aeay 4, 2009 Page 25 lccc.wy.edu/wingspantudents on displaySelf-portraitChris LewisCalm WatersChris LewisStonewareEddy MillerAll photos by Daniel StelleChalice and BladeDeb IngersollChairsKevin Reed‘Coyote’ howlsLacerating play draws crowdPage 26Meditative coyoteDepth of play discussedPage 27
26Wi n g s pa na&e<strong>May</strong> 4, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspanReviewEmotional plot makes ‘Coyote’ thought-provoking“Coyoten a Fence”ave audienceembers annside look onthe inside”nd took a closerook at capitalunishment andhe lives affectedy it.Chris ArnesonInnocent until proven guilty:From left, John Brennan (Ryan Archibald), Bobby Reyburn (James Sweazea), Sam Fried (Eleanor Duffy) and Shawna DuChamps (Anna Katen).By DominicBenintendeCo-A&E EditorThe horns andcheering—well,they were celebratingthe executionof another person ondeath row.A cast of four actedout this bizarre scenefrom “Coyote on aFence” at LaramieCounty CommunityCollege’s Playhouseduring April. Theresult was moving.LCCC theatreinstructor JasonPasqua directed BruceGraham’s little-knownplay about coping withlife that has a very certainexpiration date.The set, lined withcinder blocks and abarbed wire fence,locked in the audiencein with the prisonobituary writer JohnBrennan, played byRyan Archibald, and hisnew racist cell partner,Bobby Reyburn, playedby James Sweazea.Throughout theplay, both characters’pasts were revealed—each debatably dark.However, Brennan didhis best to give everyprisoner on death rowa fair obituary afterhe dies and fightingchance while he isalive.Brennan believesno one deserves thedeath penalty. “I’mnot going to let thelast thing said aboutthese men be ugly,”Brennan said.His new next doorneighbor, Reyburn,on the other hand, feltReyburn should diefor burning down ablack church with 37people inside, 14 ofthem children.Ironically, Reyburnwatched episodesof “All My Children”during the play, all thewhile complaining nochildren were in thesoap opera.Between Reyburn’sracist and anti-Semiticrants, Reyburn didhis best impressionsof animals. Thoughsome may have seenReyburn’s acts asmonstrous, there wasno denying the humorin seeing him try tobalance a tennis ballon his nose while pretendingto be a seal.Both prisonerswere different. Theyshared their last daysarguing over commasand whether it’s OKto hate Jewish people.Yet, at the core, thebiggest differenceseemed to be theirviews of their crimes.Reyburn admittedhe did what Godasked him to do whileBrennan proclaimedhis innocence for thebrutal murder of adrug dealer.The play placedequal weight on crimesthat could be arguedas being on differentends of the moral andethical spectrum. Itbegs the question ofwhether it is betterwhen one murders ascumbag or 37 innocentblack people.The play broughtin two other necessarycharacters who offerdifferent views on thedeath penalty.ShawnaDuChamps, playedby Anna Katen, wasa woman trapped inher own way. She wasa guard in a town builtaround the prison.DuChamps has amonologue in the playin which she swallowsa recent execution withthree or four SierraNevada Pale Ales.As the play progressed,the audiencesaw emotion buildingin DuChampsbecause she had losta friend she may havenever known she had:Brennan.The other character,Sam Fried, playedby Eleanor Duffy, wasan opinionated NewYork Times journalistwho made frequentvisits to the prison tospeak with Brennan.Fried was coercedby Brennan to getbackground informationon Reyburn, whohe felt was too crazyto die for his crimes.Brennan told ajoke he would notfinish in his dyingbreath to Reyburn andsaid he would finishit if Reyburn wouldfight for an appeal.Reyburn refused.The meaning of theplay’s title, revealednear the end, referredto a story told byReyburn’s uncle, whotaught him how tohate, in which a coyoteis killed and hung on afence for all to see.The underlyingmeaning was predatorsdeserve to die.Arguably, Reyburnsaw himself as apredator. Reyburntried to convinceBrennan that the manhe killed was one ofthese predators.The play endedwith the sounds ofcheers and honkinghorns—this has alwaysbeen the sign theykilled another deathrow prisoner. Thefirst one to meet hisfate was Reyburn, towhom by this time theaudience had grownsympathetic. The nextto go was Brennan.“Coyote on aFence” likely conveyeddifferent emotionsand meanings toeveryone who viewedit. But all surely foundit thought-provokingafter seeing it.
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