For Tigard’s fall musical, the theatre department put on the high school version of “Shrek, the Musical”. This musical is a comedic spin on a children’s fairy tale, with an overall message of never losing hope and supporting those around you. The storyline begins with the main character Shrek, a hilarious ogre, living in a swamp and getting thrown into heroism as he tries to save fairytale creatures from the evil Lord Farquaad. Some of these characters include Pinocchio, the gingerbread man, and the three little pigs. Farquaad agrees to stop hunting the creatures, but only if Shrek and his new sidekick, Donkey, rescue Princess Fiona from her tower. After all of the adventures princess Fiona is saved, the characters are sent back to their homes, and Shrek and Fiona fall in love, leaving a happier ending. 

     This show was different than any other show Tigard had done in the past, according to sophomore Finn Lamoth. His roles were varied, and included playing a guard, a skeleton, a bishop, and a happy villager. It was a big production, with 29 cast members, 64 varieties of costumes, and 23 different locations, Additionally, many actors were double, triple, or even quadruple casted.

     “There were a lot of people who are dedicated to crafting the huge amount of work, [which brought] a special bond that was very rewarding,” Lamonth said, “It was fun to bring a fun cometic musical to life, even with all of the people playing multiple roles- it still was rewarding and eye-opening overall”. For Lamoth, he changed into 6 different costumes, each change taking 40-60 seconds. He says that this experience was cool and not too difficult, as all he had to change was his scarf and hat into a wig. 

     Senior Cait Smith, who played Gingy, Tinkerbell, and a happy villager, also played multiple roles. For all of her 8 costume changes, Smith says it took 10-15 seconds. Her costume changes were difficult, she says, because she had to change her whole costume. Despite the struggles, Smith says it was fun to act out different characters and change into the costumes throughout the play.

     This play was not only fun, but had a good message to teach students not to bully and show appreciation for theatre. Not only that, Shrek broke a record for the most tickets in Tigard High School history. Shrek sold 2,000 tickets even with it around $20,000 to make the show. Meaning, Shrek had some extra money to spare.

     To get deeper into the making of the play, tech crew also played a big role.

     “We found every sound effect that was needed for the show such as pops and roars,” junior Riley Holms, a tech himself, said. Tech brought the fairy tale to life by adding sound effects, noises, mics, and lights to make show the best it could be. 

     Todd Hermanson, the Tigard theatre teacher, explains that while it took a lot of work, it still was a successful play.

     “It’s always fun to do a children’s show, children seem to love it, so my hopes were that children would be impacted by it. And with the thought of maybe doing theater in their future, they added a deeper appreciation for theatre”. Hermanson said.

     “It was a really fun experience to do a fun, silly burping show, but like it has so much more meaning to it,” Smith said. This play was not only fun, but had a good message to teach students not to bully and have an added appreciation for theatre. “Shrek, the Musical” was performed on Nov. 15, 16, 21, 22, 23; at 7:00 pm and 2:00 pm matinee on the 23.