Similarities Between The Laramie Project And Aftershocks

You can collect as much testimony as you want, but until you have structured it into a dramatic story it won’t make for exciting theatre.

Through study of Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project and Paul Brown’s Aftershocks I have found that simply collecting and performing testimony will not make for exciting theatre. It is necessary that the structure of the testimony be manipulated in order to engage the audience. Both plays employ a range of dramatic techniques which help bring the characters and their stories to life. One technique used in The Laramie Project which helps add interest to the performance is that of the narrator. The narrator announces the characters name before they speak, and states their profession. An example of this is the narrator saying “Rebecca Hilliker, head of the theatre department at the University of Wyoming.” This technique draws the audience’s attention to the character, allowing them to more easily differentiate between characters. This is important in a play in which one person may be playing multiple roles. The slight back story given to the audience about the character by the narrator stating the characters profession encourages audience interest in what the character is going to say.
This is seen throughout the play such as when the character Elaine states “Howard and Elaine’s story” prior to her and Howard telling their story. This generates a similar effect on the audience as the use of the narrator in Laramie, drawing audience attention to the characters and the stories they are about to tell and is also a way to confirm that the actors are primarily storytellers rather than the characters