Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance welcomes Joey Contreras for a weeklong residency. Contreras is a contemporary musical theatre writer, composer, and lyricist based in New York City. In preparation for the staging of his recent new work, In Pieces, Contreras will visit campus February 4-8 to work directly with School of Theatre and Dance students. In Pieces will be directed by M.F.A in directing candidate Al Oltmanns with musical direction by Dr. Matthew Vala.
Contreras received his Master of Fine Arts in musical theatre writing from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Some of his other works include All the Kids Are Doing It, Forget Me Not, I Used to Shine (all with co-writer Kate Thomas) and Heartbreakers in Hell, with co-writer Benjamin Halstead. His theatre compositions also include work for the Walt Disney Company and The 5th Avenue Theatre.
During his residency, Contreras will work with musical theatre students during classes, and he will attend all the rehearsals for In Pieces for the week. In addition to this, Contreras will be teaching a free master class workshop in musical theatre at the end of the week which will be open for all School of Theatre and Dance students to attend.
When asked about Contreras’s upcoming residency, Maggie Marlin-Hess, head of the musical theatre program, said that it was exciting to have an artist like Contreras, “who is making waves in the industry,” on campus.
“This is such an amazing opportunity for our student performers, our graduate director, Al Oltmanns, the pit orchestra students from the School of Music, and the rest of the stage management and artistic team present in rehearsals,” said Marlin-Hess. “It is a great opportunity to get this experience of celebrating and being challenged by professional standards in the industry.”
On the topic of what they were looking forward to most when it came to working with Contreras, Oltmanns had this to say: “It’s a rare gift to get to work alongside the creator of a show. The amount of insight he will provide is priceless, but I’m most excited to see the students learn and grow from working with him.” That sentiment is shared by students, faculty, and staff of the School of Theatre of Dance.
In Pieces was originally derived as a filmed theatrical production in 2021, a time when the theatre world was still recovering from the pandemic, and live performances were few and far between. The production received a five star rating from Theatre Weekly: “Even those who have perhaps become a little jaded by digital theatre, will find themselves swept up in the joyous, though sometimes heart wrenching, songs of Joey Contreras, while the slick production makes it nothing short of enamoring.”
While the production being performed here at Illinois State is based on that filmed version of the show, Contreras is still updating and developing the musical in New York City. If you would like to see excerpts from the musical and hear some of its beautiful music you can check out the TikTok account, @inpiecesmusical; any of Contreras’s socials, @joeycontreras; or the Spotify playlist for the show made by Contreras himself.
In Pieces will be performed in the Center for the Performing Arts on March 1-2 and 5-7 at 7:30 p.m. as well as on March 3 at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University by calling (309) 438-2535 or on the box office website.
If you need accommodation to fully participate in this program, please contact the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (309) 438-2535. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
