9 / 20
9
spring 2016
Shrek the Musical JR
How a Dream Comes True …
At the end of Term 2, the Year 6 girls put on the production of
Shrek the Musical JR
and anyone who was fortunate to attend the show could not have failed to have
been impressed with the high standards of the performance and the enthusiasm of
the girls. During the rehearsal period the girls worked with Mr David Rogers-Smith
from Hal Leonard who fine-tuned elements of the performance by critiquing scenes
and modelling how the scene could be improved. His approach was warm and
nurturing, whilst also being honest and constructive. It was a great opportunity for
the girls to work with a professional. In addition, the girls worked with a
professional documentary filmmaker, Mr Peter Lamont (father of Aurelia in Year 6),
who recorded the performances and captured elements of the process, along with
cast member interviews, to create a rich record of this year’s production for the
Year 6 girls. Below are extracts from some of these interviews.
LUCY GRAY
‘I was nervous at the start but I gained more and more confidence as
the weeks went by… [Performing] was one of the best feelings of my life. I was so
proud at what I had achieved. I wanted to do it over and over again. Working as a
group was amazing and I loved every second, even through the challenging times.
It was hard at first to work with my trio and find a time when we could all do it, but
it improved as the first performance came closer. It was hard to listen to each other
but we got better. At first we couldn’t hit the correct notes but as they say ‘practice
makes perfect’. And that is what we did. We gave up lunchtimes to practise and
figure out the right notes and we got there in the end. We realised that we had to
make mistakes before we got it right …’
AURELIA LAMONT
‘… I’m not always confident working in groups, I felt that this
experience really changed how I deal with that. It was great to see so many
teachers on board and helping and the way different elements were planned out.
Some people that were in a particular scene would go with Mrs Parker and others,
such as Lara (for ‘This is how a dream comes true’), would go with Miss Summers
- everyone else would be working on the rest of the production ...’
TALIA GIANNARELLI
‘I loved being a part of the production – it was lot of work, but
lots of fun. It was amazing seeing it all fall into place in the last week. The girls
were really great and everyone was supporting each other. The costumes and make
up were the best! … It was fun missing class time – but not too much, because the
rehearsals were very intense and a lot of work too! We still had to do lots of class
work! It was a great production – the musical was the best drama production I have
ever done at Ruyton. It was fun and challenging with music and singing, and acting
was fabulous! Mrs Parker and Mrs Barker were awesome!’
LARA TRICARICO
‘I loved being the role of Fiona and how everyone was so co-
operative on set. I learnt a lot from the experience because I had to sing a solo, my
confidence grew and I LOVED wearing a microphone. They were soooo cool! ....
When we couldn’t get something right, we all took a deep breath and worked as a
team to get it. Practising my lines with Shrek was hard because, if one of you didn’t
know your lines properly, you would let your partner down. So I made sure I learned
my lines so I was prepared. But as a whole we were all co-operative and helpful to
each other when needed.’