Now, five years later, the result is “Playing with Demons” ““ a musical about four friends and their respective transformations as they undergo the same transition.
Combining various elements of music from traditional Broadway numbers to Bollywood-inspired music, Gupta’s musical project will have its first live original cast recording on Friday, April 10, in Schoenberg Hall.
As a preview of this musical, Gupta spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Joy Shi about his inspiration for the story and the process of composing and arranging a musical for the first time.
Daily Bruin: What initially sparked your interest in writing this story?
Kiran Gupta: I started writing the story my first year of college and it just kind of evolved over the last four years. As I was writing it, I was learning about different types of music through being an ethnomusicology major and taking music composition classes at the same time … so everything just kind of came together.
DB: In your own words, what is the story essentially about?
KG: It’s a story about four main characters who have just graduated from high school, each one pursuing a different career: artist, doctor, one goes to religious school and the other joins the military. Each character encounters problems with their own situation and they basically have to look back into their past and make amends with their past in order to move forward.
DB: What types of themes and issues does it deal with?
KG: I was watching musicals and musical theater, and I didn’t see too many of them that dealt with problems that we see today, touchy subjects like religion and war. It was kind of relevant to what I was observing: social situations like racism, gender issues, men taking advantage of women.
DB: How did you come up with the title?
KG: A big part of the story line is the four people looking back into their past and playing with the demons of their past … kind of like playing with their back story while trying to move forward.
DB: How did you go about writing the score and what styles of music did you utilize?
KG: I kind of did everything about the same time. I was writing the lyrics first and then the words kind of inspired the melodies I wrote along with it. For style, you have your typical Broadway numbers, then there is also tango, salsa … even a Bollywood Indian song.
DB: What inspired you to use such varying styles?
KG: Indian music is part of my culture. I love tango, I’m also a jazz musician so different types of music catch my ear. Also, the school has musicians specializing in certain areas of music.
I opened the auditions to anyone, from students in the music and theater departments to anyone on campus.
DB: What types of messages do you want audiences in the future to take away from this musical?
KG: A lot of times people are a part of a group or trying to be a part of a group … and when they’re a part of a group they seem obligated to share the same ideas as the group. I’m saying that it’s okay to be different even though you are a part of the group.