Reclaimed Performing Arts Company's 10th Anniversary Season opener is The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project.
The show performs on February 5 & 6, 2027 at the Charles A. Brown Ice House in Bethlehem, PA.
Shaffer is performing as: Moisés Kaufman, Rulon Stacey, Reggie Fluty, Aaron McKinney, and Others.
About the Play:
"The Laramie Project presents a deeply complex portrait of a community’s response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man living in Laramie, Wyoming. In October 1998 a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die and tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming. His bloody, bruised and battered body was not discovered until the next day, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he was the victim of this assault because he was gay.
Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town. Some people interviewed were directly connected to the case, and others were citizens of Laramie, and the breadth of their reactions to the crime is fascinating. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience from these interviews and their own experiences. The Laramie Project is a breathtaking theatrical collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable." (Concord Theatricals)
Shaffer serves as the Vice President and Marketing Director of Reclaimed Performing Arts Company, which is dedicated to embracing the suspension of disbelief in the arts. Our mission is to break free from the boxes that define performers by their perceived 'type,' fostering an artistic space uninhibited by societal limitations. We aim to highlight the experiences of artists, including those from the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, and encourage meaningful conversations.
Reclaimed Performing Arts Company's mission:
Reclaimed Performing Arts Company believes in embracing suspension of disbelief. Our mission is to remove the box put around performers through their perceived “type” by encouraging an artistic space that is free from the limitations of how we are seen. We strive to highlight artist’s experiences and encourage conversation.
Reclaimed Performing Arts Company's Pillars of Action include: Advocate, Educate, Illuminate, Originate, & Uplift.
To learn more about Reclaimed Performing Arts Company, click the button below!
About the Play: Crashing on Earth mid-flight test for the Vline Space Invader Institute, Zarp finds themselves in an environment they never imagined. Zarp is compelled to confront a memory they buried long ago in hopes of returning home: the death of their parents.
Shaffer is the playwright. To explore more of their works, please visit their New Play Exchange page by clicking the button below.
PREVIOUS PRODUCTION:
August 8, 2026 at 7 pm:
Reclaimed Performing Arts Company will produce
Earth, I Want to Stay at Alumnae Hall Little Theatre of Cedar Crest College.
PRIOR DEVELOPMENT:
As part of Shaffer's residency with Theatre4thePeople @theBarn in June of 2025, they developed Earth, I Want to Stay. During their residency, Shaffer drew on insights from their previous New Play Development process to revise and deepen the story. Isaac Byrne organized a virtual read-through of the script which significantly aided in the development process!
From March 30th to April 5th of 2025, Earth, I Want to Stay underwent a New Play Development Workshop as a Student Driven Project, featured in the Bloomsburg University Players' Mainstage Season. Collaboration included student actors, designers, a dramaturg, and stage management, with Colin Search serving as the Director.
A sharing of the play took place on April 5th in the Theatre Lab of the Arts and Administration building on CU-Bloomsburg's campus.
Emmett Shaffer
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