November
THE LARAMIE PROJECT
By Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project
Directed by Timothy Koh
THE LARAMIE PROJECT
WRITTEN BY MOISÉS KAUFMAN
AND THE MEMBERS OF TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT
HEAD WRITER
LEIGH FONDAKOWSKI
ASSOCIATE WRITERS
STEPHEN BELBER, GREG PIEROTTI, STEPHEN WANGH
DRAMATURGS
AMANDA GRONICH, SARAH LAMBERT, JOHN MCADAMS, MAUDE MITCHELL, ANDY PARIS, BARBARA PITTS, KELLI SIMPKINS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The US West World Premiere was produced by The Denver Center Theatre Company
Donovan Marley, Artistic Director in association with Tectonic Theater Project Moisés Kaufman, Artistic Director.
Originally produced in New York City at the Union Square Theatre by Roy Gabay and Tectonic Theater Project in association with Gayle Francis and the Araca Group
Associate Producers: Mara Isaacs and Hart Sharp Entertainment.
The Laramie Project was developed in part with the support of The Sundance Theatre Laboratory.
THE VERY YOUTHFUL COMPANY 2024
FEATURING
CHARLOTTE GREENALL, DAWN LEE, KRISTEN LIN, JAI PANCHMATIA, SHRU’JAY RAMANGO, JULIAN SALVADOR, J SHAMALA, GABRIEL SUJAN KUMARASINGAM, UTHARA VIVEK, NOAH YAP JAKE YUNG
LIGHTING DESIGNER FAITH LIU YONG HUAY
DIRECTED BY TIMOTHY KOH
SET DESIGNER GRACE LIN
SOUND DESIGNER DANIEL WONG
SPECIAL THANKS PETRINA KOW, LEONARD AUGUSTINE CHOO
The duration of this performance is approximately 90 minutes. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Daniel Jenkins and the Singapore Repertory Theatre.
Director’s Message
Welcome to the Very Youthful Company’s production of The Laramie Project!
The Very Youthful Company (VYC) is the youth wing of Pangdemonium. It is made up of teens aged 14-19 who enter as actors and stage managers. Every Saturday for the last few months, we’ve come together to work toward staging this very important play. Through a collection of masterclasses, rehearsals, and mentorship, the group has made leaps and bounds in their understanding of theatre and what it takes to create a complex piece of art.
I decided to stage The Laramie Project this year for two reasons. Firstly, the play provides an excellent frame for the participants to learn about inhabiting characters, telling a story, and learning to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
The second and more important reason is that this piece of documentary theatre emerged from real interviews with real people talking about a very real anti-LGBTQ hate crime that resulted in Matthew Shepard’s death in 1998. This wasn’t that long ago; Matthew Shepard’s parents are still alive today (I even had the honour of meeting them earlier this year).
Although LGBTQ discrimination in Singapore takes on quite a different bent, I believe that the murder of Matthew Shepard is a sobering piece of global LGBTQ history, and that working on a play about his murder provides an important way-station for the participants to think about the intersection of art and real world events.
I am so proud of everybody in this company for taking on such a serious topic with a mature, open-mind. They have grown tremendously since September, and I’m glad we get to see them shine.
Thank you for coming to the show. I hope you’ll enjoy The Laramie Project.
Timothy Koh Director of VYC
A Letter from Pangdemonium
Welcome to Pangdemonium’s VYC production of The Laramie Project.
True to our mission to nurture the next generation of theatre professionals, our VYC has been created to provide a safe, creative and inspiring space for young people who are passionate about telling stories on stage.
What we aim for is to not only feed their love for creating good theatre but also to instil in these youths the belief that the theatre they make can make a difference in people’s lives.
Pangdemonium is honoured to have received plenty of feedback over the years from our audiences about how they have been impacted by our productions in many positive ways. This is the kind of theatre we believe in.
And this belief is also imbued in our VYC production of The Laramie Project. Because apart from their love for the craft of storytelling, these youths have injected this urgent play with a deep compassion for the community around them, a firm belief in our shared humanity, and a genuine hopefullness for the future of their world. We have much to learn from this play and also from these youths.
Thanks to Pangdemonium’s millennial Associate Director Timothy Koh for mentoring and guiding these Gen Zs over the past few months; to our creative/production/ technical/ stage management teams for being kick-ass; and to our Very Youthful youths for being great company—the future belongs to you!
Love,
Adrian & Tracie Pang Artistic Directors
Author’s Note by Moisés Kaufman
The Laramie Project was written in through a unique collaboration by Tectonic Theater Project. During the year-and-a-half development of the play, members of the company and I traveled to Laramie six times to conduct interviews with the people of the town. We transcribed and edited the interviews, then conducted several workshops in which the members of the company presented material and acted as dramaturgs in the creation of the play.
As the Volume of material grew with each additional trip to Laramie, a small writers’ group from within the company began to work more closely to further organise and edit the material, conduct additional research in Laramie, and collaborated in the writing of the play. This group was led by Leigh Fondakowski as Head Writer, with Stephen Belber and Greg Pierotti as Associate Writers.
As we got closer to the play’s first production in Denver, the actors, including Stephen Belber and Greg Pierotti, turned their focus to performance, while Leigh Fondakowski continued to work with me on drafts of the play, as did Stephen Wangh, who by then had joined us as an Associate Writer and “bench coach.”
Rehearsal Photos
MEET THE COMPANY
In alphabetical order
Charlotte Greenall
Charlotte, 18, is a second year Diploma in Performance student at LASALLE College of the Arts. An avid performer, she has acted for both stage and screen. Her credits include The Good Citizen (Wild Rice, 2021) and After Still (Viddsee, Weave), the latter resulting in a nomination for Best Lead Performance at the National Youth Film Awards 2023. Outside of the theatre, Charlotte enjoys creative writing and composing music, and is working towards combining the two by writing an original musical. She is thrilled to be a part of this production.
Dawn Lee
Dawn, 19, is a freshman at the National University of Singapore (NUS) majoring in Biomedical Engineering and soon-to-be minoring in Theatre Studies. Most recently, she has worked as stage crew for Titoudao (Toy Factory, 2024). Her fascination with theatre started at the young age of 12, and has only grown through years of looping musical soundtracks.
In school, Dawn has had the privilege of dabbling into lighting and sound design, and was given the opportunity to serve as Head of Audio-Visual in Eunoia Junior College.
Dawn is stoked to be a part of this year’s VYC and incredibly grateful to be given this avenue to explore the art of stage management. Most importantly, she hopes you enjoy the show.
Kristen Lin
Kristen, 19, is a Digital Film and Television student at Temasek Polytechnic with a passion for the performing arts. Acting, singing, dancing, playing an instrument, you name it - she probably loves it. Kristen first fell in love with theatre through Teatro, her drama club in Temasek Polytechnic, and is excited to be taking part in her first production outside of school with Pangdemonium’s VYC. Kristen is thrilled to be performing this powerful story alongside her talented castmates!
LARAMIE
University of Wyoming (Est. 1886)
Jai Panchmatia
Jai is 15 years old and is in St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), Singapore. He has absolutely enjoyed watching movies since he was 4 and found his passion for acting 8 years later in a school in Hong Kong. He is now the proud president of the SJI Drama club and will be working on SYF in 2025. He is absolutely stoked about the upcoming VYC project and cannot wait to perform with his friends.
Shru’jay Ramango
Shru’jay, a 15-year-old student at Singapore’s School of the Arts (SOTA) theatre programme, began acting in his kindergarten graduation performance and soon expanded his artistic pursuits to include singing, dancing, and film. His early work included commercials and shows like My Buddy Bonemasher. Drawn to theatre, he later performed in productions such as Weather or Not in primary school, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Centre Stage, and Oz with Sing’Theatre. Passionate about Singapore’s vibrant arts scene, Shru’jay looks forward to contributing to the local theatre community and discovering new opportunities with VYC. Now, he’s looking at the local literary scene and how it intersects with theatre.
MEET THE COMPANY In alphabetical order
Julian Salvador
Julian is fourteen years old, studying in St. Gabriel’s Secondary School and is the youngest performer on stage for this year’s VYC production! Julian’s theatre journey started at the ripe age of twelve. Thus far, he has performed in four external theatrical productions, as well as multiple appearances on stage in school. Most recently, he was part of Pangdemonium’s Triple Threats Musical Theatre Programme (2024). Julian is a huge musical theatre “nerd” and has an affinity for digital art, fashion, singing and playing the ukulele! Coupled with his bubbly personality and love of making new friends, Julian is super thrilled to be part of this year’s VYC!
J Shamala
Shamala, tall, president of Serangoon Garden Secondary School’s Language Arts Club, discovered her passion for acting while helping her sister rehearse lines—a talent she soon honed by joining her school’s drama club. Her natural charisma and sense of humor caught the eye of Pangdemonium, who offered her the invaluable chance to elevate her craft. Shamala is deeply grateful for this opportunity, which has allowed her to bring characters to life with energy and authenticity. Working alongside dedicated peers has driven her to constantly improve, and she is thrilled to bring an exceptional performance to the stage, eager to make this role unforgettable.
Gabriel Sujan Kumarasingam
Gabriel, 16. He is currently studying at SJI, where he was formerly the vicepresident of the Drama CCA. He first discovered his passion for the arts in his primary school’s Dance CCA, and later found his love for theatre when he joined the Drama Club. He enjoys his busy schedule, made busier by his VYC rehearsals.
Gabriel is psyched to participate in this year’s VYC, performing The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project. He has relished this experience to work alongside other passionate thespians to grow and develop as an actor. Gabriel’s prior experience consists of plays performed by SJI’s Drama Club, such as SJI Drama Night 2022’s The Brothers, SYF 2023 and an internal production Who __’ll Be: The Musical.
LARAMIE
University of Wyoming (Est. 1886)
Uthara Vivek
Uthara is a theatre student at SOTA, pursuing her passion for theatre through the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP). She previously participated in Wild Rice’s Singapore Youth Theatre programme, where she contributed to the devising and performance of the production Regardless Of. Recently, she played the role of Polonius in SOTA’s production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. She is elated to have the opportunity to be a part of VYC and share the stage with her fellow members.
Noah Yap Jake Yung
Noah Yap Jake Yung, 18 years old, is an aspiring actor who has just completed SOTA’s IBCP in 2024. He enjoys philosophy, singing, wood carving, and would experiment with many hands-on activities. Noah first got into theatre at the young age of 10 years old and fell in love with the art form almost immediately. He started off with the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) speech and drama classes and soon it grew into his first platform for him to express his passion for acting in 2016 Midsummer Night’s Dream for DAS’ fundraiser. For his second year in DAS, he performed Ramayana. During his education in SOTA, he performed his Year 4 and IBCP productions, where he performed two Shakespearean classics, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Hamlet” along with “Waiting For Godot”. He has also joined and performed in Pangdemonium’s VYC in 2024.
Timothy Koh Director
Tim’s early career was spent assistant directing and in fellowship at some of New York City’s most prestigious nonprofit theatres, such as Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Playwrights Horizons. In the US, he’s also worked at Scott Rudin Productions and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.
He was appointed Associate Director of Pangdemonium Theatre in 2022. For the company, he’s directed Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Doubt: A Parable (Production of the Year and Best Director nominations at the Life Theatre Awards), and Muswell Hill. Selected Assistant Director credits for the company include the Southeast Asian premiere of Dear Evan Hansen, Into the Woods, and The Glass Menagerie. He also leads Pangdemonium’s New Works Lab and Very Youthful Company.
Sound Designer CREATIVE TEAM
Training: New York University Tisch School of the Arts (BFA Theatre), College of Arts and Science (BA English and American Literature).
Grace Lin Set Designer
Grace Lin is a designer of sets / environments for plays, musicals and film. Arriving at set design from a background in architecture and graphic communication, she has over 10 years of experience working in commercial editorial design and graphic illustration as well as environmental design, and has been working as a full-time theatre freelancer since 2015. Grace holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the National University of Singapore and a Masters in Design
Faith Liu Yong Huay Lighting Designer
Faith Liu Yong Huay is honoured to have worked on numerous theatre and dance productions in Singapore as a lighting designer. In September 2017, she cofounded 微 Wei Collective with theatre practitioner Neo Hai Bin. She explores giving breath to spaces, objects and bodies with light.
She is trained at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Lighting Design (2016), under the National Arts Council Arts Scholarship (Postgraduate).
http://liuyonghuay.tumblr.com
Daniel Wong
Daniel Wong is a sound designer, composer and music producer. He graduated from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music with a B.Mus (Hons) in Recording Arts & Science.
Sound design credits include Doubt: A Parable, People Places & Things, Muswell Hill (Pangdemonium), Disgraced, 2:22 - A Ghost Story, The Almighty Sometimes, Tuesdays with Morrie (SRT), Every Brilliant Thing, I And You (Gateway Arts), G*d is a Woman, Cafe (Wild Rice).
CREATIVE TEAM
Moisés Kaufman Playwright
Moisés Kaufman is the founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project, a Tony and Emmy nominated director and playwright, and a 2015 recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Mr. Kaufman’s Broadway directing credits include the revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song, the revival of The Heiress with Jessica Chastain, 33 Variations (which he also wrote) starring Jane Fonda (Five Tony nominations); Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer Prize finalist Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with Robin Williams; and Doug Wright’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play I Am My Own Wife with Jefferson Mays.
Stephen Belber Associate Writer
An American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He was the winner of the Fringe N.Y.C. Overall Excellence Award in playwriting for Drifting Elegant, and Tape was produced at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, which he also wrote the screenplay of for the film adaptation (Actors Theatre of Louisville). He also wrote the screenplay, Management
He also wrote and starred in Off-Broadway’s The Laramie Project/The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, a play and later a film written in response to Matthew Shepard’s fatal beating in Laramie, Wyoming (Tectonic Theater Project).
Other plays include his Broadway debut, Match (Plymouth Theatre); Off-Broadway’s Don’t Go Gentle (Lucille Lortel Theatre), Fault Lines (Cherry Lane Theatre), A Small Melodramatic Story (Susan Stein Shiva Theater), McReele (Laura Pels Theatre); and regionally, Dusk Rings A Bell and Finally (Black Dahlia Theatre), Geomtery of Fire (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), and Through Fred (Soho Repertory).
Leigh Fondakowski Head Writer
Leigh Fondakowski was the head writer of “The Laramie Project,” co-writer of “Laramie: Ten Years Later,” and an Emmy Nominated co-screenwriter for the film adaptation of “Laramie” with HBO Films. Leigh’s other original plays include, “I Think I Like Girls,” “The People’s Temple,” “SPILL,” and “Casa Cushman.” Leigh is a recipient of the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights, a MacDowell Fellow, a Yaddo Fellow, a Drama League Fellow, a New Georges Affiliated Artist, and a member of Tectonic Theater Project. Leigh is the author of the non-fiction book, “Stories from Jonestown,” and the creator / host of the audio series Feminist Files starring Jodie Foster.
Greg Pierotti
Associate Writer
Greg Pierotti is a writer, performer and director. He is co-author of The Laramie Project, Laramie: 10 Years Later, and The People’s Temple. He has performed in classical and new work in New York and at regional theaters such as Berkeley Rep, Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, and Arena Stage. As writer / director, he has received residencies to develop his work at Maison Dora Maar in Provence, The Orchard Project and Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor to name a few. He is an Emmy Award nominee and a 2013 nominee for the Alpert Award in the Arts in the category of theatre.
Stephen Wangh
Associate Writer
Stephen Wangh is a director, playwright and teacher of acting. He has directed often in New York and Boston and recently staged The Taming of the Shrew, in Vienna, Austria. The author of 15 plays, he was Associate Writer for The Laramie Project (Emmy nomination 2002) and dramaturg for Moisés Kaufman’s Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. His latest playwriting collaboration is The People’s Temple which recently opened at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in April, 2005. He is Master Teacher of Acting at the Experimental Theatre Wing at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and Visiting Faculty at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. His book, An Acrobat of the Heart, a physical approach to acting inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowski, was published by Vintage Books in September, 2000.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Charlotte Greenall
J Shamala
Gabriel Sujan Kumarasingam
Kristen Lin
Jai Panchmatia
Production & Stage Management Team
Tricia Wee VYC Production Manager
Leah Sim Company Production Manager
Creative Team
Moisés Kaufman Playwright
Leigh Fondakowski Head Writer
Stephen Belber Associate Writers
Greg Pierotti Associate Writer
Stephen Wangh Associate Writers
Amanda Gronich Dramaturg
Special Thanks
Petrina Kow
Leonard Augustine Choo
Shru’jay Ramango
Julian Salvador Uthara Vivek
Noah Yap Jake Yung
Othman M. Yusof Stage Manager
Dawn Lee Assistant Stage Manager
Sarah Lambert Dramaturg
John McAdams Dramaturg
Maude Mitchell Dramaturg
Andy Paris Dramaturg
Barbara Pitts Dramaturg
Kelli Simpkins Dramaturg
Timothy Koh Director
Grace Lin Set Designer
Faith Liu Yong Huay
Lighting Designer
Daniel Wong Sound Designer
PRODUCTION TEAM
Pangdemonium Team
Tracie Pang
Artistic Director / Managing Director
Adrian Pang
Artistic Director / Producer
Renee Tan General Manager
Timothy Koh Associate Director
Leah Sim Production Manager
Tricia Wee Production Coordinator
Kristal Zhou Marketing Manager
Richie Ryan
Digital Marketing Executive
Pangdemonium Board
John Currie
Debbie Andrade
Leonardo Drago
Dr. Jade Kua
Beatrice Chia-Richmond
Tracie Pang
Adrian Pang
Supported By
The Diana Koh Foundation
Michelle Seetoh Ticketing Manager
Annabelle Lim Business Development Manager Hilmi Shukur
Az Adilah Marketing Assistant Company Administrator
Mariem Touahria
Guineviere Low Relationship Manager Accounting Manager
James Tan Associate Artist
The Grace, Shua Jacob Ballas II Charitable Trust
U.S. Embassy Singapore
Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity with IPC status. Registration number: 201229915M
Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is supported by the National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme for the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026