A Limitless Theatre Student Makes Their Debut in Design With “The Laramie Project”

By Alexis Bensoussan

Isabel Toussaint doesn’t like being limited.

The Flagler College junior studying theatre arts strives to learn a little bit of everything when it comes to theatre–stage management, acting, playwriting, sound, media, lighting and recently, set design.

“I never wanted anyone to be able to tell me, ‘No.’ If there’s a show that I want to be a part of, I’m going to be a part of it. I wanted to build up my skills so that any position could be the best position, so that I could always find my place in a show.” 

For Toussaint, fitting into just one box is not quite their style. 

Toussaint’s strong drive to excel in multiple areas has led them to doing something entirely new–designing the set for the senior capstone production of “The Laramie Project” at Flagler College.

“The Laramie Project” is a pro-LGBTQ+, documentary-style play about the town of Laramie, Wyoming and the hate-fueled murder of Matthew Shepard that occurred there. The play was written by the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, who traveled to Laramie to interview the people of the town. 

As a playwright–among other things–Toussaint was excited about the show and the style of writing because it is so different from anything else they have read. The concept of the piece coming from interviews with real people was so moving to them, that they knew they wanted to be a part of it. 

“I do think that whenever I write like as a playwright, I tend to write better whenever I have a personal interest in something, and when I feel like I’m writing for a character, when I feel like it’s like a love letter,” they said. “So for me, reading ‘Laramie’ felt like it was a love letter to Laramie, the town of Laramie and to Matthew Shepard. And I just really wanted to be a part of it whenever I heard that we were going to be doing it here.”

Starting out in high school doing stage management, they decided to widen their theatre horizons and strengthen the skills they were most interested in. Toussaint believes that to succeed in one area, you have to know all areas.

“The reason why I started doing other things outside of just [stage management] was because I wanted to get better at being a stage manager or a director,” they said. “And then I found that, like, the more you know about the different aspects of theater, the easier it is to do other things.”

Toussaint’s desire to learn came from when they failed the third grade. Though they took it hard, they used it as motivation to improve and persevere.

“If it just is a difference between hard work and not hard work, then there’s nothing that I can’t do,” they said. 

Toussaint also likes the competition of theatre and knowing that not everything is guaranteed. When you audition for a show, you might not get cast or you might not be selected to direct or design. But one thing they do guarantee for themself is making sure to be a part of every production they want to be, in some way or another.

In terms of their set design for “The Laramie Project,” the whole process started by simply reading the show. 

“Most of this design, honestly, I came up with within the first 10-ish pages, because it’s the introduction of the whole show. And my set is also an introduction of the show,” they said. 

From there, their design blossomed through wanting the set to replicate how they felt while reading the script.

“Even though it comes from this massive tragedy, there’s so much beauty that was found, and found through the connections of the people and just the fact that Matthew Shepard’s story invokes conversation,” they said. “It kind of just highlights how much communication and community really matters in the world and in life. So I tried to find inspiration images that made me feel the same way I felt whenever I was reading the show.”

Though “The Laramie Project” has elements of tragedy and grief, its message is powerful and serves an educational and thought-provoking purpose. Toussaint is excited about how “The Laramie Project” and their design will impact the audience. 

“I’m intrigued by the idea of what it can do for the people. And I like that when people are gonna watch it, they’re gonna feel something, it’s gonna invoke something out of them.”

Flagler’s production of “The Laramie Project” runs Nov. 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 17 at 2 p.m., where Toussaint will make their debut in design. Opening night marks the 26th anniversary of when the Tectonic Theater Project first traveled to Laramie to conduct their interviews. 

Many details of Toussaint’s set design are inspired by the themes and message of “The Laramie Project.” For instance, they have included a ramp in their design with a dirt path that represents more than just nature, to further emphasize how the town of Laramie walked a path that ultimately led to the murder of Matthew Shepard.

“I wanted to implement this dirt path because I feel like the show is a lot about the ways in which our actions and our own unknown biases can affect the people around us. And even though you don’t realize what you’re doing, when you walk on the same area over and over again, you’re going to create an impression, and that impression is going to take a while to be undone or to fix or to be rejuvenated.”

Toussaint has worked closely with their design professor and the director of “The Laramie Project,” Shawn Fisher. The two grew close when they worked together on a show that Fisher wrote called “Streetlight Woodpecker,” where Toussaint was the stage manager. 

Despite not wanting to be told “No,” Toussaint said that hearing it from Fisher helped them to get ideas flowing and work cohesively on the design.

“I respect Shawn a lot as a professional. Every time that we get together, I think our artistic styles complement each other well. And Shawn’s the type of person who isn’t afraid to, like, butt heads with me and tell me, ‘No,’ you know? Or to give me new ideas and to riff off of things,” they said.

On the flip side, Fisher respects Toussaint as a theatre artist and fully trusts them to produce great work on this show. 

“I have so much faith in Izzy as a collaborator, because everything that they have done with me over the years, I just feel complete confidence, and I rely quite a bit on them,” Fisher said. “They have just stepped up and just done great work. Throughout the entire process, they’ve just grown so much, and they’ve learned so much about sort of how to communicate their vision.”

Fisher believes that this show needs to be seen and produced because of the conflict in our country regarding the LGBTQ+ community and the impact that this show can have on peoples’ perspectives.

“Because we are at a time where there is so much volatility–socially, politically–around issues of LGBTQIA+ communities, I just think it’s a really important piece to share with people,” Fisher said. “I think presenting it to an audience in 2024 is really important to maybe affect people in a way that might possibly positively move us back in that direction of inclusion.”

Despite all the little elements that make up the design, Toussaint is most proud of the set in its entirety.

“Honestly, I think I’m most proud of the silhouette of the set,” they said. “Being able to look at the whole and be like, ‘Oh, that looks like it cohesively goes together while also being unique and also being interesting.’” 

Trying something new isn’t always an easy feat, but Toussaint is the kind of person who loves to learn and push themself to do difficult things.

“I like working hard to make a final product. And every time that you work, you just get better at it.”

Though the set isn’t quite finished yet, Toussaint has big visions coming to life for this show, and they have worked diligently to share a beautiful message.