I need to be in bed. In less than eight hours, all of my actors will be reporting to the church parking lot for the read-through.
I've had an amazing and exhausting week or five.
There's a much longer story here, but I'm producing THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER. It is the epilogue (sequel) to the THE LARAMIE PROJECT.
I have an insane cast. Zachary Quinto (HEROES), Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette (NCIS), Julie Benz (DEXTER), Jim Parson and Johnny Galecki (BIG BANG THEORY), Barrett Foa (NCIS: LOS ANGELES), James Cromwell (BABE and like 10,000 other movies), Lisa Edelstein (HOUSE), Christian Clemenson (BOSTON LEGAL), and Helen Shaver (THE L WORD).
I have an amazing director in Jillian Armenante.
I have volunteers and other workers at the church that have anticipated my every move. I've dealt with PR, cast, everything. It's been a lot of work. In fact, I SHOULD have spent the past three weeks on the script, but this is more important at the moment.
Today I got an e-mail that the Westboro Baptist Church was coming. (God Hates Fags). Over a series of e-mails, they told me, "We are like so there, you won't even believe how there we are. I'm on my way to the airport. And watch for our beautiful flier."
We decided to counter their arrival with an impromptu "angel action" recreation of the angel wings as organized by Romaine Patterson.
This was followed up with an e-mail that said: "We'll def be there! Your "angel wings will be as useless as they were at the actual funeral, though. =) Remember these photos?..." and then sent me photos of Matthew Shepard's funeral.
I just spent four hours with Jillian, and an amazing team of people constructing about a dozen angels. Jill and I are so tired we can barely stand up. We will be joined by a sea of umbrellas to block the protest as well. The umbrellas are an homage to actual funeral (the wings appeared at the trial... you would think the Phelps family would remember that since they were THERE). See the story below from our Rev. Kathy Cooper-Ledesma.
I don't take threats lightly. And if you know me, I don't scare easily (unless mice or rats are involved).
Tomorrow is going to be an amazing afternoon. President Obama has the hate crimes bill (The Matthew Shepard Bill) sitting on his desk for his signature, which he promised to sign. With Judy Shepard coming at 4:00 (after the show) to speak and sign her book, and the Westboro Baptist Church attending for their protest, it will certainly be a history making afternoon.
Please think of us tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be intense.
And Fred Phelps, you picked the wrong fag, dude. You picked the wrong fag.
From Rev. Kathy Cooper-Ledesma:
From a
conversation I had Thursday evening with Dr. Lynn Evans, retired; he served as
the United Methodist District Superintendent over Laramie and Casper Wyoming in
the late 1990s. Our Bishop, Mary Ann Swenson, suggested that I call
him.
Dr.
Evans was profoundly moved to hear of the staged reading and our invitation to
Judy Shepard. Here are his remembrances:
The
day before Matt Shepard’s funeral service in Casper, the pastor of the First UMC
of Casper called him, worried. He told Dr. Evans that he was certain that Fred
Phelps was going to come to the funeral, and bring folks with large and
offensive picket signs. The pastor was certain because the police chief of
Casper was a member of his church, and he had told the pastor that he was
terribly worried about the disruption of funeral service. He had obtained an
order that the protestors had to stay a certain distance from the church, but
the order also said that they were entitled to be within sight of the
church.
So,
the chief gave them a park area across the street from the church. The city had
put up snow fences, but they were still worried. The Shepard family was loved
and well-respected by folks in the town, and no one wanted this idiot to disrupt
things. (as a caveat, he said that Wyoming residents are very conservative, but
they also are equally respectful of individual rights.)
So,
Dr. Evans suggested that the pastor call together all the clergy and religious
folk of the town, and he would call all his contacts too; the plan was to stand
on the sidewalk in front of the church and just be present, not carry signs, but
to peacefully block off the area between the family and Fred Phelps and his
group.
The
day of the funeral was rainy, snowy and cold. Just an awful day. As luck would
have it – or, perhaps it was the Holy Spirit at work. That’s what Dr. Evans
thinks. Everyone had brought their umbrellas, and so as they stood around the
church their umbrellas created a virtual shield of the church, the hearse, and
all those attending the funeral. You couldn’t see a thing around the
umbrellas—the media couldn’t see Fred, and Fred couldn’t see anything at the
church. The media asked the church folks to move apart so they could get a
shot of Phelps and the protestors. All of the church folk said “no.”
One of
the best moments happened when a group of Wiccans came and asked if they could
join. According to Dr. Evans, they said sure! And they remembered the words of
John Wesley: if your heart is with my heart, give me your hand……. That was the
day the Methodists stood with the Wiccans, proclaiming that goodness is always
stronger than evil, and love will always overcome hate.
After
the service and the Shepard family and the hearse had left, the TV people did
swoop in and get some footage of the protestors. However, Phelps didn’t get
nearly the media attention he wanted.
