FYI Archives

Kim Barber Knoll, Chair of the Theatre Arts Department, was looking for something current and contemporary for the College’s spring 2010 production.

She found her show in “The Laramie Project,” which opens March 18 at Price Theater. The play is based on the 1998 murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student. Shepard was severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo. His death became a rallying cry for hate-crime legislation across the country.

Five weeks after Shepard died, playwright Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and, over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200 interviews with the townspeople. From those interviews came “The Laramie Project,” a chronicle of the life of the town in the year after the murder.

“This is a play that will resonate with and, I think, truly affect an audience,” said Kim Barber Knoll, the director and Chair of the Theatre Arts Department. “We are still facing many of the same issues today that are brought to light in this play.”

She said she started to get phone calls from local actors interested in auditioning as soon as the season was announced last spring.

“They wanted to be part of it,” she said. “They feel, as I do, very strongly about the story that is being told and about the incredible way in which it is told.”

The play is presented in an almost documentary style, with 60 characters telling their personal stories.

“The dialogue was not created’by a playwright. The text was taken directly from interviews with Laramie residents,” Barber Knoll said. “These are the words of the people of Laramie. The play is less about Matthew’s murder and more about the life and reaction of the town of Laramie after the crime.”

The cast of 30 features 19 students and 11 guest actors, including College alumni and faculty. Three of the guests drive from the Atlanta area to appear in the show. One of them is Toby Smallwood of Roswell, a 1997 graduate of the College.

“I grew up in a town out West that was all white and full of hate,” he said. “I wanted to speak out against that. The irony is that I was cast as a voice of hatred in the play, but the message of hope is at the very heart of this show.”

Senior Sam Gambino said the cast feels a strong connection to the play because of its similarities to their own lives.

“In Laramie, the college and the community are very closely related to each other, just like it is here (in LaGrange),” she said.

“We are a community that is very similar to Laramie, with similar issues,” he said. “This play forces you to examine what you believe and why.”

John Messerall, a guest actor from LaGrange, said the play isn’t written with a certain agenda in mind.

“It doesn’t have an ax to grind,” he said. “There is a lot of latitude for the audience to come up with their own thoughts and conclusions.”

Nate Tomsheck, Technical Director and Assistant Professor, said the play has a very personal resonance with him.

“I’m the same age as Matthew Shepard, and I was in college out West when all of this happened,” he said. “I was quite indifferent to it at the time. I wanted to do this play because it allows me to examine my life and finally ask those questions that I should have asked then.”

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. March 18-20 and March 25-27. The play contains explicit language and mature subject matter. It is not intended for children.

For reservations, call the box office at (706) 880-8080. In lieu of admission, patrons may make a donation to The Matthew Shepard Foundation.

College getting serious about tow-away zones

Beginning March 15th, the College will enforce a tow-away zone on the fire access roads on campus, according to Marty Pirrman, Vice President for Finance and Operations.

“For everyone’s safety, all fire lanes must be kept unobstructed, and all fire hydrants must be accessible at all times,” he said.

This means that any vehicle parked in an area with a yellow curbing and signage will be towed and fined. Specific areas include the access road in front of Turner Hall, and the passageways behind the Quillian Building and in front of Mariotti Gymnasium, but there are many other yellow-curbed areas on campus.
Keeping access roads open to emergency vehicles in case of fire or life-threatening events is vital for everyone’s safety.

“Failure to do so threatens all of us and also puts us in violation of the Georgia Fire Code,” he said.
Space will be dedicated for 5- and 10-minute loading zones, with appropriate signage, behind Candler Cottage and in front of Turner Hall.

“However, if you violate those limits or if you park in a yellow-curbed area, we will have no choice but to tow your vehicle,” Pirrman said. “Please note that this includes evenings and weekends.”

The College has communicated with both the LaGrange Police Department and Crockett Brothers’ Wrecker Service regarding enforcement measures. All vehicles that are towed will be taken to Crockett Brothers, which is located at 301 Vernon Street. The towing charge will be $100, plus $20 per day storage. Their office number is (706) 884-1404.

“As members of LaGrange College’s caring and ethical community, I know that, upon some reflection, we can all agree this is a matter we simply cannot ignore,” Pirrman said. “The safety of all members of this community, not the desire for individual convenience, must guide us in all such decisions. I am certain that the members of this community will realize the importance of compliance with these regulations, that we will be able to count on your cooperation and that there will be few instances when we will be required to resort to the enforcement measures planned for violators.”

LaGrange College to offer Education Specialist Degree – Hogansville Home News, Feb. 19
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