IU’s Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance will present “Into the Woods” at 7:30 p.m. July 7-29 and at 10 a.m. July 27 at the Wells-Metz Theatre. Tickets are available online through the IU Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance website.
The summer musical production of “Into the Woods” is directed and choreographed by Broadway’s DJ Gray, a professor of practice for the BFA program in musical theater and the incoming head of the program. Gray teaches multiple classes at IU, including advanced tap, musical theater styles (dance) and a pilates certification course.
The Indiana Daily Student spoke to Gray about her work on “Into the Woods” on July 3.
IDS: What first brought you to IU from Broadway?
Gray: I always wanted to teach at a university. I had been teaching as an adjunct at several different colleges and I really wanted to settle down, create a real sense of my work and give the work I have been gathering from my experiences to a group of people. I really wanted people that were focused on musical theater as a career. IU appealed to me the most because of the solid program that it is.
IDS: What drew you to direct and choreograph “Into the Woods”?
Gray: It is one of my favorite Sondheim pieces. I brought the idea to the head of our department, Linda, because I wanted to do a few different things with it. I had directed it before and I wanted to dive back into it again.
IDS: When you were pitching the idea for this production, did you specifically want it to be a summer production or was it just best for scheduling?
Gray: Both. We are always choosing material that will be interesting for the public as well. This is different from the school year — this is a professional job. These actors all get paid and not every actor is a student at the university either. We have two graduate students who have graduated and two other people who are in the catheter from the community.
IDS: Having directed it before and being one of your favorite pieces, are there any production changes that you have made from the original Broadway version?
Gray: That’s hard to compare because I haven’t seen the Broadway version in a really long time. I think the major thing is that Milky White — the cow — is a person, not a puppet or a large mobile unit. That’s the biggest difference but I don’t know the other differences because I have not seen it or the revivals either. I have seen one revival that was done with less characters and the actors also played the music, which was incredible — but that’s not our version.
IDS: You mentioned previously working with James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, the creators of “Into the Woods.” What was your experience working with Lapine?
Gray: The first time I worked with James Lapine was on “Spelling Bee” as an associate choreographer. Most of his interaction with the dance creators was that he wanted the movement to not look like dance steps. He wanted us to make sure it looked like the children were creating steps, a very character-driven movement.
IDS: What was your experience working with Sondheim?
Gray: I didn’t work with Sondheim directly, but he was around on all of the projects I worked on with Lapine. I watched some coachings that he did with the actors on a production called “Sondheim on Sondheim.” He took the actors aside and basically told them to not sing so hard, not sing so much — to rely on the words to tell the story, lean into the rhymes and the annoyingness about the rhymes.
IDS: When you are directing do you advise the actors to “to rely on the words to tell the story,” like Sondheim did?
Gray: Absolutely. I pass on the words from the great. The way to master a Sondheim piece is to trust the words. You don’t have to make more of them, you have to be fully invested in the storytelling and in the words that you are using. If you know the words, you can really use them and lean into the articulation.
IDS: What does a typical day directing and choreographing “Into the Woods” look like for you?
Gray: Well, it changes day–to–day. The first three-quarters of the production is creating the piece and the last quarter — where we are now — is technical rehearsal. This is where all of the elements come together: costumes, mics, lights, sound and orchestra. We have to set all of it queue to queue, which is a tedious and long process that is absolutely beautiful at the end.
IDS: What has been most interesting about the production process?
Gray: The process for me has been interesting because of two reasons. For one, every single person is a leading character. Also, this is a thrust stage and there are three sides of an audience bank — this means we have to be very aware of the blocking. It needs to be open to each side and the picture has to completely turn sometime during the scene so that every side can see the show. It’s been very interesting for me to set blocking like that as nobody can stand right next to each other or the view would be blocked. So, everyone has to be a little bit separated.
IDS: What do you hope the actors get out of this experience?
Gray: I don’t think of that when I’m directing. Everyone gets out something different and it’s very personal. It’s based on camaraderie and the work on stage — staying close to the intention of the work is going to be the challenge. As we know, live performances can shift a bit during the duration of a show. I’m hoping they hold on to the original idea of direction so that it doesn’t become embellished. They need to trust the material and not play into the audience. Yes, we want the audience to love us — and they will — but pushing the material in their faces will downgrade the material.
IDS: In your role as director, is there also a mentorship component with the students on cast?
Gray: Yes and no. Because it is a professional production, we are no longer an educational experience. Even though we are under the umbrella of IU, I don’t want to take them aside and make them feel like they are students. I treat them as if they are professionals. I do that anyway in a school situation, if there is something that I feel needs to be addressed then I’ll have an office hour and we will talk. Here, they are all adults and need to take care of their own mental health and wellness.
IDS: Why should IU students attend the show?
Gray: To support their friends and to support art! I think they will really love the show and there are a lot of interesting messages within the show. I have found a lot of insight in the show that can apply directly to my life, it’s almost like therapy.
IDS: Why should Bloomington townies attend the show?
Gray: Sondheim lovers should absolutely attend the show. This is an extraordinarily talented cast that has something very special and unique to share. Our performance is beautiful and clever, the humor is clever — I think that’s my trademark. The costumes and lighting design in this are also extraordinary, very well thought out and unique. I hope people come for that reason too because a lot went into this production.
