Jason Cronin 3 April 2013 Orem, UT Utah Valley Universitys Spectrum Club brought the question of marriage equality

home to Happy Valley with the debut of three readings of the play 8 last weekend. The performances on Friday and Saturday both took place at UVU, while Sundays was performed at South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society in Salt Lake City. The play, originally written by Dustin Lance Black, is made up of a compilation of transcripts taken from the closing arguments of the trial Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, which overturned Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. Proposition 8 was a 2008 ballot initiative that declared that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. David Beach, the plays director, expressed surprised appreciation for the support received throughout the community. Weve had a great response. Even some of our more Mormon friends are behind us in support. Beach, and Spectrum Clubs co-president, Tom Hawkins, were particularly appreciative of the cast. Even though this was a UVU production, some of the members of the cast were BYU students. Peter Layland, a theater student at BYU, was recommended by a friend to play the part of Dr. Ilan Meyer, a professor who spoke as an expert witness at the trial. Layland remarked that the play is a readingas opposed to a theatrical performancesince the parts arent memorized, but rather read throughout the play from trial transcripts and media interviews. Were not watching it in terms of, Heres a piece of art. Its like a slice of real life. Were not coming to critique, were coming to understand where these people are coming from...I was proud to be a part of it. James Price, a BYU biology student from Highpoint, North Carolina, played the part of David Boies, one of the principal attorneys arguing in favor of gay marriage. He pointed out that the play provides not only a more full view of the arguments on both sides, but also that human element that you dont get when you debate on Facebook. After seeing the original play, UVU student David Beach decided to bring the play to his community. Once writer Dustin Lance Blackwho had grown up in Mormon cultureheard about Beachs intentions to have the play presented in conservative Utah, he handed over copyright permissions on a silver platter.

I just want to open up the discussion and let people make educated decisionsand realize what theyre actually doing, Beach says. Its all about education. And casting was not a problem: We had a full cast right after auditions. We actually ended up cancelling the second day of auditions because the cast was full, with understudies for the main parts. Not surprisingly, the plays production didnt come without its setbacks. We had a little bit of backlash in the beginning from the administration, notes Beach. Wed initially had the Ragan Theatre booked for us, and then all of a sudden, somehow two days later, we got booted out of it. Fortunately, the plays cast was given permission to perform in the Science Building Auditorium of the university. And members of the audience were certainly grateful for the casts hard work. J.C. Graham, who works at UVU Student Health Services and who was present at Saturdays performance, says, Its amazing that the conversations happening, and that all these students came together from BYU and UVU to share what happened with Prop 8. Im proud of them, because it takes courage to do what theyre doing. When asked how the play affected her views on the issue, she said, Hearing the personal vignettes in the testimony of the plaintiffs changed my perception in a way, because it personalized it morethese are individuals, and families. I think that it improved my perspective on what this issue is about: Its about real people. David Beach goes on to say that In Utah Valley you dont hear the term marriage equality; you hear gay marriage, or, the war on marriage. Its not gay marriage its marriage. I dont wake up in the morning and eat my gay breakfast. Its about being treated the same. This play really puts faces to the experiences. As the current president of UVUs Gender Studies Club, Amber Cummings had the difficult task of portraying the part of Maggie Gallagher, who at the time of the actual trial was the president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and who spoke out against marriage equality. Im an activist, so this was totally the opposite for me, she said. The play not only led to panel discussions after the readings, but also presented awareness of opportunities to get involved in the UVU/BYU community. Cummings points out that at UVU, you dont have to be a student to be a member of a club, so students from BYU are welcome to join The Gender Studies Club, which will be working on a future presentation of The Laramie Project.

Tom Hawkins remarks that The Spectrum Club, which works towards awareness for those of marginalized sexual identities, is currently developing a mentorship program for LGBT high school students in the local community, and also plans to help at local shelters for homeless teens, where many LGBT teens are forced to live after being throw out of their homes. Says Cummings, Everyone wants a chance to love how they want to love, and to live how they want to live, if were not hurting anyone. People need to put a face to what theyre saying no to.