Even during the country’s COVID crisis, the show will go on for the Kentridge Players. The Laramie Project moves to a virtual setting, with performances running October 15-17. Showtimes are 7:00 pm each evening and an additional 2:00 pm matinee performance on Saturday, October 17.
A cast of 45 logged in an unbelievable number of hours, individually rehearsing on TEAMS and ZOOM with Director Jenny Grajewski.
“Then we brought in each cast member, one at a time, took temperatures, wore masks, and socially distanced ourselves to record each person. We used students, KR Staff and community members to cast the show,” said Grajewski.
Emilio Torres, Kentridge Grad and now a NYU film student, recorded and edited the production.
“It is the play, but done in a very different way,” said Grajewski.
Grajewski was committed to complete this project because of two strong motivators.
- To create art with her students and model that great things can be done, even in adverse situations.
“Collaboration, creativity and compassion can help you get there,” said Grajewski.
- To offer a relevant play that resonates with the country’s current challenges.
“LARAMIE PROJECT recounts the true story of the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, told through interviews done with the citizens of LARAMIE. Matthew was murdered because he was gay and this started a huge movement in our country to protect LBGTQ!A+ individuals. It did not happen right away, but about a year after Matthew’s murder, laws in states and in our country started to change. People began to understand the magnitude of hate that there was about who individuals choose to love.
“We are obviously still working on this, but I saw a strong parallel with George Floyd and Racial Equity and Justice issues being protested right now. So, I decided to find a way to do LARAMIE,” said Grajewski.
Tickets are just $5, and proceeds will be donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation to help LGBTQIA+ teens in our community.
This play is rated PG13 due to language and mature subject matter. Grajewski included all the violence “because it is a big part of telling the story.”
Purchase Tickets: CLICK HERE
First Weekend of Filming: CLICK HERE
KR Players’ Laramie Trailer: CLICK HERE
