FORT WORTH, Texas — Timber Creek High School students say they hope Keller ISD leaders will reconsider cancelling their performance of The Laramie Project, a play detailing the Wyoming town's struggle with the murder of a gay 21-year-old.
Though roles were cast in January, school leaders confirmed this week the pupils will perform a different play. More than 70 students were slated to participate on-stage.
"The decision to move forward with another production at Timber Creek High School was based on the desire to provide a performance similar to the ones that have created much excitement from the community, like this year’s Keller ISD musical productions of Mary Poppins and White Christmas," the district said in a statement. "The decision was a collaborative one made by many stakeholders."
Through a series of short scenes, The Laramie Project depicts playwrights' interviews with townspeople conducted after Matthew Shepard's 1998 murder. The University of Wyoming student was tortured and left to die, in what's now considered a hate crime.
The show is sometimes credited for highlighting policy gaps affecting the LGBTQ+ population. In 2009, congress approved the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal hate crime laws to include crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Timber Creek sophomore Taylor Silvestri was selected to play Reggie Fluty, the police officer who first saw Shepard's battered body bound to a fence.
"I love theater and I love storytelling," Silvestri told WFAA Tuesday. "To not have this opportunity anymore to tell such an important story in history is just tragic."
Sophomore William Sampson signed up to play Stephen Belber, one of the playwrights who conducted interviews with Laramie residents.
"It's a terrible tragedy," Sampson told WFAA. "But it's truly heartwarming to see how a town that's still shaken by this tragedy - from all viewpoints - comes together to grow."
Silvestri and Sampson are among the students who say they're confused by school officials' decision to cancel the play. The district's public explanation leaves too much room for speculation, they said.
Students will still read, discuss, and analyze the play in their production classes, the district said.
"We already know what it's about," Sylvestri said. "We've read it. We understand. But people out there are never going to experience that with us."
Sylvestri said school leaders selected in the fall a version of The Laramie Project they deemed appropriate for middle-schoolers. Sampson said he'd appreciate if officials would identify any lines or page numbers that might've prompted their decision to nix the show.
"If we had a reason like that, I'd personally feel much better," Sampson said. "I'm a little confused, because we've definitely done plays that haven't generated 'community excitement,' but have been important and great performance opportunities."
Some Timber Creek students plan to escalate the issue to the Keller ISD school board during its next meeting.
In the last year, those trustees approved a series of policies affecting LGBTQ+ students. The board required students to use bathrooms matching their genders assigned at birth, and barred teachers from encouraging others to identify LGBTQ+ students by their preferred pronouns.
More than 2,000 people have so far signed a Change.org petition, calling for the play's revival.
"It's an historical piece," Sylvestri said. "People need to experience it and I think the show is such a great way to spread awareness."
In response to the latest ban Tectonic Theater Project’s Founding Artistic Director, Moisés Kaufman released the following statement:
“When the administration of the Timber Creek High School cancels a production of The Laramie Project, it’s telling the LGBTQ students that their stories are unwelcome, that they should refrain from speaking their truth and that that community is not willing to listen. This is a terrible thing to do to any minority. The Laramie Project has been performed in thousands of universities and high schools around the world. The only logical reason to censor it is homophobia – and that’s not what that school should be teaching its children.”
NOTE: The following video was uploaded in Nov. 2023