USSN: In the News

Unitarian minister Stephen Mead Johnson (Yan Gorman): “Most Americans believe… that the Bible is the word of God, and how you gonna fight that?”

Bartender Matt Galloway (Shane Rose), center, a key eyewitness, explains to Barbara Pitts (Cayla Wardenburg) and Greg Pierotti (Jeremy Brown) what he saw that night.
Father Roger Schmit (played by Father Phil Rountree): “I will trust you people that if you write a play of this, that you say it right, say it correct.”

“Two years ago, because I am a Muslim,” says Zubaida Ula (Cayla Wardenburg), “I decided to start wearing a scarf. That’s really changed my life in Laramie. Yeah.”

“I know who he was,” says Devonne Johnson, who plays an anonymous friend of one of the killers.

At first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a split-rail fence was a scarecrow.

But when he stopped to take a closer look, to his horror, he discovered the battered, burned and nearly lifeless body of a delicately-featured young man.
On Oct. 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 22-year-old, openly gay college student at the University of Wyoming, was kidnapped, driven out to a secluded area, robbed, pistol-whipped, burned and left to die, lashed to a fence for over 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures on a rural road in Laramie, Wyoming, Pop. 26,687 — whose town motto is “Live and Let Live.”

After lying in a coma for five days, Matthew Shepard died. Two Laramie residents, Russell A. Henderson, 21, and Aaron J. McKinney, 22, were apprehended and convicted of the crime.

A month later, playwright Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, conducting more than 200 interviews with its residents — the transcripts of which make up the script of a play called “The Laramie Project.”
In an extremely gutsy move by a San Marin High School drama teacher whose program and very job was facing the axe due to the school districts’ current budget crisis, Linda Kislingbury-Cain, at the urging of her advanced drama class, made the decision to take on the controversial work for their spring play.

After a passionate class discussion that went on for several hours — that was, in her words, “profound” — her students persuaded her of the importance, not only that it be done this year, before many of them graduate, but the importance that the play be done now, at a time when Novato has become — deservedly or not — a lightning rod for controversy along similar lines — lines that have been drawn in the sand regarding issues of tolerance and diversity.

Recent school board meetings have been raucous affairs, over the issue of diversity materials in the curriculum. A student organization, the Gay-Straight Alliance, attempted to to hold public forums on the Novato High School’s campus. A column written by a Novato High School student, espousing right wing views regarding immigration, raised issues of racism vs. free speech,. resulting in litigation and the closure of the student paper. There was the incident at a San Marin High School basketball game in 1998, in which not just basketballs but racial epithets were hurled across the court.. And there have been bona fide hate crimes. San Marin still carries the stigma, said many of the students, of an alleged “gay bashing” incident that same year, in which a openly gay student claimed he was ambushed and beaten on school grounds.

In an unprecedented casting move, “Ms. K,” as she is called, brought in Novato community leaders for important cameo roles. Police Chief Brian Brady and retired Sinaloa Middle School principal Rich Gearhardt both play Wyoming judges. Episcopal minister Phil Rountree plays a Laramie priest, City Council member and Mayor pro tem Pat Eklund plays a Mormon schoolteacher and former school board president Ross Millerick plays a Laramie citizen who, like the rest, struggles with his own views.

“For one thing,” said 17-year-old Ali Mafi, senior assistant director for the San Marin production, “we felt it was our duty as outgoing seniors to address these issues,” he said—adding, “We needed to clear our name,”

Two other student assistant directors, Devonne Johnson and Rachel Garber, and student producer Cayla Wardenburg, emphatically agreed.

“We want to make people think,” said Wardenburg. “We’re saying, ‘Wake up, Novato, not only could this happen here, this has happened here.’”

Devonne Johnson nodded. “This play will open peoples’ eyes. They won’t be able to ignore it. How we, as a society, as a town like Novato, are teaching hate by ignoring hate,” she said.

“Yes,” said Rachel, “we want to send a powerful signal that hate, bigotry and intolerance will no longer be ignored.”

Ali stepped in, the calming “elder” statesman: “We’re not out to vilify anyone, or point a finger of blame. We know this country still has a long way to go. Everyone has some form of insecurity. That’s what makes America great. It is diverse. It is flawed. We know we’re not perfect…

“If we were perfect,” said Ali with a sly smile, “we’d be French.”

Of course, it was a joke — and a pretty sophisticated joke for a 17-year-old, at that. And that’s just it — what was remarkable about the joke was not just its reference to current events. One look at his one, raised eyebrow made it clear that this 17-year-old kid grasped, not just the irony, but the layers of irony implicit in the joke.

“These kids are unbelievably sophisticated,”Rountree said during one of their rehearsals. “They’re articulate, passionate, quick… and committed. This, to them, is what civil rights was to my generation,” he said. “Frankly,” said Rountree, ‘’The Laramie Project’ is about the dark side of the human race. And, to speak of it in spiritual terms, as is often the case in human events, facing our dark side is our only hope for redemption.”

“Could it have been our town? Yes. Frankly, it could have been any town in Marin. In America. That’s the message of this play.”

And, since it is the actual words of real people, the result is an amazing tapestry of authentic voices. Also, the acting is surprisingly first-rate. At one of the rehearsals, actress Cayla Wardenburg stepped onto the stage, and, as she spoke her lines, the entire room gradually stopped in its tracks.

“We’re like this,” says her character, sounding genuinely astonished.

“We’re like this,”she says again, this time with a little more resolve.

Then, more slowly, staring directly into the eyes of the audience, she says it again, admonishing us, as if to say — like it or not: "We… are… like… this.”

Last spring, the San Marin Drama Department produced Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” Many have suggested that “The Laramie Project” is an “Our Town” for this generation.

“The theme of that play,” said Mafi, who starred in that production as the Narrator, “was that human beings never realize life while they live it. That’s still compelling, but life is much more complicated now. Most of us believe we live in a society that is tolerant. Unfortunately, the truth is, hate still exists.”

Ali, who is Muslim, knows something about being vilified and misunderstood. He can identify with the kid who is singled out because he is different.

“Anyone who has been made to feel that they are too fat, too different, too ugly, too gay… we want to provide a voice for here. I don’t think of this, necessarily, as ‘Our Town II.’ It’s more like, I want this play to say, for every kid in Novato who’s ever felt excluded: ‘Hey. This is our town, too.’”

The Laramie Project” opens Thursday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. and runs Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 18 at 3 p.m. and Monday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the San Marin High School Student Center, 15 San Marin Drive in Novato. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, at the door and at the school office. For reservations call 898-2121 Monday through Friday until 3 p.m.


	In Our Town? In staging ‘The Laramie Project,’ San Marin High School drama students explore a community’s reaction to hatred. Novato Advance Unitarian minister Stephen Mead Johnson (Yan Gorman): “Most Americans believe… that the Bible is the word of God, and how you gonna fight that?” Bartender Matt Galloway (Shane Rose), center, a key eyewitness, explains to Barbara Pitts (Cayla Wardenburg) and Greg Pierotti (Jeremy Brown) what he saw that night. Father Roger Schmit (played by Father Phil Rountree): “I will trust you people that if you write a play of this, that you say it right, say it correct.” “Two years ago, because I am a Muslim,” says Zubaida Ula (Cayla Wardenburg), “I decided to start wearing a scarf. That’s really changed my life in Laramie. Yeah.” “I know who he was,” says Devonne Johnson, who plays an anonymous friend of one of the killers. At first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a split-rail fence was a scarecrow. But when he stopped to take a closer look, to his horror, he discovered the battered, burned and nearly lifeless body of a delicately-featured young man. On Oct. 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 22-year-old, openly gay college student at the University of Wyoming, was kidnapped, driven out to a secluded area, robbed, pistol-whipped, burned and left to die, lashed to a fence for over 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures on a rural road in Laramie, Wyoming, Pop. 26,687 — whose town motto is “Live and Let Live.” After lying in a coma for five days, Matthew Shepard died. Two Laramie residents, Russell A. Henderson, 21, and Aaron J. McKinney, 22, were apprehended and convicted of the crime. A month later, playwright Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, conducting more than 200 interviews with its residents — the transcripts of which make up the script of a play called “The Laramie Project.” In an extremely gutsy move by a San Marin High School drama teacher whose program and very job was facing the axe due to the school districts’ current budget crisis, Linda Kislingbury-Cain, at the urging of her advanced drama class, made the decision to take on the controversial work for their spring play. After a passionate class discussion that went on for several hours — that was, in her words, “profound” — her students persuaded her of the importance, not only that it be done this year, before many of them graduate, but the importance that the play be done now, at a time when Novato has become — deservedly or not — a lightning rod for controversy along similar lines — lines that have been drawn in the sand regarding issues of tolerance and diversity. Recent school board meetings have been raucous affairs, over the issue of diversity materials in the curriculum. A student organization, the Gay-Straight Alliance, attempted to to hold public forums on the Novato High School’s campus. A column written by a Novato High School student, espousing right wing views regarding immigration, raised issues of racism vs. free speech,. resulting in litigation and the closure of the student paper. There was the incident at a San Marin High School basketball game in 1998, in which not just basketballs but racial epithets were hurled across the court.. And there have been bona fide hate crimes. San Marin still carries the stigma, said many of the students, of an alleged “gay bashing” incident that same year, in which a openly gay student claimed he was ambushed and beaten on school grounds. In an unprecedented casting move, “Ms. K,” as she is called, brought in Novato community leaders for important cameo roles. Police Chief Brian Brady and retired Sinaloa Middle School principal Rich Gearhardt both play Wyoming judges. Episcopal minister Phil Rountree plays a Laramie priest, City Council member and Mayor pro tem Pat Eklund plays a Mormon schoolteacher and former school board president Ross Millerick plays a Laramie citizen who, like the rest, struggles with his own views. “For one thing,” said 17-year-old Ali Mafi, senior assistant director for the San Marin production, “we felt it was our duty as outgoing seniors to address these issues,” he said—adding, “We needed to clear our name,” Two other student assistant directors, Devonne Johnson and Rachel Garber, and student producer Cayla Wardenburg, emphatically agreed. “We want to make people think,” said Wardenburg. “We’re saying, ‘Wake up, Novato, not only could this happen here, this has happened here.’” Devonne Johnson nodded. “This play will open peoples’ eyes. They won’t be able to ignore it. How we, as a society, as a town like Novato, are teaching hate by ignoring hate,” she said. “Yes,” said Rachel, “we want to send a powerful signal that hate, bigotry and intolerance will no longer be ignored.” Ali stepped in, the calming “elder” statesman: “We’re not out to vilify anyone, or point a finger of blame. We know this country still has a long way to go. Everyone has some form of insecurity. That’s what makes America great. It is diverse. It is flawed. We know we’re not perfect… “If we were perfect,” said Ali with a sly smile, “we’d be French.” Of course, it was a joke — and a pretty sophisticated joke for a 17-year-old, at that. And that’s just it — what was remarkable about the joke was not just its reference to current events. One look at his one, raised eyebrow made it clear that this 17-year-old kid grasped, not just the irony, but the layers of irony implicit in the joke. “These kids are unbelievably sophisticated,”Rountree said during one of their rehearsals. “They’re articulate, passionate, quick… and committed. This, to them, is what civil rights was to my generation,” he said. “Frankly,” said Rountree, ‘’The Laramie Project’ is about the dark side of the human race. And, to speak of it in spiritual terms, as is often the case in human events, facing our dark side is our only hope for redemption.” “Could it have been our town? Yes. Frankly, it could have been any town in Marin. In America. That’s the message of this play.” And, since it is the actual words of real people, the result is an amazing tapestry of authentic voices. Also, the acting is surprisingly first-rate. At one of the rehearsals, actress Cayla Wardenburg stepped onto the stage, and, as she spoke her lines, the entire room gradually stopped in its tracks. “We’re like this,” says her character, sounding genuinely astonished. “We’re like this,”she says again, this time with a little more resolve. Then, more slowly, staring directly into the eyes of the audience, she says it again, admonishing us, as if to say — like it or not: "We… are… like… this.” Last spring, the San Marin Drama Department produced Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” Many have suggested that “The Laramie Project” is an “Our Town” for this generation. “The theme of that play,” said Mafi, who starred in that production as the Narrator, “was that human beings never realize life while they live it. That’s still compelling, but life is much more complicated now. Most of us believe we live in a society that is tolerant. Unfortunately, the truth is, hate still exists.” Ali, who is Muslim, knows something about being vilified and misunderstood. He can identify with the kid who is singled out because he is different. “Anyone who has been made to feel that they are too fat, too different, too ugly, too gay… we want to provide a voice for here. I don’t think of this, necessarily, as ‘Our Town II.’ It’s more like, I want this play to say, for every kid in Novato who’s ever felt excluded: ‘Hey. This is our town, too.’” The Laramie Project” opens Thursday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. and runs Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 18 at 3 p.m. and Monday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the San Marin High School Student Center, 15 San Marin Drive in Novato. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, at the door and at the school office. For reservations call 898-2121 Monday through Friday until 3 p.m.
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