Theatre Arts and Dance Department

About The Laramie Project

Laramie sign

In October 1998 a twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming. His bloody, bruised and battered body was not discovered until the next day, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he was the victim of this assault because he was gay. Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theatre Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. The Laramie Project is a breathtaking theatrical collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.

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If you believe that you or someone you know are a victim of a hate crime or are involved in a hate crime:

  • Hate Crime National Hotline 1-206-350-HATE
  • Nation Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE
  • Hate Crimes Hotline at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1-800-552-6843