Message in the truth
Milestone Theatre Co. launches at the Church of Truth with ‘The Laramie Project’
By Carl Kozlowski 07/22/2010
When two heartless thugs murdered Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard in October 1998 simply for being gay, they probably never realized they’d be caught. After all, they’d beaten him and left him to die while tied to a barbed-wire fence, miles from the nearest town.
Thankfully, they were caught, and in a greater twist of fate, Shepard became an inter-national icon in the fight against hate crimes committed against homosexuals. One major legacy of Shepard’s suffering and death was the creation of the powerful play “The Laramie Project,” which was written and produced by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project in 2000 and went on to be performed across the US, Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand, as well as becoming a highly acclaimed HBO film with a star-studded cast portraying the residents of Shepard’s hometown of Laramie and the myriad ways his horrific death affected them.
This weekend, the new local theater troupe Milestone Theater Co. will present “The Laramie Project” as its inaugural production, with a series of shows at the Church of Truth in Pasadena. According to Milestone director Mike Alva, the choice of “Laramie” came easily both because of its bold and creative style and because of the chance to also raise money for two local charities: the AIDS Service Center and PFLAG (Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) in Pasadena.
“We selected this play since it’s something I’ve been wanting to work on for a few years now,” says Alva, a Pasadena City College theater arts student who started Milestone with other PCC students in his department. “It’s the biggest production most of us involved have ever heard of starting from zero, but the community has been really supportive of us. People say thank you for making it because it’s a very important play. I’m learning that every single day.”
While the show typically is presented as a three-act series of monologues by eight actors portraying 60 townspeople, Alva says Milestone is presenting the show as “more theatrical and rooted in character relationships.” The troupe came up with the approach after analyzing the script and realizing which characters likely knew each other and could weave their monologues together into scenes.
Milestone’s eight-member cast is ready for the ambitious project, which landed at the Church of Truth — a non-denominational church that is known for being gay-friendly —after numerous other locations fell through.
“The Church of Truth found us and they came to us and we’re privileged to do it in their sanctuary,” says Alva. “I didn’t want the community to think it’s a church event, but I went down there and the atmosphere was perfect for what we needed, and the church believes in the message of this play: tolerance and respect for everyone. They’ve let us take over their church and a lot won’t let people do that. It’s all come together 200 percent by people doing it for free. I’ve never seen any type of camaraderie like this. It’s humbling in many respects.”
The Milestone Theatre Co. presents “The Laramie Project” at 8 p.m. Fridays, and at 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 1 at the Church of Truth, 690 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. Tickets are $25. Visit milestonetheatre.org for tickets.
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