Millikin’s Student Theatre Company Under New Advisor

As of January, Professor Scott Wray is the new faculty advisor for Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre. 

Wray, a visiting instructor of stage management, is excited for the opportunity to facilitate student-led productions.

“When I applied for the position, I was really excited by the opportunity of working with students in a student-run venture,” said Wray, who began teaching at Millikin in the Fall of 2022. “In my previous career, I worked with student leadership positions. I developed an aquatic program [at Meredith College], and it became student-run . . . So it was the excitement of really providing an opportunity for students to learn by actually doing.”

For the company members of Pipe Dreams, this also provided an opportunity to bring attention to issues that they felt weren’t being properly addressed. Jordan Jones, the Interim Director of DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion), hopes that the change will allow more productive discussions to take place.

“We saw a need for certain things, and I’m really happy to see that this semester, we are taking action to see some of those needs fulfilled. With my position specifically, we saw a need for more of a DEI focus. And that’s why we came up with the position [of Director of DEI],” said Jones, a Junior BA Theatre and Performance Studies Major. “Also, within the class, there’s been some restructuring, more equitable division of work within the class, and it’s been working really well.”
Pipe Dreams will be mounting two productions this semester: “Spring Awakening,” a musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, will run from February 24 to March 11, and “Stop Kiss,” a play by Diana Son, will run from April 14 to April 22.

“I think having Allison [Durham] as a director is what we really needed for “Spring Awakening,’” said Jones. “I’m expecting a good audience size, since it’s the first show of the season, and because it’s so well known . . . For “Stop Kiss,” I’m hopeful about that too, because I remember “Dog Sees God” did well for a straight play. And people were not even as familiar with “Dog Sees God,” but people are familiar with “Stop Kiss” and the draw of a lot of the queer/femme themes. So I’m hopeful about both of them. We’re gonna have to work, but I’m hopeful about both of them.”