This was the fifth musical she directed for University Players, a completely undergraduate-run theater organization at IU. She said she always watches the shows she directs, but she was not at all nervous for this production.
“This cast is phenomenal,” Gray said. “They’re all such wonderful performers, they’ve got beautiful voices and the set really came together.”
Friday night, “Fugitive Songs,” a musical following six struggling teenagers coming together to face their obstacles in life, opened at the Studio Theatre in the IU Theatre Building.
This song cycle musical did not have any dialogue throughout the performance, but Gray said it still had a distinct plotline.
“The thing that unifies them and the story is that they’re all running from something,” Gray said. “The opening song is called ‘Reasons to Run,’ and they’re all looking for this chance to start over whatever that may be.”
Gray said “Fugitive Songs” is a newer musical, and she enjoys directing those best.
“I love working with a group to create something that most people haven’t seen before,” Gray said. “This show isn’t necessarily brand new, but a lot of people don’t really know it.”
Jake Gadomski, an IU sophomore, came to the show to support two of his friends in the cast.
“I know the music is kind of folk music, but I’ve never really heard the score,” Gadomski said. “I’m expecting to listen and relax to a bunch of new songs.”
When Gray started rehearsals for the show, she preferred to work with her actors as opposed to just telling them what to do, she said.
“I spread all my stuff out on the floor, sit on the floor and say let’s just play with it,” Gray said. “We’re just going to walk through the song and I want them to tell me where their instincts take them. We work together after we walk through that and I go, ‘I love what you did there, but now let’s rework it so it looks good for an ?audience.’”
Luke Denison, an IU senior and theatre major in the show, said he admired Gray’s directing approach because it gave him more freedom as an actor.
“Not giving any direction in the beginning can be really awkward and ?intimidating for some people,” Denison said. “But, it’s great because then you are willing to try more things because you have to do ?something.”
Throughout the performance, all of the actors played some type of instruments to accompany each of their songs.
“We all play very vital instruments,” said Allison Marra, an IU senior performer studying theatre.
“Some are very key to the song as in the piano or the guitar, but some people are very talented on the tambourine like myself,” Marra said. “They’re real fun.”
The Studio Theatre was a smaller venue that only held about 40 to 50 seats. While this limited the amount of audience members per performance, Marra said this allowed for more of a storytelling atmosphere throughout the show.
“We’re telling these stories to these people and having them listen,” Marra said. “I feel like we’re in such a tight space that we can look at them in the eyes and actually talk to them. Instead of in a bigger theater where you’re just talking at them, I feel like we’re talking with them.”
Gray said she wanted to direct this musical because she felt it spoke to this generation.
“It’s not afraid to confront things like your fears, failure and wanting to run away from your problems and start over,” Gray said. “That’s something so many college kids are going through. It sounds so cliché, but it’s just true and honest.”
