Flying in the face of the controversy that shut down a scheduled production of The Laramie Project at Elgin Park secondary school in Surrey last September, Vancouver's Lord Byng secondary is mounting its own interpretation of the play. Rather than shying away from the subject matter, homophobia, the Byng administration is turning the piece into a school-wide, cross-curricular learning event.

In a telephone interview, Tim McGeer, who is one of the vice principals, told the Straight that The Laramie Project will help the institution to meet some of its most crucial educational goals: "We're interested in getting kids to think about the relationship between art and social responsibility."

The script, which was written by Moisés Kaufmann and the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, deals with the 1998 murder of gay university student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The Surrey school board nixed Elgin Park's production, saying that the play's violence and profane language were inappropriate.

Determined to be proactive rather than reactive, the Byng team approached the Vancouver School Board shortly after drama teachers Carol Mann and Tamara McKay-who are directing the show-first proposed the initiative. McGeer said that the board was immediately supportive and continues to be so.

Kaufmann himself worked with the students. Fred Norman also visited the school, speaking about homophobic violence in Vancouver; Norman is the cousin of Aaron Webster, the gay man beaten to death in Stanley Park in November 2001. As part of the process, the students have also had input from the likes of P-FLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to community activists at Little Sisters Book & Art Emporium.

Author, radio host, and Georgia Straight contributor Bill Richardson will introduce the first public performance this Wednesday (January 11). Shows run until January 18 and talk-back sessions will follow each staging. Asked what the response will be if some people put forward the notion that homosexuality is a deviant or sinful lifestyle, McGeer responded: "When it's come up in the past, our response has been to be very blunt and direct. We live in a society that respects rights for everybody, regardless of race, creed, or sexual identity." He notes that in taking this position, the staff at Lord Byng is honouring the anti-homophobia policy that applies to all B.C. schools.

Byng's teachers and students will explore The Laramie Project's subject matter through various disciplines. The sculpture class is creating an artistic happening called The Tree of Change; English classes are examining the language of hate; and the film class is making a documentary about the whole process.