Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
justice as she travels the world over speaking on behalf of and advocating for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. To date, Judy has brought Matthew's message
of acceptance to more than 300,000 people worldwide. In 2009, the Matthew Shep-
ard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed into federal law, an
expansion of the 1969 federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a vic-
tim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. It
was the first federal law to extend legal protection to transgendered people.
Another response to Shepard's murder was
The Laramie Project
(
www.laramieproject.org
), brought to fruition by Tectonic Theater Project. The small
theater company traveled to Laramie and interviewed residents about the events sur-
rounding Shepard's death. What they learned was transformed into a play,
The Lara-
mie Project,
and eventually a movie of the same name that ran on HBO and was seen
by more than 30 million people nationwide.
Ten years after the murder, Moisés Kaufman and other members of the company
traveled back to Laramie to see if and how the community had been transformed
by the passage of time. In October 2009,
The Laramie Project Epilogue
premiered
across the country in major theaters, as well as at high schools and colleges.
Although both states are well known for historical, landscape, and wildlife art, Montana
in particular has its fair share of contemporary art galleries and museums. The Holter Mu-
seum in Helena, the Paris Gibson Square Museum in Great Falls, and the Yellowstone Art
Museum in Billings have some of Montana's best contemporary works on display. The
Archie Bray Foundation in Helena is nationally recognized for modern pottery creations
from its resident artists, and the town of Livingston boasts “14 galleries and three stop
lights” and is famous for its Friday-night wine-filled art walks.
Montana is home to numerous small-town theaters as well as the large theaters associ-
ated with the universities in Bozeman and Missoula. The Missoula Children's Theatre is na-
tionally recognized, and year-round theaters can be found in many cities, including Billings,
Missoula, Bozeman, and Whitefish. Theaters in West Yellowstone, Fort Peck, and Bigfork
offer excellent summer programs, and the raucous Brewery Follies in historic Virginia City
plays to sold-out crowds May-September.
