When Keller ISD closed the curtain on Timber Creek High School’s performance of “The Laramie Project” students brought their concerns to the board.
Their voices were “censored,” they said during a Feb. 24 board meeting, and the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten and tied to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998, “deserves to be told.”
Keller ISD administrators reversed the decision and greenlit the play March 6. Superintendent Tracy Johnson announced her decision in an afternoon email to the Keller ISD community.
“Keller ISD’s administration recognizes the time and effort that has been put into the adapted version of ‘The Laramie Project’ by students and staff members,” Johnson wrote in the email. “Upon further consideration of this, the administration has decided to proceed as previously planned with the May performance of ‘The Laramie Project.’”
The change meant the world to sophomore William Sampson, one of the more than 70 students in the play.
“We are now able to tell the story of Matthew Shepard, and tell his story that needs to be told now more than ever,” Sampson told the Fort Worth Report.
The 16-year-old attributed the reversal to community pressure after several dozen people spoke against the cancellation of the play.
A petition started on change.org implored Keller ISD to allow Timber Creek students to perform “The Laramie Project.” As of the Report’s publication deadline on March 6, the petition had 4,029 signatures.
Initially, the district said it would shift Timber Creek’s spring play to something that would create “community excitement.” In response to questions from Sampson, Johnson told the student there was not a specific reason for not moving forward with “The Laramie Project,” and that she understood that the play was to be studied in class only.
Keller ISD’s fine arts department adjusted the script to be more age appropriate for students, Johnson told Sampson in an email.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Jacob Sanchez is an enterprise journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
