When Fox Country Players asked me to write a blog to help promote Shrek, I came up with a rather unique, slightly off-beat idea: Write two blogs. This first blog will discuss my experiences (so far) with Shrek, and I hope to provide a little insight into the behind-the-scenes aspects of this insanely comical musical; the second blog will take a slightly different approach.
So, here we are, two weeks into rehearsals for Shrek the Musical, coming to Waubonsee Community College’s Auditorium beginning October 5th and running for two weekends, and I have to say that I am both excited and overwhelmed. As the Director of a Musical, I have a number of primary responsibilities: holding auditions, casting actors into the appropriate parts, finding people to help behind the scenes, providing a vision for the show, etc. However, one of the more difficult aspects of directing is “character development.”
In this case, “character development” is exactly what it sounds like…an opportunity to develop a character. But in reality, think of all the things that you on a daily basis that might happen on a stage. You stand. You talk. You move. You walk. You interact with friends. You hold things in your hands. You do lots of things that you probably never think about. When you step onto a stage, you now have to think about all of those things for your character. This is a very difficult process.
Our actors have an even bigger, more difficult process to manage…they have to become characters that we all know. How does Humpty Dumpty walk? How does the Ugly Duckling stand? How quickly should the White Rabbit talk? Does the Wicked Witch need an accent? Should Shrek, Fiona, Lord Farquaad and Donkey be portrayed exactly like they were in the movie? These are questions that our actors are currently pondering, and there may not be any obvious answers, but my role as a director is to help them come up with their own answers to these questions.
What would you do, if you were a director? Would you want to portray what everyone is used to seeing or hearing, or would you want to do something different? Maybe Shrek could be from Australia, or Donkey could have only 3 legs, or the Three Little Pigs are just one Pig with a split personality, or the Dragon could actually be a Velociraptor from Jurassic Park or… I think you see where I am going with this. Getting from a page in the script to a 3-dimensional character on the stage is a monumental feat, and our actors are working on that very challenge this week. Come out and see Shrek in October, and see some truly awe-inspiring characters come to life.
Blog #2 will be coming out shortly. In the meantime, buy your tickets for Shrek here: www.waubonseetickets.com.