HFC holds auditions for "The Laramie Project" Aug. 26

The HFC Theatre Arts department will hold auditions for its fall production of The Laramie Project from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, in Room 161 of the MacKenzie Fine Arts Center (Building F on the main campus).

The audition will consist of a cold reading from the script. Video auditions are also accepted via email, according to director Sarah Hawkins. If cast, registration in a 3-credit theater production class will be required. Multiple parts are available for both men and women.

The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project details the reaction to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Laramie, WY. On Oct. 6, 1998, Shepard – who attended the University of Wyoming – was brutally beaten and tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie. He died six days later due to severe head trauma at the age of 21. His murderers Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson each received two consecutive life sentences.

Shepard’s murder was a watershed moment that was denounced as a hate crime, bringing national and international attention to hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels. In 2009, the U.S. Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (a.k.a. the “Matthew Shepard Act” or “Shepard/Byrd Act”). On Oct. 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.

The Laramie Project draws upon hundreds of interviews conducted by the theater company with inhabitants of the town, company members’ own journal entries, and published news reports. It is divided into three acts. The play debuted in 2000 and inspired grassroots efforts to combat homophobia.

In 2002, HBO commissioned a film version of The Laramie Project due to the play's success. The film version – also written and directed by Kaufman – included an ensemble cast: Oscar winner Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), Golden Globe winner/Oscar nominee Laura Linney (Primal Fear, Love Actually), Emmy winner Camryn Manheim (The Practice, Person of Interest), Golden Globe nominee Christina Ricci (The Opposite of Sex, Sleepy Hollow), Nestor Carbonell (The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises), and Dylan Baker (Selma, Road to Perdition), among others.

The Laramie Project will be performed Nov. 8-11 and Nov. 15-18 in the Adray Auditorium (Building F). For questions or further information or submission of video auditions, contact Hawkins at smoan@hfcc.edu.