The Understanding of Lifestyles – The Laramie Project The Laramie project captured the audience's attention by utilizing different design methods on stage. This included sound, stage and hand properties, light, and music. With an ensemble of 10 actors playing over 30 roles, this proved to be an amazing play to experience. The playwright was constructed in a clear manner, which eliminated the confusion of "who is who." Through the usage of the stage elements as well as the dynamics of each character, this brought about an effective plot.The first element that made the play dramatic was the sound effects. The sound of the “Wyoming wind” was constant throughout the whole play, but as emotional scenes and climaxes occurred, the sound of wind was intensely noticeable. I believe it was Misha Johnson that played the character of Matthew Shepard’s good friend, as she was expressing her emotions about how she could not believe how people could do that to one of her best friends, and how Matthew or as his friends called him, “Matt” – was just looking for a friend to relate with in the world. The scene was particularly dramatic in the sense that the amplitude of the wind increased, the actor became emotional and angry all at once, and as Misha finished her lines in sorrow, the sound of wind was all that was left. The directors, designers, and actors all combined made an impacting decision to have the “Wyoming wind” present throughout the play. All of these factors successfully conveyed to the audience that everyone in the town was affected by this hate crime. Which left the end of the first act intense, dramatic, and touching all inspired by sound effects.As the sound effects were impacting, another element that influenced The Laramie Project, were the usage of properties – generally known as “props”. The first visual provided was of course the set and stage. The...
