The College of Southern Marylands Theatre Company announces its cast for the Cause Theatre production of The Laramie Project, a play by Moisés Kaufman and the members of Tetonic Theatre Project.
In October 1998 a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyo. His bloody, bruised and battered body was not discovered until the next day, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he was the victim of this assault because he was gay. The Laramie Project is a breathtaking theatrical collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.
CSMs Cause Theatre offers several touring shows per semester, each bringing to light a different social issue, designed to be informative and challenging. Each is followed by a facilitated discussion. The Laramie Project, presents the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation, and hate crimes in general.
CSMs The Laramie Project is comprised of an ensemble cast in which each of the actors play multiple roles. Cast includes Laura Stephens, Sean Smith, Robert Rausch, Matt Jameson, all of Waldorf; Alison Haney, Joanna Collier, Jill Potter and Jeremy Hunter, all of La Plata; Mia McCaslin of Port Tobacco; Brandon Jones of Cheltenham; Banafsheh Wallace of Fort Washington and Jennifer Nunez of Chaptico.
Performances are March 22-24 on the Leonardtown Campus, Building A, Auditorium; March 29-31 on the La Plata Campus, Black Box Theatre, Room FA-143, all showing at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5. Old Line Bank is the sponsor for the College of Southern Marylands 2011-12 Arts season. For information contact bxoffc@csmd.edu, 301-934-7828, 240-725-5499, 443-550-6199, 301-870-2309, Ext. 7828 or http://www.csmd.edu/Arts.