Julian Diaz was first introduced to “The Laramie Project” as a La Jolla High School student. Decades later, Diaz, now assistant production manager at La Jolla Playhouse, is directing an adaptation of the play and its sequel for a San Diego church.
“The Laramie Project” is a harrowing documentary-style play about the 1998 slaying of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo. It was first brought to the stage in the early 2000s by writer Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.
An epilogue, “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,” explored how the community was grappling with the tragedy.
As documentary theater pieces, both plays are based on interviews conducted by the theater company, along with journal entries and news reports.
Diaz, who grew up in La Jolla, was introduced to the play in a high school drama class in 2001. Since then, he’s watched the production whenever it’s in town and did readings for it as an actor.
“When I first became connected to this play, I was in the closet,” Diaz said. “And it was really terrifying to know this happened to someone in 1998.”
Changing times
A lot has changed for Diaz since then. For the past two years, he has worked alongside the production manager and director of production at La Jolla Playhouse to manage scenery, costumes, sound and video for its plays. He also is tasked with ensuring smooth communication among departments and coordinating schedules.
Diaz said his role is akin to a project manager.
Until a decade ago, Diaz believed religion was not for him. But then he got associated with San Diego’s Universal Spirit Center. Recently, church leader the Rev. Kevin Bucy asked Diaz to direct a play there.
Diaz’s first reaction was nervousness and excitement. A week later, he returned with shows to pitch.
“I knew automatically that this was the show to do, and I got no pushback because our community is about facing those issues head-on — about tackling the hard things,” Diaz recalled. “And it all leads back to acceptance and love and tolerance.”
This isn’t the first time the church has hosted a play, but Bucy said it represents a tonal shift.
“Our prior plays were humorous or they didn’t have a powerful message, so when he brought this play forth, I thought this was phenomenal,” Bucy said.
An encore and an epilogue
Universal Spirit Center’s production of “The Laramie Project” debuted in October to positive reactions from cast and audience members.
That feedback led to an encore.
The original play and its lesser-produced sequel will be performed Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, and May 1-3.
Until recently, Diaz hadn’t explored the second part of the story. But he feels its themes of bigotry and intolerance, as well as progress and hope, are resonant today.
“So much of it has to do with media narratives, shaping the legacy of a crime and how much changed between when Matthew Shepard was murdered and 10 years later because of people’s discomfort with the truth and people’s willingness to hear another side of the story if it makes them feel better about themselves instead of having to reckon with the truth,” Diaz said.
“I thought this would be a great mirror back to our society, to our community and anyone else who comes about how a story can be shaped … and how insidiously that can spread.”
Words over spectacle
Bringing these plays to life is a group of relatively inexperienced performers. Several of them, Diaz said, are first-time actors. It’s also a community-based production, meaning it isn’t funded by major outside donors.
“We’re very much a bare-bones production, but one of the powerful things about the play is it isn’t about the technical spectacle, it’s about these words and these real people,” Diaz said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it in your backyard or if you’re doing it at La Jolla Playhouse. These words have meaning.”
Bucy is one of the relatively inexperienced actors, filling five roles across the two plays. His characters range from a Catholic priest and an academic adviser to a member of the Tectonic Theater group and a friend of Shepard’s.
Bucy said he was deeply moved by the plays, and beyond that, saw an opportunity to connect with his community.
“I thought usually I just interact with people on Sundays or by doing a class,” he said. “But this would be a great way to interact and get to know other people in the community on a much deeper level than I do on a Sunday.”
The Rev. Kevin Bucy of Universal Spirit Center plays several roles in “The Laramie Project” and “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.” (Craig Landy)
Cast members have met twice a week to prepare for the shows, with practices ranging from six to 10 hours across the two sessions. As the performances draw nearer, that number is expected to increase. This is on top of a 40-hour week Diaz clocks in at La Jolla Playhouse.
“I love my job because I’m just in theater all the time,” Diaz said. “I’m like ‘This is crazy. I work theater 40 hours a week and then I go in the evening to do rehearsals for an extra six to 10 hours a week.’ But I love it. I love being at rehearsal.”
A harrowing reminder
Universal Spirit Center’s first run of “The Laramie Project” and preparation for its follow-up have sparked reflection in the congregation.
“The actual horror and violence of the story … hit a lot of us in a way it didn’t really hit us when we were trying to remember the lines or do the staging,” Bucy said. “Especially the second and third time, being up there and saying those words, hearing those words and acting out the scenes. There were a number of people who had a lot of emotion come up during that experience that I met with and supported afterward.”
As a director, Diaz is searching for authenticity, he said. In doing so, his goal is for the actors to find where they live in the story.
“I feel like I’m in a lineage of people, even at this level, hoping that San Diego people will come and be a reminder that we aren’t so far off from this and we need to remember,” Diaz said. “When we forget is when it happens again and we ask ourselves, ‘How did this happen?’”
Universal Spirit Center is at 6863 Friars Road. Tickets for “The Laramie Project” and “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” are available for $30 per show until Monday, April 13, and $35 after that at laramieuniversalspirit.eventbrite.com. ♦