Friday, December 31, 2010
For her bold decision to stage the "The Laramie Project" at the high school and her efforts to foster compassion and bring the Framingham community together Donna Wresinski is Framingham Patch's Women Who Made Framingham Better in 2010.
Vicky Barstow said she was "curious and excited" when she saw the open audition call from the Framingham High School Drama Company inviting adults from the community to participate in their production of "The Laramie Project." "The Laramie Project" is a play that centers on the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man who was tied to a fence and beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming. Barstow said she was a bit intimidated at first to go to the tryouts, but then she met Donna Wresinski, the advisor and artistic director of the Framingham High School Drama Company. "She was so loving and nurturing and effective and commanding all at the same time. She was so gracious in welcoming the many nervous adults and assured us we would …
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Last night's community forum on the high-school production offered unexpected insights on bullying, tolerance, stereotypes and how the play has changed Framingham.
In the hope that the Framingham High School Drama Company's production of The Laramie Project echoes long and loud, about 60 people added an encore to the play's Saturday finale at the First Parish Unitarian-Universalist Church in Framingham Tuesday night. The Rev. Kathleen Hepler, who performed in the play as a Unitarian minister, a role she knows inside-out, hosted cast members, students and town residents for a discussion of stereotypes, religion and change. Cast members reprised key scenes from the play, a fact-based account of the aftermath of the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, in 1998. The night's theme – acceptance of people's differences – took unexpected turns several times. …
42.302846
-71.435271
First Parish In Framingham
24 Vernon St, Framingham, MA
/articles/laramie-project-keeps-demonstrating-its-power
798155
/locations/2696922
Monday, December 6, 2010
Inspired by The Laramie Project, Framingham teens hold an open mic night to benefit the Trevor Project for the prevention of gay teen suicide.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church hosted a Teen Open Mic Night last night, headlined by local teen band The Happy Trails. Proceeds from the event will go to the Trevor Project for the prevention of gay teen suicide. Teenage performers took to the spotlit stage as groups of parents and teen looked on from large circular tables, draped in white tablecloths. Candles glowed on each table, giving the room a club atmosphere. The Reverend Deacon Lori Mills-Curran said the idea for the open mic night came out of The Laramie Project. Seven out of her 10 confirmation class students were in the play, Framingham High School performed this past Friday and Saturday nights. "It seemed like, as we discussed faith and what confirmation is about, it was all …
42.29653
-71.43109
St Andrew's Episcopal Church
3 Maple St, Framingham, MA
/articles/teen-band-headlines-open-mic-night-at-st-andrews
799028
/locations/2640161
Sunday, December 5, 2010
It was the coldest of times, it was the darkest of times, but it could not be a better time to treat people around you with love and respect, ralliers said last night.
About 500 people came from as close as Framingham and Wellesley and as far as Taunton and Providence to attend a "Love is Stronger than Hate" rally at Framingham High School last night, and to support the school's production of The Laramie Project, a non-fiction play about the murder of a gay man. The timing of the production at Framingham High couldn't have been better, said senior Emily Blair, the president of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance. Before speaking to the crowd last night, Blair pointed to the deaths of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, 21, Asher Brown of Texas, 13, Seth Walsh of Minnesota, 13, and Billy Lucas of Indiana, 15, who all killed themselves within the last month, reportedly because of teasing or bullying about their…
42.31835
-71.400429
Framingham High School
115 A St, Framingham, MA
/articles/framingham-rallies-for-gay-tolerance
800288
/locations/2628142
Saturday, December 4, 2010
At Framingham High tonight, a huge crowd gathered before the performance of "The Laramie Project" to support students, discourage bullying and urge the community to come together.
The Framingham High School Gay-Straight Alliance and the Framingham High School Drama Company held a "Love is Stronger than Hate" rally on the high-school steps before tonight's presentation of The Laramie Project. About 500 people bundled up against the early-December cold to hear High School Principal Michael Welch, members of Framingham's local and state political delegations, students Philip da Costa and Emily Blair and Drama Company Artistic Director Donna Wresinski urged the crowd to spread a message of love and respect to replace hate and bullying, particularly against gay students. The Laramie Project, a staged documentary of the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man attending the University of Wyoming, …
42.31835
-71.400429
Framingham High School
115 A St, Framingham, MA
/articles/photo-gallery-about-500-people-attended-the-love-is-stronger-than-hate-rally
800288
/locations/2628116
Framingham High students join with adult community members to stage riveting play about a young gay man's murder on the prairie
Framingham High School's production of "The Laramie Project," a play about the 1998 torture and murder of Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming, succeeded brilliantly Friday night. The play brought students and members of the community together to act in, watch and consider the story of a young man, still with braces on his teeth and not much older than most of the student actors, who was tied to a fence rail, beaten and left for dead on the prairie by two young men, also not much older than the student actors, because he was gay. "The Laramie Project" is notable for at least two reasons besides its subject matter. One is its documentary style. Playwright Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project …
42.31835
-71.400429
Framingham High School
115 A St, Framingham, MA
/articles/the-laramie-project-heartens-the-community
800288
/locations/2626278
Last night's performance of Framingham High's play about Matthew Shepard energized community, cast and audience.
"The Laramie Project" proved to be a riveting production put on by students and members of the greater-Framingham community at Framingham High last night. The cast included 30 community members and 53 students, with many more working in stage production, technical, and front-of-the-house jobs. Director Donna Wresinski said the play was perfect for community involvement, and one way of saying thanks to all those who came through to help pay for the Framingham High School Drama Club's trip to Scotland last year. A sold-out audience, some in tears at key moments, watched Moises Kaufman's stage docu-drama about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, who was brutally beaten and left for dead, tied to a …
42.31835
-71.400429
Framingham High School
115 A St, Framingham, MA
/articles/laramie-project-cast-members-celebrate
800288
/locations/2625601
Monday, November 22, 2010
Framingham High School's Drama Company wants its performances of the play "The Laramie Project" to be the focus this weekend.
When Donna Wresinski, artistic director of the Framingham High School Drama Company, selects a play, she hopes it will not only entertain but spark discussion in the community. Well, this year, Wresinski is getting her wish—and then some. On Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 4, the Framingham High School Drama Company is scheduled to perform "The Laramie Project" by Moises Kaufman. The play focuses on the residents of Laramie, WY, in the aftermath of the 1998 murder of a young gay man named Matthew Shepard. No sooner was word out about the high school's plans for this play did protesters challenge the choice. Chief among them is the Topeka, KS-based Westboro Baptist Church, an organization that takes a strong stand against homosexuality. …
42.31835
-71.400429
Framingham High School
115 A St, Framingham, MA
/articles/the-plays-the-thing-2
800288
/locations/2574823
After the curtains have closed on "The Laramie Project," First Parish Church and the Framingham High Drama Company will host a forum the following week, where the community can come together and talk about this issue.
Because of the sensitive issues addressed in "The Laramie Project," Framingham High is making efforts to support the students in a variety of ways. To help the student actors, artistic director of the Framingham High Drama Company Donna Wresinski and her assistant artistic director, Stephanie Henry, decided to include adult members of the community as part of the cast. "I liked the idea of including the community so the students wouldn't have to face the controversy on their own,'' said Henry. "When we are at rehearsal, we are very focused, we are working on the play, and that's important for the kids to understand. We are working artistically and with integrity.'' One student actor, Danielle Solomon, a 15-year-old sophomore at …
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church say they will come to Framingham on Dec. 3 to protest Framingham High School Drama Company's production of "The Laramie Project."
Members of the Westboro (Kansas) Baptist Church say they plan to come to Framingham on Friday, Dec. 3 to protest the Framingham High School Drama Company's production of "The Laramie Project" by Moises Kaufmann. "'The Laramie Project' was written to frankly teach rebellion to young people and in effect, it tells children, don't give any consideration to the standards of God but only to emotions,'' said Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of the church and an attorney for the organization, in a recent interview. The church is actually better known these days for a case before the United States Supreme Court in which the father of a soldier killed in Iraq sued Westboro Baptist Church for holding a protest at the soldier's funeral. At issue is the…
42.31835
-71.400429
Framingham High School
115 A St, Framingham, MA
/articles/why-does-a-kansas-church-care-about-a-framingham-play
800288
/locations/2579559
Joe Rizoli
9:22 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
Then I guess the play had NOTHING to do with homophobia and hate crimes. Must of been a play that centered around one of the tens of thousands of murders committed in America. Hmmm must of been a "special" murder wouldn't you say to be picked out for talking to the towns folk about? Gee... what was different about this murder? I'd suppose not one of them thought it was about homophobia or hate … more ›