Orlando – When Baggy Pants Artistic Director Steve Halpin called the Matthew Shepard Foundation to float the idea of an interactive version of The Laramie Project, he was surprised to hear he was the first person to ever suggest the idea.
Since 2000, the play about how the townspeople of Laramie, Wyo., felt after the 1998 torture and murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard has been performed thousands of times. An estimated 30 million people have seen it.
Laramie and its follow up, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, created by Moises Kauffman and the Tectonic Theater Project, have been seen in high schools, colleges and community theaters as well as professional playhouses in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
In Halpin’s The Laramie Project: An Interactive Theater Experience, audience members are invited on stage to read parts and participate in the story. Six weekend performances are scheduled Jan. 17-26 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Creating and directing the first ever interactive version of Laramie has been a special experience for Halpin.
“It’s been one of the most fulfilling productions I’ve done,” he said. “It’s just really been a unique experience for everybody.”
A core group of 11 actors will play the 20 main characters. They are: Samantha Cooke, Mark Davids, Clare Ghezzi, Juli Goldstone, Max Goldstone, Melissa Gonzalez, Julie Gottfried, Michael Hooper, Cynthia McClendon, Hunter Rhyne and Peter Ruiz.
One of the actors, Peter Ruiz, 21, is a junior at Rollins College, where he most recently appeared in the summer production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. He also performed in The Laramie Project as a student at Evans High School.
Though Ruiz was 6 when Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence and left to die, it has made an enormous impact on him as a member of the LGBT community.
It’s an important show and I have wanted to take any opportunity to perform in it, Ruiz said. Theater is about changing hearts and minds and educating as much as it is about entertainment.
Performing with Baggy Pants Theater is Ruiz’s first work in community theater. While he did technical work for Mad Cow, he was never on stage. He is eager to participate in this interactive show with audience members.
“I think it adds even more to this idea that Laramie could be your town and this could be your city.” Ruiz said. “These people aren’t just there. They are everywhere. Audience members will further solidify this isn’t just a hick town. It’s like many towns across the country.”
Halpin, 55, a former youth minister who dabbled in real estate, founded Baggy Pants Theater in 2007 after returning to college to study theater.
His wife, Diane, a kindergarten teacher, encouraged him to return to school. So, he went to the University of Central Florida. His independent studies assignment was to create a community theater company.
Since then, Baggy Pants has produced plays including: Godspell, The Runaways, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Rent, Falsettos and The Laramie Project, Ten Years Later. Its performances were held at the Jewish Community Center in Maitland until this season. This is their first production at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater.
“Baggy Pants is definitely a community theater,” Halpin said. “So many people want to get involved in professional theater and make it a career. We are home for people who have other things in their lives, but they want to do theater and they want to have fun and do good work.”
To raise money for the interactive The Laramie Project, the board of Baggy Pants set up a Kickstarter fundraiser and raised $1,000 to help offset costs for the production. Cast members have been tasked with putting their own costumes together. Set designer Brandon Bolt, who attends Daytona State College, and Director’s Assistant Bob Eskin, work on the details.
Halpin likes to say he runs a theater with a mission. Most of the shows benefit the community. Ticket sales from Rent and Falsettos benefitted The Center, while the cast of Seussical visited Give Kids the World to perform songs and tell stories.
The Sunday matinees of Laramie will feature a talkback with high school students in attendance about hatred, fear and bullying.
Digging into Halpin’s past, there is a reason he has such a passion for this play and LGBT subjects. His best friend in high school came out gay in college and died of AIDS two years later. It has made Halpin want to give back.
“These are important topics, ” Halpin said. “Especially now.”
More Info:
WHAT: The Laramie Project : An Interactive Theater Experience
WHERE: Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E. Rollins Ave.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17-26
TICKETS: $10 at BaggyPantsTheater.com or 321-426-0252
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