Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

Schools join forces for ‘Shrek’ musical

- MURPHY NGANGA murphy.nganga@inl.co.za

IN AN effort to teach people to embrace others regardless of appearance, pupils from Bishops Diocesan College and Herschel Girls School came together to bring the friendly green ogre and Princess Fiona to life in a stage production of Shrek the Musical.

It is directed by Sarah McArthur from Herschel and Wayne Tucker from Bishops. McArthur said the play required boys and girls in the cast and that gave them a perfect opportunit­y to combine ideas.

“There has always been a wonderfull­y symbiotic working relationsh­ip between the schools’ drama department­s. The nature of most plays and musicals is that they require both boys and girls in the cast and we have always sent our students to each other’s auditions when shows are staged.

“Every few years, we join forces and do a combined musical, and this year – Herschel’s centennial year – felt like the right time and opportunit­y.

“A musical is an immense task to take on, so it is wonderful to be able to share production responsibi­lities and to have someone with whom I can bounce around creative ideas, get another perspectiv­e and make creative choices.

“Our musical director, Rochelle Klassen, has a really grounded and balanced sense of leadership, which has made collaborat­ion between the two department­s easy,” said McArthur.

Tucker said that with the musical being a school production, there were challenges getting everything together.

“We had to live with the fact that most of the cast members had heavy sporting, academic and cultural commitment­s that we needed to fit into.

“The first term of any year is always busy. We also had load shedding to deal with. As it was a musical, we had to share rehearsal time between singing, choreograp­hy, characteri­sation and staging and ensure that there was a balance.

“It takes a village (in this case, two villages) to put on a show and we have been lucky to be surrounded by so many people who helped.”

The musical stars Grade 12 pupils Jesse Barth as Shrek, Paballo Mphepya and Gini Stewart as Princess Fiona, Thandolwet­hu Kumalo as Donkey and Grade 10 pupil Ben Anderson as Lord Farquaad.

Jesse said some of his favourite moments were working with the other leads. “It was fun to work off of the energy we gave each other and be able to have a laugh on and off the stage.

These are memories I will cherish.”

Paballo said her favourite moment was when she got to sing I Know it’s Today. She also enjoyed the chemistry she shared with other cast members.

Thandolwet­hu said he was able to tackle stage fright through the play.

Ben said what inspired him to take part in Shrek the Musical was not only the drama and singing but also the play’s message.

“The idea that everyone is special, even with all their quirks and unique traits, is such an important thing to celebrate and remember,” said Ben.

“It is the things that make us different that make us strong. Shrek’s characters teach us to accept others and ourselves, no matter where we come from or what we look like,” McArthur said.

 ?? ?? PUPILS from Bishops and Herschel star in
Shrek the Musical.
| SUPPLIED
PUPILS from Bishops and Herschel star in Shrek the Musical. | SUPPLIED

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