Student-directed capstone project spreads awareness about hate crimes and homophobia

By Sierra Dotson
March 1, 2019

Prior to the premiere, Berardi and Myers had been  working on The Laramie Project since July. Photo by Sierra Dotson.
Prior to the premiere, Berardi and Myers had been working on The Laramie Project since July. Photo by Sierra Dotson.
Prior to the premiere, Berardi and Myers have been working hard on The Laramie Project since July. Photo by Sierra Dotson.

Johnny Myers and Joe Berardi are two senior students. Berardi is a history and writing double major while Myers is a writing major with a minor in theater. As part of their senior capstone experience, they joined forces to co-direct a staged reading of excerpts from The Laramie Project.

“Johnny and I are both very politically savvy,” Berardi said. “We’re very aware of what’s going on in the current political climate and we feel like this piece, even though it was written in the early 2000s is still very relevant to things happening in our society today.”

The Laramie Project is a play that brings a documentary to life on stage, taking place during the aftermath of Matthew Shepard‘s murder. Mat Shepard, an openly-gay university student, was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming, by two young men. Hundreds of interviews were conducted in the town of Laramie, capturing the diverse thoughts and emotions of the townspeople in regards to not only the death of Matthew, but many also spoke on their mixed opinions on homosexuality.

“Watching a show like this as someone who is gay, it’s crazy because this is something that can actually happen,” Francesca Maslin, junior writing major, said. “Yeah, me and my girlfriend get looks sometimes but to think that it could ever escalate to that sort of violence, it’s scary. Stories like this are important to show the world why we do kind of live looking over our shoulders.”

With the assistance of a narrator, each of the actors play the role of 8-10 different characters. The interviews are organized to follow a chronological timeline. Photo by Sierra Dotson.

“This show has such a powerful impact. Deciding on The Laramie Project was not a care-free decision. We knew from the get-go we wanted to do something politically driven,” Berardi said. “It’s a great way to wrap up everything we’ve done with theater and it’s such an empowering story that’s relevant to the times and very close to our hearts.”

What this production does well is demonstrate how one death can have a ripple effect that impacts everyone involved. Shepard’s murder not only affected his family, but left a permanent scar on the community. It also brought national attention to the lack of laws in the country protecting the LGBT+ community against hate crimes.

“My hope is that the audience will be inspired to do good in the world around them, be an advocate, be an ally, and stand up when they see issues of injustice,” Myers said. “We also want this to reflect what we did here during our time as Cabrini students. We’ve spent a lot of time in this theater and are very established in the English department so this is really our last hoorah.” 

The Laramie Project is not a production that relies on elaborate sets or eccentric musical numbers. Instead, the sheer passion delivered by the cast is what gives the production its vivid color. The emotion in each reading painted a clear picture of each location. Even if one had never been to Wyoming, the immersive description of the Laramie night sky was enough to send chills through each member of the audience.

“I first saw The Laramie project back when I was a student at Cabrini,” Justin Sillner,transfer admissions counselor and Cabrini alumnus, said. “We did one for the 10-year anniversary of Shepard’s death. Still amazing, still wonderful production.”

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Sierra Dotson

Cabrini University 2021 // News Editor 2019-2020

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