A gay college student is beaten and left to die because of his sexuality.

This, and the aftermath surrounding the incident – how it shocked a small town and the nation – seems to be tough material for a youth theater company to tackle. But the teenagers of Creative Artists of Short Stop Theater are doing just that.

The company, composed of teens age 13 to19, will perform The Laramie Project this week. The play revolves around the aftermath of the October 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard. Shepard was killed by two men he met in a bar simply because the men believed Shepard, who was gay, was hitting on them.

The play deals with the aftermath that occurred in Laramie, Wyo. where the incident occurred and how the residents of the small town dealt with their corner of the world being dubbed the “Hate Crime Capital of America.” The play also includes scenes from the trials of Aaron J. McKinney and Russell A. Henderson, the two men convicted of Shepard’s murder.

The screenplay was written after a New York City theater company interviewed residents of the town. It was also later made into an HBO movie.

Each of the 12 teenagers involved in Short Stop Theater’s production of the performance will play a Laramie resident.

The experience has been an eye-opening one for many of them.

“Most of the feedback I have gotten about doing this play has been good,” said Jay Milhem, 15. “But I’ve gotten a lot of ‘I don’t like those gay rights things’.”

Daniel Lovelace, 14, has also experienced some backlash.

“People have told me I shouldn’t promote that sort of lifestyle,” he said. But the teens insist the story needs to be told.

For Greg McGoon, 18, the Shepard’s story is important. As the only gay male actor in the production, McGoon is emotionally tied to the story.

“It shows how afraid (the gay community) is,” he said. “But it also taught a town that it’s not about being gay, it’s about being equal.”

However, Patrick Sullivan, 17, doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t approach it as being a straight man. I approach it as being a human being,” he said.

That level of maturity is something director Carla Carpenter insisted on when casting for the production of this powerful play. She personally selected kids to audition instead of holding open casting calls.

“Because of the nature and difficulty of the subject matter, I figured it would be better to do it that way,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said she wanted the company to perform the play shortly after reading it, but had to wait for another theater, Contemporary American Theatre Company’s production of the same piece to end before beginning work. She said one of the strengths of the play is the range of viewpoints expressed by the Laramie residents.

“Within that spectrum, the kids have found themselves,” Carpenter said.

Some teens have even formed a new perspective after their involvement in the play.

“For some who may have had some homophobic ideas, to get behind someone else’s eyes, is great,” Carpenter said.

She also said in preparation for the piece, the company researched hate-crime legislation, the Shepard story and previous productions of the play to gain a better understanding of all the issues involved in the story.

The Laramie Project performance will take place at 7 p.m. today and tomorrow, and at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Short Stop Youth Center located at 1066 N. High St.