The Lake Tahoe Community College Theater Arts Department is having auditions for its fall production of “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later” on Sept. 24 at 7pm in the college’s Duke Theatre.

This production commemorates the 15th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death.

Several events will be presented at the college in association with this production, including a screening of the new documentary film, “Matthew Shepard is a Friend of Mine.”

Shepard was a gay college student who was tortured and left for dead while tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyo., in October 1998. He died a few days later. The crime and how the community dealt with it was the focus of “The Laramie Project,” a theatrical production that came to LTCC in 2010.

In the years since the play’s creators first interviewed townspeople about their feelings, Shepard became an important icon in the fight for gay rights – a fight that has led to remarkable change in recent months. But how did the passing of time affect the town where the murder took place? And what of the two men found responsible for Shepard’s death? That’s the premise behind “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later,” a play that explores how a tragic event that became international news still haunts and shapes Laramie today.

Rehearsals will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings near the beginning and increasing.

Performances are the evenings of Nov. 15, 16, 21, 22 adn 23 and matinees on Nov. 7 and Nov. 24.

Five men and five women are needed to play multiple characters ranging in age from 18-65.

Scripts of the play are available in the LTCC Library for 48-hour checkouts.

For more information about auditions, contact Susan Boulanger at (530) 541.4660, ext. 240 or Boulanger@ltcc.edu.