The Countdown Is On To Shrek

It was all go backstage this morning, as the largely Middle School cast and crew of ‘Shrek – the Musical’ prepared for this morning’s dress rehearsal.

Visit backstage before any show and you’ll always find a good-humoured hive of activity.  Nervous excitement ripples through the performers and backstage crew as costumes are ironed and tweaked for a better fit, hair is teased and makeup applied.

There are some roles for which a little hairspray and a touch of rouge are not quite enough to create the characters! Transforming the main character, Shrek, along with his younger version, his parents and Princess Fiona, to bright green ogres with their trademark large noses and trumpet ears, was makeup art worthy of mainstream theatre!  Staff member, Miki Kemp, who has worked for Weta Workshop, spent many hours sourcing latex prosthetics that could be relatively easily applied each night, giving the five actors sufficient comfort to sing and act. In the case of the Princess, this required super speedy application of her prosthetic nose and green face paint, mid-show!

The makeup challenges didn’t end there with a host of fairy tale characters to get ready, including Pinocchio, with a nose that grows with each fib he tells, Three Little Pigs with latex noses, Shrek’s sidekick, Donkey, along with many, many others in the large cast. The hair and makeup team included an extensive team of students and staff to turn the cast around quickly, ready for the tech crew to hook up their sound equipment.

The costumes, all unique to this show, are terrific – a blaze of colour on stage, especially when the large chorus groups take to the stage.

Dressed and made up, it was lights, cameras, action as they put the show through its final run, ready for this week’s three-night season. It’s a cracker! Those lucky enough to have tickets will love it!