Gunn High School’s production of "The Laramie Project" was a stunning and honest representation of the tragic events and aftershocks revolving around the murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wy., in 1998.

First produced by the Techtonic Theater Project in 2000, the play is a compilation of interviews from various Laramie individuals which have been pieced together to recall the events leading to and following the trials of the accused Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney. The play is framed by the company’s explanation of the project and follows company members through their experience in collecting the interviews. However, the purpose of the story is not to retell the events, but to reflect on how they altered the town as well as the individuals who live there by hearing it through their own experiences.

Throughout much of the play, there is a somber, "personalized" atmosphere created by a black stage and backdrop, spotlights on speaking characters, and two screens on either side of the stage showing still images of key locations such as "the fence" or the university. In this particular production, the use of a small theater added to the cozy, personal atmosphere and connected audience members to the stage, which could not have been done in a larger auditorium. The use of music in this production was crucial in establishing mood. The subtle, meaningful selections such as the Beatles’ "Let it Be" were ideal and added another dimension to the intensity of the play.

Because the cast consisted of 14 actors portraying at least 79 characters, the use of slight differentiation between roles, such as a hat or vest, and the use of hat stands in dim lighting at the back of the stage, created a minimum amount of distraction during quick character changes on stage and maintained the flow of the story.

There was a great deal of believability to the characters and an overall sense of reality to the production. The use of presumably unedited interviews containing poor grammar, "ums…," etc, greatly contributed to the humanity of the characters.

The acting in this production was extremely convincing, and several times, the audience was moved to tears. No part was over or under acted, and each character became a real person in the eyes of the audience. Differentiation of voice was often used as a transition from character to character, and one of the more noticeable tools was that of volume. One example would be when a character was recalling an e-mail he received because of his views on homosexuality in relationship to the tragedy of Matthew Shepard’s beating. The e-mail is read by a second actor in the role of the outraged author, passionately screaming in the face of her opponent. The contrast between the quiet interviewee and the e-mail writer forces the audience to pay attention and adds further drama and intensity to the scene.

Throughout the play, there is constant movement and a definite flow to the story. In his direction, Shelby has created a stage surging with movement and sound without overloading the viewer. The contrast between fast and slow movement was also expertly used in creating reality with few or no props. For example, in scenes where press is involved, the pace became quicker and the stage busier to create the effect of a newsroom or television crew. There were no confusing elements of direction and the stage was balanced in terms of placement when an interview was being conducted.

One scene that stood out from others because of its originality was the recreation of a candlelight vigil. In the scene, the stage becomes completely dark as a narrator reads a list of cities which participated in some from of mourning. As the name of a city is read, a lighter is flicked on. Eventually, every cast member is holding a lighter and the stage has become silent with 14 small flames hovering in the darkness.

Because of the originality and honest nature of the production, the play evoked many strong emotions in the audience. The nature in which the play was presented allowed the honest opinions of the individual to be expressed. Because of the honesty in which the play revels, it is crucial that viewers keep an open mind as the production covered a wide spectrum of opinions relating to several controversial issues such as sexual orientation