Counter Demonstration Planned at Langley High to Support Play

2pm Saturday- Some McLean residents are organizing a peaceful counter demonstration at Langley High School tonight in support of "The Laramie Project" – a play being performed at the school that dramatizes the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Laramie, Wyo.

The counter demonstation plans came after a notice was posted on the website of a Kansas church announcing that its members would picket the high school during the performance.

An email is circulating this afternoon inviting people to "join us in a peaceful counter-protest to show God's true love of all humanity in this Christmas season. Signs of tolerance and inclusiveness are welcome.  We will be assembling at 6:30 at LHS.  Of course, you are welcome to enjoy the performance at 7:30.  Tickets are $10 at the door."

Friday evening: The Langley High School student production of a play about the murder of a gay man will be picketed Saturday night by members of a Kansas church, according to a notice on the church's website.

The Westboro Baptist Church is known for spreading its anti-gay messages at the funerals of soldiers.

The play, "The Laramie Project," is based on the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Laramie, Wyo.

Fairfax County Police said officers would monitor the high school and other officers would be available to respond if needed. McLean Patch also asked for comments from Fairfax County Public School officials.

 The director, senior Lauren Stewart, first saw the play two years ago.

"I was so moved by the play that I read Matthew Shepard's mother's book, and it talked about ... its belief in acceptance, compassion and understanding," she said.   Stewart worked with her drama teacher, Phyllis Jaffe, to direct the play and raise money for the Matthew Shepherd Foundation.

Susan Stewart, mother of the play's director, said she was concerned neither with the threatened protest nor competition from tonight's basketball game with cross-town rival McLean High School.

"It's not about raising money, but raising awareness. If we only reach a few people, that's great," she said.

The play — about intolerance of gays, hate and bullying — has gained a resonance in the wake of the suicide of a gay Rutgers University student, who was an alleged victim of bullying by some fellow students.

Earlier today about 45 parents and counselors from both Langley and McLean high schools, braved snowy roads, black ice and a two-hour delay in the opening of school, to gather in the Langley auditorium for a discussion called Erasing Hate.  The program was designed to teach both parents and students about the pervasive nature of intolerance toward homosexuality, religion and race and what can be to combat it.

Thomas B. Howard Jr., program director for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, led a discussion about turning hate into tolerance, sponsored by the Parent, Teachers, Students Association at Langley.  Betsy Shomaker, the head of the the PTSA Family Network Committee, helped arrange the program.

The program included a video presentation about Shepard's brutal murder and its impact on the community.  Shepard's parents were able to heal by turning their grief into a mission of erasing hate by establishing the foundation.

Howard then spoke about his own experiences as a victim of bullying. His middle school years were terrifying and thoughts of suicide were common, he said. The only way he coped was by finding someone to listen to him — his choir director.

"We don't have to agree but we do have to listen and acknowledge other people's world views … acceptance … By doing this [I] became more compassionate to others and their differences ... sexual orientation, race, gender,"  he said.

That presentation was followed by a performance of an excerpt from the production of "The Laramie Project," featuring Jordan Moeller, which will be performed Friday and Saturday.

Westboro's website said it would protest a production of "The Laramie Project" at a Rockville, Md., high school last month. 

The church argued for right to continue its funeral protests before the U.S. Supreme Court this month, according to The New York Times. About five people from the church picketed the funeral of  Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Sen. John Edwards, last week in Raleigh, N.C., the Times reported. 

• What: Saxons on Stage Present:The Laramie Project
• Where: , 6520 Georgetown Pike, Mc Lean, VA 22101
• Date: Dec. 17, 2010 / Dec. 18, 2010
• Time: 7:30 p.m.