Tectonic Theater Project
On 6 October 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. He died 6 days later. His torture and murder became a watershed historical moment in America that highlighted many of the fault lines in our culture.
A month after the murder the members of Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie and conducted interviews with the people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play "The Laramie Project". The piece has been seen by more than 30 million people around the country.
Matthew Ward (writer)
Matthew Ward (1950/1951 – June 23, 1990) was an American English/French translator noted for his 1989 rendition of Albert Camus' "The Stranger". He made several important alterations from the more British-toned translation (and previously only English edition) by Stuart Gilbert. Most notably he altered the quite well known opening line "Mother died today" to "Maman died today". Ward defended the alteration by noting that the more juvenile "Maman" reflects the "curious feeling he (Meursault) has for her". Other examples of Ward altering Gilbert's version include the line, "Il était avec son chien" from, "As usual, he had his dog with him" to "He was with his dog". Once again Ward felt this better reflected Meursault's character. Indeed, later in the novel Meursault notes Salamano's dog is worth no more or less than his wife.