2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 3/29/06 Section: Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
The amount of ignorance shown in the article on the student-produced piece, The Laramie Project, is utterly astounding. Aside from the obvious ignorance surrounding the event itself, the lack of research that went into this smolderingly horrific article is nothing short of tragic. Where to begin is lost on me, as there are so many places where it is clear that the author had no knowledge whatsoever. To begin with, the use of "like" so often in the speech of the actors was IN the script. This would have been an important detail to look into before condemning the actors. The basis of this play was a series of interviews done by (more than 2, another flawed piece of information) members of the Tectonic Theatre Company. The reasoning behind the language, dialect, and hand gestures was the simple fact that the people they interviewed TALKED like that, they ACTED like that, they SOUNDED like that. It was not a portrayal created by the actors; it was their realistic portrayal of people who actually existed.
Another "problem" this writer had with the production was with the costuming. When referring to the fact that the characters had no costuming, one might want to consider the fact that this was not an event that happened 50 years ago. It happened less than 10 years ago, in "a time" when people dressed similarly to the way we do now. And aside from the fact that costuming would have been ridiculously expensive for a student run senior project, keep in mind the fact that over 200 interviews were taken with at LEAST 50 different people. I challenge you to find 50 students on campus who would have the talent to do what these students created on stage.
And on top of it all, despite the faulty logic, the lack (and just plan creation) of facts, the author has the audacity to challenge the effect this play has had on people. Each night it ran, there was a full house and people had to be turned away. Each night, students walked away crying and shaking because the world in which they had previously lived was turned upside down.
The amount of ignorance shown in the article on the student-produced piece, The Laramie Project, is utterly astounding. Aside from the obvious ignorance surrounding the event itself, the lack of research that went into this smolderingly horrific article is nothing short of tragic. Where to begin is lost on me, as there are so many places where it is clear that the author had no knowledge whatsoever. To begin with, the use of "like" so often in the speech of the actors was IN the script. This would have been an important detail to look into before condemning the actors. The basis of this play was a series of interviews done by (more than 2, another flawed piece of information) members of the Tectonic Theatre Company. The reasoning behind the language, dialect, and hand gestures was the simple fact that the people they interviewed TALKED like that, they ACTED like that, they SOUNDED like that. It was not a portrayal created by the actors; it was their realistic portrayal of people who actually existed.
Another "problem" this writer had with the production was with the costuming. When referring to the fact that the characters had no costuming, one might want to consider the fact that this was not an event that happened 50 years ago. It happened less than 10 years ago, in "a time" when people dressed similarly to the way we do now. And aside from the fact that costuming would have been ridiculously expensive for a student run senior project, keep in mind the fact that over 200 interviews were taken with at LEAST 50 different people. I challenge you to find 50 students on campus who would have the talent to do what these students created on stage.
And on top of it all, despite the faulty logic, the lack (and just plan creation) of facts, the author has the audacity to challenge the effect this play has had on people. Each night it ran, there was a full house and people had to be turned away. Each night, students walked away crying and shaking because the world in which they had previously lived was turned upside down.