Shrek, the Musical Jr. for the National Cultural Centre tomorrow

THE Georgetown International Academy (GIA) has obtained the unique position in the Guyanese theatre fraternity of being one of the very few educational institutions in Guyana that stages plays on an annual basis. Every year there is a new play to look forward to, and with each new play comes a new world for the Guyanese audience to explore new characters to fall in love with, and new songs and dances to tap one’s feet to. With productions as varied as “Aladdin”, “Alice in Wonderland”, and “The Wizard of Oz”, the school is well on its way to establishing itself as an important part of the sector within the local theatre scene due to its roles as both procurer and producer of these plays with high production values, intricate costuming, and the refreshing musical numbers that have become the hallmarks of a GIA production.

Tomorrow at the National Cultural Centre, GIA will be staging Dreamworks’ “Shrek, the Musical Jr.” This musical adaptation of the animated film tells the story of the ogre who becomes an unlikely hero after setting out on a quest to rescue a princess trapped in a dragon-guarded tower. This particular musical explores the themes of prejudice, self-acceptance, love, friendship, and overcoming adversity – all essential ideas for the young people of today’s Guyana to explore.

The production is helmed by GIA’s Music teacher, Ellenelle Gilliam, who supervised all aspects of the production. She was supported by her fellow GIA faculty members, Christian Sobers (Music and Lighting), Andre Lewis (Choreography), and Subraj Singh (Directing). However, the truly impressive members of the show come from the massive cast who, along with the production’s crew, total more than 70 students from the Georgetown International Academy who have devoted time and energy in memorising lines, learning choreography, singing, painting and designing, and numerous other forms of preparations and rehearsals in order to ensure the show is unlike any other that has been done before. Students from various grade levels, various nationalities and various backgrounds all came together to work on the production, with rehearsals commencing since January of this year.
The titular role of Shrek is being played by Grade 11 student, Eros Jackson. Although he won the lead role, this is actually Jackson’s first year at GIA and the first major role he has ever auditioned for. He was convinced to audition for Shrek based on his performance in his Music class. He promptly won the part and was given the chance to headline GIA’s major play for the 2017/2018 academic year.

Jackson admits that he was initially nervous at the thought of playing this role and that although he still feels a lot of pressure having to carry an entire musical production, it became much easier for him as he rehearsed and worked along with his castmates. Jackson says his favourite part of the rehearsal process was working in the play’s more emotional scenes while rehearsing the songs was the most difficult for him simply because of how taxing they were. He also notes that he enjoys the sense of cooperation between the students and teachers that working on a musical brings about and that one of the highlights of being a part of such a production is discovering the new talents that some students had – talents that would have remained undiscovered and untapped were it not for the play. Jackson also commends his school for allowing the arts to have a continued presence in the lives of its students.
Playing the female lead opposite Jackson is Rachel Mekdeci, an 11th grader who portrays the feisty Princess Fiona. Shrek, the Musical Jr. is Mekdeci’s sixth consecutive production, having starred in “The Lion King”, “Peter Pan”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Wizard of Oz”, and others. She notes that her role as the “quaint and feminine” Dorothy in “Oz” was probably the most difficult role she has had to play so far due to the character being very different from who Mekdeci is as a person. Mekdeci says she enjoys theatre because it allows her to use characters and words to express her emotions. She is particularly interested in the way emotions can be channelled through theatrical performances. Mekdeci is convinced that the arts are of the utmost importance and believes that theatre, literature and music are as important as the sciences and should be appreciated as such. She is grateful for the ways in which the musicals bring students together, regardless of their age group, and says that even though the small school community is already quite tight-knit, working on the plays each year helps to reaffirm the relationships they all share with each other. Mekdeci hopes to obtain a BFA in Theatre as soon as she is finished with her high school life and plans to move to New York in order to accomplish this.
Shane Sukhlal plays one of the fan favourite characters of the franchise, the talking donkey named Donkey. Sukhlal is a 12th-grade student who has acted in most of the GIA productions, the most notable being the role of the Cowardly Lion in “The Wizard of Oz.” He believes that Shrek is a special play because it does not follow the usual conventions. He notes that there is not a high level of realism in the musical and that there are often strange scenarios and many contradictions within the play itself, and yet, according to the actor, the performance still manages to feel natural. He likes the way in which the musical allows the actors to be dynamic and play more relaxed and multi-dimensional, rather than restricted and one-dimensional, characters. On his role, Sukhlal says he enjoys the humour his character essays and notes that comedic performances are difficult, but that is also the element of the production that he enjoyed the most. He believes that the country needs to be more appreciative of art and culture, and theatre, particularly pieces of theatre produced by schools, as culture is linked to aspects of the society as diverse as the economy and unity within the Guyanese population.
The primary villain of the musical is Lord Farquaad, a short, moody lord who sends Shrek and Donkey off to rescue Princess Fiona so he can marry her in order to become king. This character is portrayed by 10th-grade student, Anthony Islam. He has been involved in three GIA productions, but there is no doubt that his role of Lord Farquaad will probably be the most memorable of them all. He pointed out that unlike other plays, the main characters of Shrek, the Musical Jr. are imperfect – for example, Shrek himself is far from a prince in shining armour – and this, Islam says, is an important element of the play since it can teach people to accept their flaws and to be themselves.

Islam believes that musicals should be embraced by the Guyanese society, especially Shrek since it presents themes that Guyanese people can identify with. He notes that the play can teach audience members about not judging each other based on how someone initially looks or appears and maintains that this idea of not having preconceived notions about people before getting to know them is an essential lesson that one can take away from Shrek. He also emphasised the ways in which the plays produced by GIA help the student community to develop their self-esteem and self-expression.

The four leads will be joined by many other students from GIA on March 17th at the National Cultural Centre, where the musical is expected to come alive at 19:00hrs sharp.