In a small Wyoming town that abides by the motto “live and let live,” Matthew Shepard, 21, was brutally beaten, tied to a post and left to die. Why? Because he was gay.

A month later, The Tectonic Theater Project arrived at Laramie, interviewed several residents and made a play based on their accounts.

Seen by more than 30 million people nationwide, “The Laramie Project” comes to EC under the direction of Jerry Prell, part-time lecturer for the theater department.

Along with interviews conducted by The Tectonic Theater Project, the play consists of several other forms of public records, including newscasts, court records and interviews conducted by other media outlets, Prell said. This format is known as journalistic theatre.

“It’s an intriguing story that way, because you hear all these perspectives,” Prell said.

In “The Laramie Project,” reactions are not just taken from Shepard’s family and friends but also from the accused and other residents unconnected to the murder — giving the audience a look at the pain and disbelief of everyone in the community.

Cast member Clifton Bobb, 24, explained that one of the challenges he had when working on “The Laramie Project” was dealing with monologues the play completely consists of. “It’s really just one person talking,” he said.

The point of that journalistic format is to look at the murder as a “historical record of what happened and how it’s put together,” Prell said. “It’s a collage of what was going on kinesthetically and emotionally.”

Which is what “The Laramie Project” is at its core — a literal look at real-life events that echoes motivations seen in recent hate crimes.

The unending relativity of “The Laramie Project” is what made the production such a big hit, especially with younger generations in college campuses across the country.

Muhammad Umar, 26, theater major, stressed that he and the cast wanted to do the show justice. “It’s not just a made up play,” Umar said. “These are actual people.”

Another student, 22-year-old Robert Hart, theatre major, agreed with Umar. Hart had over five different roles in “The Laramie Project,” including Matthew Shepard’s father, Dennis Shepard. However, Hart did not find the amount of roles he had difficult.

Instead, Hart said that “(playing) them honestly and to make them distinct” was the real challenge he had when preparing for the roles. Umar had similar but, at the same time different, challenges when honestly depicting some of his characters.

In the second act, Umar plays Rulon Stacey, CEO of Poudre Valley Hospital, and had a few emotional moments. Shortly after, in the second act, he then had to play Reverend Fred Phelps who is “the polar opposite” of Stacey, Umar said.

Phelps, who died last year, was infamous for his activism against homosexuality and picketing at funerals, including Shepard’s. In the funeral, Phelps and his congregation, under the protection of the First Amendment, held pickets full of hate aimed toward homosexuals and supporters.

Many of the cast had to play characters, real-life people, who held convictions they strongly opposed.

“I’m trying to make it as honest as possible,” Umar said. “But how do I relate that to myself?”

When further discussing the relativity of the play, Prell called out to the EC community: “Because (Matthew Shepard) was a college student, and this stuff is still happening, I think it’s important for our community to try and get as many college students to come.”

“The Laramie Project” premieres at the Campus Theatre Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. and again on Feb. 28. There are also showings on March 6, 7 at 8 p.m. and March 8 at 3 p.m.