Since "The Laramie Project" debuted to both critical acclaim and controversy in 2000, the Pittsburgh area has been host to professional and college productions of the show, but Sewickley Academy may be the first local high school to stage it.

"The Laramie Project" focuses on the impact that the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard had on the town named in the title. Robbed and beaten by two men who had offered him a ride home, Mr. Shepard, 21, was discovered bound to a fence in a field outside Laramie. He died Oct. 12, 1998.

The show is based on interviews with hundreds of Laramie residents that were conducted in the months following Mr. Shepard's death by members of the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project, led by Moises Kaufman. Excerpts from the interviews, along with the interviewers' journal entries and news accounts of the incident, make up the "script" of the show, in which 12 actors portray more than 80 characters.

Stacy A. Donovan, Sewickley Academy's theater teacher and director, said one of the reasons she wanted to stage "The Laramie Project" is because the show would "expose the students to something quite new."

Tectonic Theater focuses on moment work, in which a past event is presented from many perspectives. Not only is this kind of theater new to the students, Ms. Donovan said, but they must perform multiple roles and "speak directly to the audience."

Those involved in "The Laramie Project" have done research to prepare for it. "They've talked to their counterparts in Tectonic Theater," she said, "and have looked into ... the local lore and the background of hate crimes legislation."

The students feel a "great weight of responsibility" in portraying actual people and their viewpoints, Ms. Donovan said.

Walter Nogay, 16, said his favorite part of performing "The Laramie Project" is showing how the characters change over time. Among other parts, he plays college student Jedediah Schultz, "and you can see how this event transforms him." The character "starts to draw his own conclusion about what the incident means," Walter said.

Senior Benjamin Thomas, 18, plays both the sympathetic Doc O'Connor and the antigay minister Fred Phelps, who often pickets productions of "The Laramie Project."

"They're very contrasting characters, and I love that," Benjamin said. "I've never had an opportunity like this as an actor."

The production also stars Jimmy Barbuto, Daniel Petricca, Kenny Fedorko, Julia Hansen, Lauren Lasorda, Alexandra Proie, Maria Gonzalez and Katherine Hough.

Ms. Donovan said the production is part of Sewickley Academy's effort to offer theater not only to the school community but to the larger community that surrounds it.

"That was part of the mandate when I was hired," she said, adding that the school's administration supports her efforts to present works that might be "edgier" than the usual high school fare.

"The Laramie Project"was previewed last night and is being performed at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday in the Gregg Family Theater, Sewickley Academy, 315 Academy Ave., Sewickley. Tickets: $5. Some performances are sold out, so call for information at 412-741-2230, ext. 3076 or e-mail sdonovan@sewickley.org.