Experience the captivating play, “The Laramie Project,” presented by Southwestern Illinois College Division of Arts and Sciences, as it reveals the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.

Co-directed by SWIC Communication Arts Professors Emily Kelly-Padden and Julie Willis, the 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project, focuses on the community reaction to the violent crime. The production will run Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. in the SWIC Belleville Main Complex Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave.

“The Laramie Project” centers around a hate crime that attracted worldwide attention, bringing sexual discrimination and violence to the forefront of public discussion. “The play shocks, challenges, and moves all who watch it as it reveals the lowest depths of hatred and greatest heights of compassion that lies within all human beings in any seemingly average community,” as stated on brownpapertickets.com.

Tickets are $5 with a student ID, $10 for general admission and can be purchased at the door, cash-only.

The play deals with themes of an adult nature and is intended for mature audiences.

Funding and resources provided by the SWIC Division of Arts and Sciences, the SWIC Foundation and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

For more information, call Kelly-Padden at 618-235-2700, ext. 5419.