As a cast member on this year’s Shrek the Musical, the full college production, that ran from the 4th to the 7th of March, I can say with full confidence that this was one of the greatest moments of my time at Newington. No doubt this sentiment is shared with all of the cast, crew, band, and staff that dedicated day after day for five months to make this production come to fruition. So let’s take a peek behind the curtain, backstage passes in hand, at the magic, the music, and the memories that made the brilliance of Shrek.
Rehearsals started all the way back in mid-October. It was a Sunday, not the most ideal day to be at school but one of the few days that worked. Ever since then, hours turned into days turned into months, and after around 200 rehearsal hours, we were ready. This included choreographing and workshopping dances, developing acting with passion and clarity, and a lot of yelling of “MIDDLE PART!!!” from an angry Mr Scott because we weren’t getting our harmonies right.