To memorialize the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard and to bring awareness to the problems of hate crime and homophobia, the FAU Theater Department presents The Laramie Project. The play runs from Nov. 15-24 in the Studio I Theatre at the Boca Raton campus.

The play, originally created by Moises Kauffman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, is the made up of more than 200 interviews by the original actors who traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to see the town’s reaction. The original actors met the townspeople who experienced firsthand the Oct. 7, 1998 tragedy of Shepard who was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside of Laramie, savagely beaten and left to die. The dialogue is constructed by impressions of these interviews and these voices, which provide genuine insight into the thinking of those closely affected by the tragedy.

The docudrama seeks to reveal simplistic media stereotypes and explore the depths of human hatred, prejudice, and cruelty. FAU’s production is a compilation of excerpts from the original interviews and half the length of the original three-hour play with no intermission.

FAU theatre performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. for Thursday through Saturday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. FAU students are admitted free of charge with student I.D.

FAU employees and children under 12 are $10, all others are $15. Tickets may be purchased at the University Theater Box Office, one hour prior to performance. Advance tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 561/397-3737, or at Ticketmaster.

For more information on FAU’s full season schedule, call the Theatre Department at 561/297-3810, or visit the website at www.fau.edu/divdept/schmidt/events.htm.