A Full House for The Laramie Project

Yesterday, I rushed back to the Capital District to attend "The Laramie Project" at the Albany High School Auditorium. I caught wind of it on Thursday when moderator Dave Guistina of WAMC radio interviewed the performers about the play.

If you're not familiar with "The Laramie Project", it's a play about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The murder triggered widespread media coverage because it was motivated by homophobia. The play was turned into a HBO movie in 2002.

There were 60 characters represented with hundreds of lines from court transcripts and interviews with the town community to memorize. But, the student actors pulled it off with professionalism and maturity, three days in a row. A standing ovation brought tears to the eyes of Ward Dales, Director and Career Explorations teacher at AHS.