Hours of rehearsal, lots of hard work, and many bonds formed. This is what consisted of the performance executed by Timber Creek Thespians. In the performing arts center of Timber Creek a smelly green ogre took on the spotlight on January 26th, 27th, and 28th. The talented students put on Shrek the Musical Jr; it was family friendly and open to all ages.
Every winter season the 7th period advanced musical theatre III class puts on a different musical. Shrek was picked for this year for several reasons. teacher Mr. Skiles explained, “We felt like we had the right student actors and technicians to do this show.” All actors had to audition at the end of the previous school year to get into the class and for their parts in the musical. The class includes a mix of singing, acting, and dancing with only the highest musical theatre talent.
Starting two weeks into the school year the class begins preparing for the performance, working on the songs, choreographing dance moves, and discussing the details. The entire show was directed by Seniors Tea Walton and Marinette Gomez, they were picked by Mr.Skiles based on essays they wrote that expressed their desire and passion to run the show. These two students took on the job of co-teaching the class and making all the final decisions for the performance. The three lead roles were performed by Juniors, Aaron Ivey who played Shrek, Xandra Burnett as Fiona, and Jonathan Arvelo who took on the role of Donkey. These actors have immense talent for their young age and brought very much laughter to the audience.
Overall the performers executed a great musical and the cast and crew made many memories. Every night the performance seemed to get better and the theater department of Timber creek hopes to improve with every production, as for now the class works on advanced techniques and applies those techniques to small group musical numbers, duets, and solos.
