On Tuesday morning, in the Wharton Center for Performing Arts’s Pasant Theater, cast and crew members gathered to continue putting the finishing touches on "In Pieces," a new musical production set to open this Thursday, Sept. 19.
"In Pieces," written by Joey Contreras, follows six people who are looking back on their lives and previous relationships.
The story, Contreras said, is a "love story about the people we don’t end up with."
This production is being put on through the New Musical Laboratory, a collaboration between the Wharton Center and Michigan State University’s Department of Theater.
This partnership seeks to support new musicals by bringing professionals in the theater industry to East Lansing to collaborate with students and put on a never before seen production with just three weeks of rehearsals.
The New Musical Laboratory process begins with the selection of the year’s production. In October of last year, "In Pieces" was selected out of 118 submissions by a committee of faculty members, students and Wharton Center representatives.
Prior to being chosen for the New Musical Laboratory, "In Pieces" was already a National Alliance of Musical Theater finalist and the soundtrack was released on streaming services, gaining a significant following online.
However, after being selected, the production has been workshopped into a brand new version. Contreras worked alongside dramaturg Samuel Yates to develop the show and has continued to add to it since.
"(Contreras) through the summer wrote another draft from what he submitted to us in February and there was another draft submitted by August, and then I think every day he has submitted something new," Director of New Musical Laboratory Adam Yankowy said.
Contreras said that seeing the show come to life has shown what goes into a complete production, beyond the work done behind music stands.
"This is the first time that we are staging the show," Contreras said. "Being able to see it in a three dimensional space and learn how that storytelling can also assist in everything has been really exciting for us to explore."
A central element of the New Musical Laboratory is the collaboration between Broadway professionals and MSU students.
The connections that the Wharton Center has to the Broadway and theater industry allows them to bring in professionals to work with students in the Department of Theater and the writers of these new productions, Yankowy said.
The cast of "In Pieces" is made up of 10 MSU student actors as well as two professional actors, Julian Diaz-Granados and Stephanie Torns. The show is also guest directed by professional director Emily Maltby, and there is consistent collaboration between Contreras and the cast members.
"(Students) get the first hand experience of learning how to work on new work, experiencing how to learn songs quickly, how to learn new lines really quickly, how to interpret them, how to make them embodied as part of their storytelling," Yankowy said.
Advertising management senior Tyler Pintea is performing in the show as Charlie. The experience of less than three weeks of rehearsals and working alongside professionals, he said, has taught him a lot.
"One of the things that I really learned a lot of was just kind of being open to any changes and any possibilities, and just honestly being ready to stand there and do something completely differently than you did it five days ago," Pintea said.
As the students gain huge takeaways from the quick rehearsal process and working with professionals, the professionals themselves also learn from the students.
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"It’s so fun to work with young actors," Diaz-Granados said. "Just getting a chance to kind of return back to the academic setting and watch these young artists come into their own, gain confidence, and they just have so much joy and energy for the project itself. It’s very contagious."
The professionals involved are also able to collaborate with students outside of the production.
"All of our guest artists visit a classroom as part of their residency here, so we’ve had them all participate in acting classes, directing classes, play analysis," Yankowy said. "It’s a really cool experience for our students, that aren’t doing the show, to get that tangible experience to learn from the professionals."
Advertising management junior Oliver Angel, who is playing Mike in "In Pieces," said working with the professional cast and crew members, in both the classroom setting as well as the rehearsal setting, has been a privilege.
"They really care, they really know the material so well and they come in enthusiastic and just build this rehearsal environment that is fun, it’s focused, and it’s a hard working environment," Angel said. "Being able to be in that kind of environment really builds a strong cast and I think it’s going to build a beautiful show."
