MSF Supports Chicago Youth Theater Group in Laramie

“It really is life changing.”

So says a member of the American Theater Company’s Youth Conservatory as the group researched in Wyoming for their production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later . This talented group of young people traveled from Chicago to Laramie in June, and met with the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s Laramie Project Specialist Susan Burk, Matt’s childhood friend Zach Schneider, and several of the “real people” who are characters in the Laramie Project plays. In the shadow of Matt Shepard’s memorial bench on the University of Wyoming campus, Susan and Zach shared their experiences and answered questions about the play, Matthew, and how their lives had been affected by Matt’s death.

The Laramie Project and

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later are theatrical works which document the aftermath of Matthew Shepard’s brutal murder in an anti-gay hate crime in Laramie in 1998. The works were created by Tectonic Theater Project, and the young cast of ATC’s production said the subject matter can be emotionally difficult. “It opened my eyes,” said Janyce Caraballo. “I guess I lived in a bubble where I was used to people being loving and supportive it’s actually taken a toll on me.”

You can read more about American Theater Company’s trip here.