You won't want to miss this Saturday's staged reading of The Laramie Project, a benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Ten area performers voice the surprise and despair, the anger and denial of 100 Laramie, Wyoming residents reacting to the 1998 killing there of Matthew Shepard. Samantha Loesch (Waitsfield) says that this powerful script presents ". . . ordinary people in an ordinary rural town, and it's so appropriate for this cast of people from ordinary small rural towns." Ramsey Papp (Randolph) " . . . loves learning history through the hearts of those who made that history!" Hilary Mullins (Bethel) believes that "Matthew's murder woke up the rest of the world to the dangers that all 'queers' were facing back then and that many, including transgender people, still face." Come and join them and the rest of the cast for an exceptional evening of theater.

The performance will be followed by a talkback and a complimentary reception, with homemade treats.

Tickets are available now, online www.chandler-arts.org or (802) 728 6464. Adults $22 in advance, $24 at the box office on the day of the show. Students $15 in advance, $17 at the box office on the day of the show.