This year, USM has not one but count ’em, two shows traveling to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Regional Festival. “The Laramie Project” and “November/December” have been chosen as two out of only six productions to compete in the Region 1 division of the annual festival, which includes colleges from throughout the New England states. Both plays will be performed in their entirety with fully mounted sets during the four-day event, which takes place at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island on January 26 – 30, 2005.
“The Laramie Project” is a play comprised for the most part of dialogue excerpted from interviews conducted shortly after Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998. Written by Moises Kaufman, the play is directed by USM faculty Wil Kilroy. The cast consists of eight actors, all of whom take on a number of different roles over the course of the production, to ultimately tell the story of a community coming to terms with a hate crime committed close to home.
“November/December” is the story of four students struggling with the trials and tribulations of their early twenties. With poignant humor and dialogue that’s both sharp and lyrical, the play was written by USM student Chris Gyngell, and directed by faculty members Tomas Power and William Steele. In addition to being selected for the Kennedy Center Festival, Gyngell has also been chosen as one of six finalists competing for the National Student Playwriting Award.
While in Rhode Island for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, USM students and faculty from both “The Laramie Project” and “November/December” will have an opportunity to attend a number of workshops, seminars, and exhibits, in addition to performances of each of the competing productions. At the end of the four days, one play is chosen to continue to the Kennedy Center American College Theater National Festival, to be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in April. Good luck and congratulations to the cast and crew of both productions; the honor is well-deserved on both counts!