Matthew Shepard was a gay student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near the Wyoming town of Laramie on Oct. 6, 1998. He died in a hospital several days later. Shepard’s story inspired films and TV shows, but also a stage play, The Laramie Project, that you can see as a dramatic reading at Epiphany Lutheran & Episcopal Church in Marina.
“Extremely powerful,” says Pastor Jon Perez, the church vicar who made it happen. “The church would always be involved in a theatrical project one year before the pandemic,” he adds. “It’s time to bring it back. It’s a great way to kick off Pride Month.”
It may be shocking to certain people who claim the stamp of religion that such a tribute takes place in a church, but the Epiphany Church is certainly not the only temple that showed such compassion. In fact, Shepard’s remains found their resting place in one of the most beautiful churches in the U.S., the neo-Gothic Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
“We are a progressive church,” Perez says. “At the same time, we are a very diverse church, also politically.” None of the church members had anything against the idea, according to Perez, and many of them will participate in The Laramie Project.
The core of the project – created originally in 2000 by Moisés Kaufman, a Venezuelan American playwright and the founder of Tectonic Theater Project in New York City – are multiple stories told by people who knew Shepard, who participated in the event and in a trial after his death. In other words, we meet indirect witnesses of Shepard’s story.
Thirteen local actors will do the reading. It is directed by Karen Cusson and Tiffany Torez is in charge of stage management. Both are church members.
“People share their view of the tragic event, which makes a great impact,” Perez says about the underlying advocacy. The murder was denounced as a hate crime and brought attention to the lack of hate crime laws in various states.
But Perez also observes that while the LGBTQ+ community seems to have more rights than ever, hate crimes are on the rise. “There are more rights but also more violence,” he says.
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