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aramie, Wyoming has a hopulation of about 6,700 people, and the town police sergeant says the residents in this 'gem city of the plains' seemed to believe in the motto 'live and let live'. On Oct. 6 1998, all that changed forever when 21- year-old gay college student Matthew Shepard met two young men at The Fireside Bar in Laramie. Eighteen hours later, a cyclist found Shepard on a rural road brutally beaten, uncon- scious and trussed up to a fence like a scarecrow left to die. On Oct. 8, Russell Hen- derson and Aaron McKin. ney were arraigned and arrested on charges of first- degree murder. Production of 'The Laramie Project' funds local exhibition of AIDS Quilt Oct. 12. Matthew Shep- ard died at Poudre Valley Health Centre, never regain- ing consciousness after five days in a coma. Henderson and McKinney are currently serving two consecutive life sentences for Shepard's murder; McKinney spared the death penalty, only on the wish of Matthew's father Dennis Shepard. The murder sent a shock- wave through the country; the grotesque slaying mak- Ing front-page headlines coast to coast, and little unassuming Laramie. Wyoming became the cerr tre of national media scruti- ny. The people's varied mac ttons to this hate crtme. and more crucially their varied attitudes toward It, make up the one of the most comm- versial pieces of theatre to come along In a longtime -- The Laramie Protest - which opens this week at the Hniversity of Waterloo The Laramie Proper' was construcled from the notions of playwright Moi- sex Kaufman and his New York Tectonic Theatre Troupe, who went to Br Com Amiasua For The Chronicle MHRCH BREGK TOONIE Sptitmi. c9995; All the hm rtlll gan stand for just seniors - Adults mummmww-mu-rmm WATERLOO BOWLING LAKES 886-2900 886-2370 Laramie and spent almost two years interviewing 200 townspeople about the Shepard murder. Kaufman wanted to delve into this small-town psyche. uncover the layers of prejudice, fear, anxiety, paranoia. anger and horror beneath, to find out through human dialogue what happens when a town 15 literally ripped apart by an event of this magnitude. Last year The Laramie Project was one of the most frequently performed plays across North America on campus, university, and pro- gressive theatre circuits. community groups and high schools, Audiences of all ages experience a troupe of actors playing aver 60 differ- ent roles as they try m the most naturalistic “we poisi- ble to represent the lawns‘ people of Iaramie Studio 180 presents the Laramie Project at the Universtiy of Waterloo, March " In November 2000. Kaur man and his Tectonic play- ers took the show to Laramie. and In 2002 HBO TV made a stnaU-qcreert docu-drama Won with an all-star cast including laneane Garofalo, Peter " PRINCESS ST. WEST, WATERLOO 82 PER GAME , March 10 - 14 Free Shoe Rental ARTS FOCUS Still, the play is definitely the thing to see as Canadi- ans flocked to sold-out shows of Studio 180's pro- duction of The Laramie Pro- jecl at its Canadian pre- miere at Toronto's Artword Theatre. Fonda. Laura Linney, Christina Ricci, and Steve Buscemi. Studio 180 is named after the UW's Hagey Hall inti- mate black box theatre space - HH i80, And the company is all UW drama alumni under the artistic direction and vision of UW drama professor loel Green- This week, for a limited run from March 5-8, Studio l80 returns to UW's Theatre of the Arts -- an old familiar friend to all the players including rising Stratford star Jonathan Goad, who plays the title role in Peticles for The Stratford Festival next season In the Laramie Project. Goad plays both Shepard killen, Henderson and MCK- inney. "(he is very non-vocal HRUNICH (Henderson). You see the moment where he is actual' ly sentenced," says Goad, who was relaxing before last Saturday's sold-out Toronto matinee. "McKinney is the main man, and Russell Hen- derson is a contributor and certainly goes along with it all. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the banality of it all. That's what comes across at McKinney's testimony. He isn't actively going out to beat up gays. but the fact that he did seemed to mean very little to him. That's why this is a hate crime. but it sort of falls in the middle, No matter who they attacked that- night. they probably would have beaten them up pretty badly even if they were not gay The truth is this guy had been weaned in a society that was not necessarily gay- positive. and he is not gay- positive It's that violence for violence sake, and that IS the kind of violence that really blown your mind" Iskt year in Prince Albert Conunucdonpqels When The Waterloo Stage Theatre opened its doors in 1997. one of the goals of the theatre compa- ny was to produce family entertainment. The annual March break show continues to fulfill that goal with this year's production - The Rise and Fall of Humpty Dumpty: The Heart-warming Tale of an Egg With a Dream. The Rise and Fall of Humpty Dummy, written and directed by Waterloo Stage Theatre funny man Ran- dolph 1. Johnston (The Bible: Abridged and Cinderella). tells that there is more to the Humpty Dumpty story than just falling off a wall and not being able to be put together again. After singing alone on his wait for many years, Humpty is discovered by a big-shot Hollywood agent and promised the life of a superstar. A -rr, Ah, Through plen- ty of hard work, Humpty climbs his way to the top to play "The Palace" for the King and all his horses and men. Told through V humour and song . in the tradition of March break shows past, Humpty Dumpty is sure to entertain children of all ages. "Generally we took for productions with familiar themes and stories that children recognize," describes theatre general manager Steve Roth. "The kids love the characters and visuals. Moms and dads have just as much hm as their children with all the humour that is added." Every year The Waterloo Stage Theatre invites some of its alumni to take part in this annual event, many of whom have done previous March break shows. This year's cast includes Randolph I. John- slon. Tara Kent (Aladdin). Frank Neary (Cinderella), Conner Rea, Heather Stewart . lane Hailes, Niki Chambers and Brian My (all from Cinderella) and Robb Wilson (Oklahoma) to name a few. The Rise and Fall nfllumpry Dummy plays during the March break -- March 10-14. with two shows daily. one at l0 a.m. and one at l:30 pm. For informa. tion or ticket reservations. call the Waterloo Stage Theatre box office at EBB-(XIX) or visit the website at www_waterloostagetheatrecom where tickets are available online. All tickets are $10. "Every year we look forward to the March break Show. If your children have never experienced a live theatrical experience. youll have to come out to enjoy The kids just get so involved in the production. It's a hooc" brings back popular March break production Waterloo Stage Theatre 11iiiiiiitg 3111:11pr V -e ?iiiiifiis1