By Megan Hurt

Eleven years ago, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and their supporters were not marching on Washington to demand equal rights like they were doing over the weekend.

Instead, 11 years ago, people from the LGBT community were marching for a different cause in Laramie, Wyo. — for Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student who had been beaten and killed for being gay, one of the first LGBT hate crimes to receive national attention in America.

UK students will get the chance to explore and understand what happened to Shepard and the town of Laramie on Friday when the Imperial Court of Kentucky performs the play “The Laramie Project” on campus.

“It’s a story of how one event can touch an entire town, state or nation; how it changed the lives of countless people,” said Wesley Nelson, Emperor 28 of the Imperial Court of Kentucky and director of the Kentucky production of “The Laramie Project.”

“It’s not just about Matthew Shepard,” Nelson said, “that was the catalyst for people to take a look at how they live their lives.”

The Laramie Project’s structure is not like a normal play. Nine actors play 60 different characters and most of the story is told through monologues of individual characters.

“It’s a documentary-style stage play,” Nelson said. “It shows a variety of viewpoints. It shows us how everything is not black and white, there are shades of grey.”

The Imperial Court of Kentucky is a charitable organization that has a special outreach for the homophile community, according to it’s Web site. Through fundraising, the court raises money for organizations like Moveable Feast, AIDS Volunteers, Inc. and Lexington Fairness, Nelson said.

All of the money raised from ticket sales for “The Laramie Project” will go toward the Matthew Shepard Foundation and other organizations the court supports.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation is working toward educating people about hate crimes and the LGBT community, including developing programs and even creating storybooks for kindergarten-aged children, Nelson said.

Nelson said the court is performing the play to also involve the UK community and spread the message of “The Laramie Project” to a younger generation.

“It’s such an important story we’ve been trying to share with as many people as possible,” he said. “A lot of our events are in bars or in places where people under 21 can’t attend. We want to reach out to younger students on campus and let them hear the story.”

Although Shepard was killed 11 years ago, when most college students today were in grade school, Nelson believes it’s important to be familiar with the story.

“What happened to Matthew Shepard, things like that still happen today,” he said. “It’s only been this past year any legislation has been passed to stop hate crimes. It’s still a relevant story because we’re still fighting this battle today.”

The Imperial Court of Kentucky has performed the play at Eastern Kentucky University and will perform at Morehead State University and The Bar Complex this Saturday. Nelson hopes by performing “The Laramie Project,” the message of hope will be spread.

“I hope (people) see the message of hope,” Nelson said. “Even though these horrible things can happen, we can learn and grow from them and there is a better future to be had.

“It’s one of those things that will touch everybody, regardless of your background. We want more people to share the message with; we want to celebrate the life of Matthew Shepard.”

The Imperial Court of Kentucky will be performing “The Laramie Project” this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Briggs Theatre. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for general public.

If you go

What: The Laramie Project

When: Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Briggs Theatre

Admission: $5 for students, $10 for general public