Newsroom

Raritan Valley Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Department will stage a student production of The Laramie Project, November 2-5, at 7 p.m. Performances for the show, written by  Moisés Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, will be presented in the in the Welpe Theatre at the College’s Branchburg campus.

The production is being directed by RVCC Theatre Professor Dennis Russo. Theatre major Nathaniel Pickens is Assistant Director.

In October 1998, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten, and left 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 assaulted because he was gay.

Over a year-and-a-half period, in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard, Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the town’s residents. Some people interviewed were directly connected to the case, while others were citizens of Laramie. The breadth of the reactions to the crime is fascinating.

Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience from these interviews and their own experiences in Laramie. The Laramie Project is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.

For tickets, at $12 for general admission and $8 for students, contact the Box Office, 908-725-3420. For additional information, call 908-218-8876.

The cast and crew includes:

Hayley Pellis – High Bridge

Anna Logan – Berkeley Heights

Jack Leichter – Bedminster

Ethan Anidjar – Asbury

Anthony Rake – Flemington

Matt Rooney – Somerville

Kamali Davis – Franklin Park

Dennis Scanlon – Branchburg

Carissa Strauss – Bridgewater

Arian Martinez – Somerset

Ashley Tirado – Bound Brook

Renae Raymond – Washington

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development and personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses, and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.



###


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 26, 2016

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #49