Proud Mary Theatre Company continues to push the boundaries of virtual theatre as we open our 4th season with the 20th anniversary production of The Laramie Project, the award-winning play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.

This is a FULL PRODUCTION (not a ZOOM reading) and will be presented as a Virtual Multimedia Experience available for streaming Tuesday, October 6, 2020 on the 22nd anniversary of the attack of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, and ends on October 12, the day Shepard died and became a martyr for hate crime legislation and the gay rights movement in the United States.

BEN DAWKINS (Director), singer/actor/director living in Spartanburg, is making his Upstate directorial debut!  He graduated in 2014 with his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance from the University of Georgia.  Since moving to Spartanburg, he has performed with the Spartanburg Little Theatre, Proud Mary Theatre, Gaffney Little Theatre, Limestone College Theatre, Centre Stage.  As a director, he has worked with the Heritage High Patriot Players, Sandersville Community Theatre, Athena Grand Opera, and the UGA Opera Theatre.  Directing highlights include:  Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Our Town, Trouble in Tahiti, and The Old Maid and the Thief.  Local performance highlights include: BOY (Peter and the Starcatcher (Alf), Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit), Spamalot (Historian, Minstrel, Not-dead-Fred, French Taunter, and Prince Herbert), and Avenue Q (Nickie/Trekki Monster).  Regional highlights include leading roles in My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and several roles as a repertory artist for the International Festival of the Aegean in Ermoupolis, Greece.  Special thanks to his wife Blair for her constant support and to Proud Mary for the opportunity to help tell this important and timely story!

The Laramie Project features a Who’s Who? cast of 14 amazing Upstate actors in some 60 roles: Ryan Barry, Michele Colletti, Ava Davis, Jonathan Davis, Kelly Davis, Doug Egge, Samantha Eyler, Darryl Harmon, Jim Huber, Dave LaPage, Rebecca Schledwitz, Tyler Smith, Audrey Waldrop and Chase Wolfe. Ashley Zimmerman is stage manager.

Suggested donation of $10 for unlimited streaming. More info is available at proudmarytheatre.com.