Theatre Gallery, a production in which students write, direct, design, and star in their own plays

On December 9, 10, and 11 from 7-9 p.m. in the Rob and Judy Gardner Laboratory Theatre, Gustavus will be presenting the Theatre Gallery – a production in which students write, direct, design, and star in their own plays. This year’s Theatre Gallery is entitled Fuzzy Gray Lines and many of the plays are centered around personal wellbeing with an emphasis on mental health.

“The overall theme is mental health. Normally with that you’d expect something serious, but we’re making them comedies instead”, says student director Austin Adler.  “The pieces are pretty funny, and the title ‘Fuzzy Gray Lines’ came a lot from the idea that mental health is such a huge umbrella term with a lot of gray areas of what it applies to. It also refers to TV static.”

The Theatre Gallery is something that allows students interested in theatre to  take the reins and create their own theatrical work. They get to write their piece, do all of the design work such as set, lighting, and sound, direct rehearsals, and work with their peers to produce their own show. The production provides all participating with creative freedom and the ability to make whatever production and creative atmosphere they wish.

“I think it’s a lot of fun to get into the heads of the people who you are trying to portray. I think with being given the lines you’re tasked with filling in all of the other spaces to make it a truly human experience,” actor Geena King said. “I’ve really enjoyed finding those places within my own emotional spectrum”.

“I’ve just had a lot of fun working with people. I’ve gotten to work with people I’ve worked with in the past [in other theatre productions], and I’ve also gotten to meet some awesome new people,” actor Grace Kearney said.

With this experience of creative freedom, fun, and independence comes some inevitable challenges as well.

“The most challenging part has been collaborating with seven other directors. In theatre you’re always collaborating with people, but typically there’s only one director on a show. So now, working with seven directors who all have their own creative visions and trying to wrap that all up into one cohesive piece is a very unique challenge,” Adler said. “It’s been so interesting to try and tie all of these [pieces] together while also keeping them different”.

“Being in different pieces by all of these directors that are working together, I’m trying to find all of these nuances that are going to separate one character from another in a different show. That’s really been the most challenging part of this process,” King said.

Fuzzy Gray Lines is described as follows: Stressed? Tired? Mentally ill? Take a load off and come to our presentation of Fuzzy Gray Lines, a collection of short plays that grapple with mental health. The catch? They’re comedies. Reflecting a diverse range of stories and experiences, Fuzzy Gray Lines tackles our generation’s struggles with mental wellbeing through a lighthearted lens. Join us for an experience that’s sometimes inspiring, sometimes absurd, and always entertaining. And please, feel free to laugh.

“Come support your friends! I bet every person [reading] this and every Gustie on the hill [knows someone] who was involved in this show,” Kearney Said.

“Seeing people’s work is very important. Because we go to this liberal arts school and learn about all of these different perspectives and challenges from different curriculums, I think it’s really interesting to go in and see people who are working in contrast to your major. It’s cool to see what their work is doing and how it furthers what you are doing,” King said. 

Tickets are available at gustavustickets.universitytickets.com and are free for Gustavus students.