The Laramie Project Read from Our Lecture PDF: Introduction to Drama Review our

The Laramie Project
Read from Our Lecture PDF: Introduction to Drama
Review our Lecture PDF:  Literary Theory lecture (Queer Theory)
Read the article (and view the videos) on The Laramie Project from the Denver Center of the Performing Arts: https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/how-the-laramie-project-changed-theatre-and-the-world/ (Links to an external site.)
Course Viewing – The Laramie Project Film:
The Laramie Project (Links to an external site.)
The Laramie Project
In October 1998, 21 year-old Mathew Shepard was found savagely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. “The Laramie Project” is the portrait of a town painfully forced to confront itself in the reflective glare of the national spotlight responding with love, anger, sympathy, support, and defiance.
In writing the original play, Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project interviewed approximately 100 Laramie residents, and included their own reactions to the crime and to the interviews they carried out. These interviews served as the basis for the play and the HBO film version we will be discussing in class. The film is structured as if it were a documentary; it attempts to re-enact and dramatize the events that occurred on that fateful night. Kaufman’s objective was to learn through the Laramie residents’ raw responses how the issues of homosexuality, religion, class, economics, education, and non-traditional lifestyles were reflected through this crime.
For your 1200 word analysis, focus on how the crime against Mathew Shephard defined the culture, not just of Laramie, but of the entire United States. In addition to your analysis of 1998 American values, please consider this hate crime in light of today’s society. How would Americans react to such a crime today? Consider current and proposed legislation (and attitudes) towards hate crimes, gay marriage, gay parenting, and gay rights. Include a reference to Queer Literary Theory in your introduction.
You will need to make specific references to the people of Laramie and events that took place after Shepard’s beating, so keep a pen and pad handy as you watch the film. You need to refer to at least 5 specific scenes and people as portrayed in the film. Use quotation marks around all dialogue you choose to quote.  Your grade will be based on the thoroughness of your analysis, your thoughtfulness of ideas, and your openmindedness!
The Laramie Project makes up 15% of your final grade (15 points). 
Assignment Requirements:
1.  Refer to at least 5 specific scenes and people as portrayed in the film. 
2.  Include a reference to Queer Literary Theory in your introduction.
3.  Break up your ideas into multiple paragraphs.  The general rule is to keep one idea per paragraph, so essays written with very few paragraphs will be marked down.  Please make sure your paragraphs are well-developed – at least 5-6 sentences long.  Add a transitional phrase at the beginning of each paragraph.
4.  If you choose to quote dialogue: Use quotation marks and write strong and detailed signal phrases to introduce your quotes. Papers with weak or missing signal phrases will not receive a grade higher than a B.
5.  Make sure that your quotes make up less than 20% of your word count!
6.  Write at least 1200 words!
https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/how-the-laramie-project-changed-theatre-and-the-world/