The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 27

SALINA JOURNAL encore! FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2006 D3 "That's really what the play addresses so powerfully: Is compassion a basic human instinct, or is it something we have to witness or experience to learn?" Mark Christopher Baer, actor Forgiveness in Laramie Play examines how a father could forgive his son's murderers By GARY DEMUTH Salina Journal ABILENE How can a father forgive the two men who brutally beat his son and tied his unconscious body to a barbed wire fence, leaving him to die in the middle of a cold prairie? That was the fate of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who, in October 1998, was kidnapped and killed by two men he'd met in a bar in Laramie. Robbery was not a motive for the crime, investigators soon discovered. Shepard was killed because he was gay The murder and trial of Shepard's assailants and the effect the crime had on the citizens of Laramie became the subject of a play written by award-winning writer-director Moises Kaufman and his Teutonic Theatre group. "The Laramie Project" has been produced throughout the United States to wide acclaim. Compassion and understanding are themes that run throughout the play which ultimately turns it from a tragic tale to an uplifting piece of theater, said Richard Esvang, artistic director of Great Plains Theatre Festival, who is producing the play set to run March 17-26.

The people portrayed in the play include Shepard's father, Dennis, who expresses his grief in the courtroom whUe at the same time showing forgiveness for the killers, who ultimately are spared the death penalty Actor Mark Christopher Baer plays Dennis Shepard in the Abilene production. When he first read the play, Baer said, he was moved by the generosity and compassion shown by a man who had no reason to forgive such a brutal crime again.st his son. "That's reaUy what the play addresses so powerfully," said TOM DORSEY Salina Journal Lyndsey Agron (left) and Greg Hall (right) listen as Richard Esvang stages a scene from the Great Plains Theatre Festival's production of "The Laramie Project." Esvang Is the director of the play. Baer, Canton, Ohio. "Is compassion a basic human instinct, or is it something we have to witness or experience to learn?" Just a coincidence Esvang said "The Laramie Project" is a play he has wanted to do for several years.

He said it is a coincidence it is being produced around the same time the film "Brokeback Mountain" is being shown, which depicts a secret and tragic affair between two male ranch hands. "This play was selected long before 'Brokeback Mountain' was released, but they're both similar in that they're very complex works with a lot of depth and meaning and an overarching sense of humanity," Esvang said. The play is billed as a "director's choice" production, which means it doesn't have to fit the more commercial criteria required for the theater's main- stage season, Esvang said. "We want a lot of people to see it, but it is challenging material," he said. "We're trying to grow an audience who likes this sort of theater by making this kind of material available to them." "The Laramie Project" is written in a documentary style, using interviews of local townspeople, Shepard's friends and family and the doctors who treated him.

The impressionistic theatrical collage explores the depths to which humanity can sink, and the heights of compassion that can come out of tragedy, Esvang said. "It uses words people actually said, but there's no narration or commentary to tell an audience how to feel," he said. "Detectives, bartenders, teachers and doctors relate the events of that night, and their words speak for themselves. It allows the audience to form their own opinions and feelings about the event." Multiple characters The eight professional actors in the production play multiple characters not only townspeople, but members of the theatrical company who conduct the interviews, and the media that invade the town in the wake of the tragedy The play also includes a portrayal of notorious Topeka pastor Fred Phelps, known for protesting the funerals of gays and AIDS victims and who recently has targeted military funerals. Actress Mary Watson, Farmington.

plays a friend of Shepard's who leads a counter- protest at his funeral to shield Shepard's friends and family from Phelps and his minions. She said she didn't realize how close Phelps' church was to Abi- THEPIAY: "The'Laramie Project," a Great Plains Theatre Festival production. WHEN: 8 p.m. March 17, 18, 23, 24, 25; 7:30 p.m. March 21; 2 p.m.

March 19, 22, 26. WHERE: 300 N. Mulberry, Abilene. TICKETS: $17.50 for adults, $11 for students. MORE INFORMATION: 1-888-222-4574, (785) 263-2903.

Due to adult material and strong language, this play may not be suitable for children under 18. lene until she arrived in Kansas. Watson said she'd read the play years ago and hoped that some day she'd have the opportunity to act in it. "I recently graduated from college and jumped at the chance to do real, hard-core theater," she said. "I'm really glad I have the chance to do it here." Reporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405, or by e-mail at 150 S.

Santa FB 785.452.9868 MAR9-1S Match Point SHOWTIMES 5:00 7:30 5 7:30 2:00 S.00 7:30 Maiby 12:30 5:00 7:30 www.salinaartcenter.org Museum plans for growth By The Hays Dally News GOODLAND The High Plains Museum has run out of space. Museiun director Linda Holton said the museum already rents off-site storage and has turned down some donations because of lack of space. "That's not a good position to be in," she said. Holton has been working with the museum's advisory board to resolve the space issue, and the focus has turned to a new building for the city museum. Architect Alan Stecklein of Stecklein Brungardt.

Hays, started working on plans for a new building three years ago. The museum, 1717 Cherry, has 4,500 square feet used for exhibits, storage and a workshop. The new building will be 11,000 square feet on the main level and a basement. The proposed location for the new museum is 14 acres at the east Interstate Highway 70 exit to GoodJand. JfCIUUfJ! isiiiiillii liiiiiiliiiHi SPECIAL 15 pc.

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