT people. Do you agree that language itself can be violent? Or do you believe the old adage that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”? Are there instances of violent language in The Laramie Project?

In The Laramie Project, the media presence is described as overwhelming and predatory. There is a sense that the residents of Laramie are being put on the spot and don’t have a chance to reflect on what is, for many, a very personal tragedy. At the same time, the media focus on Laramie forced a reckoning with exactly what happened to Matthew Shepard. What, in your opinion, was the role of the media in the aftermath of Matthew’s death? In what way does the media coverage of Matthew’s murder differ from Kaufman’s play?