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The Rev. Kevin Bucy of Universal Spirit Center plays several roles in \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d and \u201cThe Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.\u201d (Craig Landy)<\/p>\nJulian Diaz was first introduced to \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d 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 Mois\u00e9s Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.<\/p>\n
An epilogue, \u201cThe Laramie Project: Ten Years Later,\u201d explored how the community was grappling with the tragedy.<\/p>\n
As documentary theater pieces, both plays are based on interviews conducted by the theater company, along with journal entries and news reports.<\/p>\n
Diaz, who grew up in La Jolla, was introduced to the play in a high school drama class in 2001. Since then, he\u2019s watched the production whenever it\u2019s in town and did readings for it as an actor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first became connected to this play, I was in the closet,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cAnd it was really terrifying to know this happened to someone in 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
Changing times<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Diaz said his role is akin to a project manager.<\/p>\n
Until a decade ago, Diaz believed religion was not for him. But then he got associated with San Diego\u2019s Universal Spirit Center. Recently, church leader the Rev. Kevin Bucy asked Diaz to direct a play there.<\/p>\n
Diaz\u2019s first reaction was nervousness and excitement. A week later, he returned with shows to pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew automatically that this was the show to do, and I got no pushback because our community is about facing those issues head-on \u2014 about tackling the hard things,\u201d Diaz recalled. \u201cAnd it all leads back to acceptance and love and tolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time the church has hosted a play, but Bucy said it represents a tonal shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur prior plays were humorous or they didn\u2019t have a powerful message, so when he brought this play forth, I thought this was phenomenal,\u201d Bucy said.<\/p>\n
An encore and an epilogue<\/p>\n
Universal Spirit Center\u2019s production of \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d debuted in October to positive reactions from cast and audience members.<\/p>\n
That feedback led to an encore.<\/p>\n
The original play and its lesser-produced sequel will be performed Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, and May 1-3.<\/p>\n
Until recently, Diaz hadn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo 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\u2019s discomfort with the truth and people\u2019s willingness to hear another side of the story if it makes them feel better about themselves instead of having to reckon with the truth,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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 \u2026 and how insidiously that can spread.\u201d<\/p>\n
Words over spectacle<\/p>\n
Bringing these plays to life is a group of relatively inexperienced performers. Several of them, Diaz said, are first-time actors. It\u2019s also a community-based production, meaning it isn\u2019t funded by major outside donors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very much a bare-bones production, but one of the powerful things about the play is it isn\u2019t about the technical spectacle, it\u2019s about these words and these real people,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re doing it in your backyard or if you\u2019re doing it at La Jolla Playhouse. These words have meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Bucy said he was deeply moved by the plays, and beyond that, saw an opportunity to connect with his community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought usually I just interact with people on Sundays or by doing a class,\u201d he said. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rev. Kevin Bucy of Universal Spirit Center plays several roles in \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d and \u201cThe Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.\u201d (Craig Landy)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love my job because I\u2019m just in theater all the time,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cI\u2019m like \u2018This 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.\u2019 But I love it. I love being at rehearsal.\u201d<\/p>\n
A harrowing reminder<\/p>\n
Universal Spirit Center\u2019s first run of \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d and preparation for its follow-up have sparked reflection in the congregation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe actual horror and violence of the story \u2026 hit a lot of us in a way it didn\u2019t really hit us when we were trying to remember the lines or do the staging,\u201d Bucy said. \u201cEspecially 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in a lineage of people, even at this level, hoping that San Diego people will come and be a reminder that we aren\u2019t so far off from this and we need to remember,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cWhen we forget is when it happens again and we ask ourselves, \u2018How did this happen?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Universal Spirit Center is at 6863 Friars Road. Tickets for \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d and \u201cThe Laramie Project: Ten Years Later\u201d are available for $30 per show until Monday, April 13, and $35 after that at laramieuniversalspirit.eventbrite.com<\/a>. \u2666<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Julian Diaz was first introduced to \u201cThe Laramie Project\u201d as a La Jolla High School student. Decades later,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,930,5184,14136,74,84,76,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-259875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-la-jolla","10":"tag-la-jolla-light","11":"tag-la-jolla-light-things-to-do","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-county","14":"tag-san-diego-headlines","15":"tag-san-diego-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}