The Laramie Project in Vancouver
This controversial play gets a staging at the Havana Theatre
The Laramie Project is based on a series of interviews compiled by a group of theatre artists, led by director and playwright, Moises Kaufman. Fighting Chance Productions, based out of Vancouver, takes a fresh look at the piece. This production has garnered national media attention, because of the Westboro Baptist Church out of Kansas. The church is planning to protest the show on its fourth night, and Fighting Chance is countering that protest with an "Anti Hate Rally" of their own on the same night.
Ryan Mooney, the Artistic Director of Fighting Chance Productions and the director of The Laramie Project, answered some questions about his process, and working on such a complex play.
Q: I was going to ask this before all this hype over the last few weeks…why did you choose The Laramie Project to be a part of your season?
A: I've always loved The Laramie Project since I first read it. It struck a chord with me because as I was going to high school in Squamish, BC, we had something similiar happen in that a well known lawyer in the town was killed at a New Year's Eve party that he went to check up on. All of a sudden media descended on our town and we really got a shit treatment from them. Saying that teenagers in Squamish were terrible people and that we were all under this code of silence that no teenagers wanted to talk about who had done it. The truth was the party was mostly 20 somethings, I wasn't graduating that year – but the graduating class had a pretty rough time.
Other than that I just feel it's a great showcase for the performers, and that's really the type of shows we try to put on with Fighting Chance Productions.
Q: Do you think the message/theme(s) of the play relate to Canadians?
A: Absolutely – I think we try to believe we're so much better than Americans up here – but the truth is we still have scenarios like this go on. Look at the recent gay bashing on Davie Street, or the Aaron Webster killing a few years ago - or the Surrey School Board which still doesn't allow books teaching kids that it's okay to have two dads or two moms - and who banned a school from a production of the Laramie Project less then five years ago. We definitely have a lot to work through up here as well – even if we do allow gay marriage.
Q: Why do you think, as a director, that this is such an important piece of theatre for people to see?
For me, the best thing about theatre is the dialogue that comes from it. And there won't be a shortage of discussion after the Laramie Project.
Q: What's the most difficult part of a show like this – small cast, many parts, based on interviews, etc.
I think the most difficult part of a show like this is keeping the audience aware of who's who – and that's just not as a director, but as the actors go through as well. Because many of them go from one part to another it makes things difficult – so they need to fluctuate their voices, or make small changes that don't involve full costume changes. It's tough, but I think we're doing a good job so far.
Q: What would you like the audience to walk away with after the play?
Again – discussion. The biggest thing for me, is getting people thinking – and getting people remembering this event.
Q: How did you assemble this cast? People you know, worked with in the past, and so on.
A: Auditions – lots of auditions. We had about 60 people audition for this show, which is one of our biggest turn outs. Of the 12 people in the cast I've directed three of them before, acted with one before and seen one other's work before. I make a concerted effort to not cast all my friends – I don't want Fighting Chance to have the reputation of a company that casts the same people over and over again. There's a lot of talent in this city who don't get a chance to act simply because there's so many people who get cast again and again - that's not to say those people don't have immense talent – they do, but it's nice to see some new faces on stage now and then.
Q: Tell me a little about your process as a director; how do you approach a play?
A: I'm not a director who analyses a lot of text – or comes in with a huge concept – mostly because I feel directing is a collaborative process between myself and the people I cast – and I have to trust the people I cast because if I don't – why did I cast them? With Laramie I knew a couple things. I knew I wanted to have live music that the cast wrote. I knew i wanted them to stay on stage the whole time. Other things we have incorporated throughout the rehearsal process – I love playing off of cast ideas – because in the end it makes me look good – people think "oh I really like the way that was staged" – and I get the credit - and that always makes me laugh because I know that most of the really good ideas come from the cast all bouncing off each other.
The Laramie Project begins performances at the Havana Theatre on Tuesday, November 25th, and it runs until Saturday, December 6th.
For ticket and show information, email Fighting Chance Productions.
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