A Beaverton High School Bans 'The Laramie Project'
Southridge High School in Beaverton has canceled a play about the story of Matthew Shepard, after the principal deemed the sexual content and the play's use of profanity offensive.
"The Laramie Project" was in production at Southridge High School when Principal Amy Gordon decided to put a stop to it. Gordon would not comment. Imagine that.
The play chronicles the true story of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, who was killed seven years ago in Laramie, Wyoming. The production — which has been performed at hundreds of schools across the country including at Century High School in Hillsboro — pieces together the events surrounding the killing through the reactions of numerous residents of Laramie.
Members of the theater community are charging that the play is under attack because it features a gay character, not because of its sexual or vulgar content.
Wade Willis, Southridge theater arts director, chose the play for its educational value and the challenge it would present student actors, he said.
"Everything I hear about presenting something 'controversial' is that you have to put forth all sides," Willis told The Oregonian. "You can't be more complete than this in presenting multiple points of view."
But Maureen Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the school district, said the play is considered controversial because it contains profanities and sexual content.
She also said Willis failed to have the selection reviewed by the school's principal in keeping with the district's controversial materials policies.
Willis said he is holding a community meeting at the high school on Wednesday night to hear reactions from parents, students and community members.
At Century High School, theater instructor Bill Johnson said "The Laramie Project" met initial resistance from school officials. It eventually ran after profanities and one sensitive scene were removed.
"We looked at it from a discrimination standpoint," Johnson said. "It's a murder story and the victim happened to be gay, and that's why he was killed. Why is this any different from Anne Frank, who was killed for her religion, or 'Romeo and Juliet'?"
via 365gay.com
Visit The Matthew Shepard Foundation
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 12:49 PM.
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BySeveral universities in the Washington, DC area put on The Laramie Project a few years ago, including the University of Maryland. Fred Phelps (whose character appears in the script) and the Westboro Baptist Church organized a protest at UM performances of Laramie, in the spirit of their protest of Shepherd's funeral.
This play is beautifully written, politically powerful and compellingly honest. Oregon educators should jump at the opportunity to see it performed at their schools. If Amy Gordon is afraid of trouble from Phelps or from a similar group, I encourage her to take a deep breath and consider which is more important: upholding the freedom of diverse expression, or keeping hate-filled extremists happy.
See the advertisement that WBC distributed for its picket of a UM football game and the Laramie performances. Notice that Phelps is not picketing the performance because the play misrepresents him, but rather because "God Hates Fags."
Click here to view flier
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Um, did you guys miss the news story about the Matthew killing not being a "hate" crime but rather a robbery over drug money?
You can see my my post if you need some enlightenment.
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What people are not saying now, though, is that the play DID go on. It's production was last week, after the committie passed it as a school play. I am a junior at southridge high school, and, unfortunatlly, i wasn't able to go to the play, due to time issues, but i have seen the play before. So, although she did cancel the play in the fall, I think she did that just go the press would go away, thenshe could put it on in the spring. I honestlly think she had every intention to put the play on.
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There was a bigger issue. This particular play was placed in the season filled with hate (apparently) How Noises Off, Curious Savage and Westside Story all emulate this theme requires some extreme reaching and twisting of the major themes. Sadly enough many parents and theatre people in the community were blinded by the supposed act of betrayal toward the art of theatre, and the loved director of the program. "How could they do this to him?" Unfortunately few heard the entire story - When the director announced his musical (nearly 9 months earlier) Westside, he had made it clear to his students that that would be his last musical at Southridge. The kids huddled after that announcement and the 'knew' what was going down. now put the puzzle pieces together, people... The play was produced not to enlighten and educate the audiences about tolerance as Moises Kaufman (the playwright)wanted it. It was produced to become a political manifestation of hate and intolerance... the exact opposite of Kaufman intended. This was also an attempt to drag the school into the quagmire of hate. Try to turn the community against a school that represents Beaverton so well, and a set of administrators who have lead the school (but did not meet up to the director's expectations). The question is what good did it do? ... It brought a director into the much needed spotlight.... after all how many plays did this man appear in the beaverton/portland area that year when he should have been teaching the kids? How many people/students/parents/adults are still healing from the wounds this production created? How many people really see what the TRUE POINT of Laramie Project is? It was clouded by the sad motives of person and many of his followers who used this play as a vicious weapon.
Laramie is right up there with ANGELS IN AMERICA with showing tolerance and bringing truths to the surface, but sadly enough, there are still many, many, many people harboring hard feelings because someone wanted to use a "PIECE OF ART" as self-serving "WEAPON" of hate and cloud the truths of what was really going on.
The play did go off beautifully... I happened to witness the closing performance and the talk back..What I also witnessed was a great many people blindly following the 'faith' in a director who was not telling the entire truth to a very caustic situation. Let the truth speak now. The production is over. Let Moises Kaufman's words speak loudly. Tolerance is not just an action, it is a belief. Wounds must be healed. And life must go on. This play will be produced elsewhere. This play will be challenged again. Move on. Southridge will produce more productions to come. Hopefully this new director will steer clear of the hostility and remember ART IS BEAUTIFUL!
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I saw it as well in a packed house that Saturday night. I don't exactly agree with you...
I don't think that the intentions were to create a politcal statement at all. I know staff at the school as well (sounds like you have ties to the school)--the play didn't get to be seen by the students because of fear. 100% fear and ignorance.
It's that plain and simple.
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we are doing Laramie in my hihg school right now.
we are editing the hell out of it.
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I was a Freshman at Southridge when the play went on. Now I'm a Junior there, and there are still reprocutions, even with the new Theater teacher.
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