Charges and counter-charges flew but this protest once again painted Surrey as one of the most intolerant school systems in the country.

March 29 – Moving Towards Inclusive Pedagogies: The Laramie Project, Lord Byng Secondary School, and Lessons in Acceptance

Presenter: Wes D. Pearce, Theatre Department, University of Regina

“One British Columbia school board calls The Laramie Project profane, another school board calls it profound.”

In late September of 2005 the School District #36 (Surrey, BC) found itself the centre of a firestorm around charges of homophobia, censorship, and intolerance. At the centre of this controversy was a decision by the School District to “postpone” a production of Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project that was to have been mounted at Elgin Park Secondary School. Charges and counter-charges flew but this protest once again painted Surrey as one of the most intolerant school systems in the country.

In January 2006, independent of (but coloured by) the recent events in Surrey, Vancouver’s Lord Byng Secondary School presented The Laramie Project. The production at Lord Byng was, I believe, unique in Canada both in terms of the curricula that was developed around the play but also given the fact that many of the same diverse communities and constituents which sought to ban the production in Surrey embraced the production in Vancouver. This presentation is an examination of the development and implementation of the phenomenal educational program that the staff, students and Lord Byng community developed around The Laramie Project. This educational project garnered national attention, and throughout its development and implementation demonstrated creativity, thoughtfulness, a commitment to social change and a dynamic/proactive response to Kaufman’s play. The immediate, not to mention long term (and extremely positive) after effects, of this pedagogical approach demonstrated that the concerns of the Surrey School District were unfounded, hysterical, and homophobic.

Parents Attend Dress Rehearsal

DES MOINES, Iowa -- "The Laramie Project" tells the story of the 1998 kidnapping and murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard.

The theater production is hitting the Valley High School stage this week.

A few parents think the play's language and subject matter are inappropriate, but the school stands behind it 100 percent.

Members of a controversial Topeka, Kan., church said they will be in West Des Moines this weekend to protest the play.

They also plan to protest at several large West Des Moines churches.

"The Laramie Project" performances are at Valley High School at 7 p.m. Nov. 3, 4 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 4, 5.

There's nothing like controversy to draw a crowd to a theater production. Plans for students to perform "The Laramie Project" at West Des Moines' Valley High School have been met with complaints from some parents. They say profanity in the script is inappropriate.

So school officials have agreed to "soften" the language. It's a good compromise. Removing bad language shouldn't detract from the meaning of a powerful production about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young, gay university student in Wyoming. Some student actors may be uncomfortable using bad language in front of an audience that may include parents and grandparents.

Removing profanity should be the end of the controversy.

But that looks unlikely.

A local radio host is working the public into a frenzy because the play is about a homosexual man. Other high schools around the country have cancelled the production after parents complained. Religious leaders have opposed it, saying it promotes a homosexual agenda. And an upcoming school board meeting will allow parents to express their thoughts about it.

"I think there are a lot of people who have severe beliefs about homosexuality, and even teenage sexuality in general," she said. "I don't think it's right to portray it in a positive light without ever discussing the seriousness of it."

(West Des Moines Iowa) Some parents at Valley High School are upset over the school's decision to let students perform "The Laramie Project," a play based on Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was killed because he was gay.

The play discusses homosexuality, uses profanity and contains violence.

School officials said it teaches tolerance and acceptance of others. They hope the play will encourage families to discuss diversity, hate crimes and whether such behavior is acceptable.

...

Some parents said they are upset by the profanity used in the play and scenes that contain graphic violence and depiction's of sex.

The parents said they plan to express their concerns to the school board on Sept. 18.

"It is inappropriate material for high schools because of the profanity," said Wendy Ogden, the parent of a drama student. "It's not the issue of homosexuality that I don't think should be discussed.

"I think there are a lot of people who have severe beliefs about homosexuality, and even teenage sexuality in general," she said. "I don't think it's right to portray it in a positive light without ever discussing the seriousness of it."