Actors from four schools present the play, 'The Laramie Project' Actors from four schools present the play, 'The Laramie Project' (November 17, 2004)

Castilleja School's Performing Arts Department is presenting Moises Kaufman's "The Laramie Project" on November 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and November 21 at 2 p.m. in Castilleja Theater at 1310 Bryant St. in Palo Alto.

The play is based on the brutal murder in 1988 of 21-year-old Mathew Shepard, who was found savagely beaten and tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyoming. The play is a portrait of a town forced to confront itself in the reflective glare of a national spotlight, responding with love, anger, sympathy, support and defiance.

"The Laramie Project" was created from more than 200 interviews conducted with Laramie residents before, during, and after the trials of the two boys who killed Shepard; the interviews create a wide cross-section of American views on homosexuality, religion, class and privacy.

In the Castilleja production, eight high school actors from four local schools team up in an emotionally charged ensemble play that these youths hope will help heal and empower the broader community.

Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for general admission at the door from 20 minutes before curtain time.

For information, call Bear Capron at 328-3373, ext. 401.

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