By Abigail Kim & Stephanie Tran

Shrek & Donkey

Junior Enrique Trujillo took on the role of Shrek, Trujillo, like Shrek, has felt insecure and lonely in the past. He reflects these feelings into Shrek’s character to make him relatable. Despite Shrek’s unattractive appearance, Trujillo aims to show audiences the reasons behind his occasional harshness and encourages understanding of Shrek’s situation.

“Shrek has gone through something detrimental and traumatic, which is why he lashes out or acts the way he does,” Trujillo said. “So eventually when Shrek finds the good in people, the audience celebrates.”

Senior Kai Nguyen played Shrek’s energetic, lovable, and above all talkative best friend, Donkey. For many, Donkey’s rambunctious personality may make him seem like he is there just for comedic relief, but for Nguyen, there’s a deeper layer to Donkey that he sought to uncover. To truly embody his role as Donkey, Nguyen dove into his backstory and motivations to add new dimensions to his character.

“I grew up watching Shrek and its movies so it’s easy for me to speak like the character and copy his mannerisms,” Ngyuen said. “But I do also have to constantly remind myself why he acts the way he does, what was his life like before he ran into Shrek, what made him want to help Shrek out, things like that help me push my acting even further for the character.”

Fiona

Sophomore Giselle Laufer played Fiona, a princess locked in a tower guarded by a dragon after being cursed to turn into an ogre each night unless she kisses her true love. For Laufer, some of Fiona’s characteristics hit close to home as she too relates with Fiona’s need for order and control.

“Fiona has a lot of expectations of how things are supposed to go and she likes to plan things out very carefully,” Laufer said. “When things get derailed or don’t go her way she gets upset. That’s definitely something that I’m like too.”

Gingy & Pinocchio

Sophomore Daniel Arhanian played Gingy, the gingerbread man who tends to have a rebellious side and will do anything to protect his two gumdrop buttons. Arhanian drew on Bart Simpson for his iconic Gingy voice.

“Gingy and the other fairytale creatures illustrate that theme that it doesn’t matter who you are or what people say about you,” Arhanian said. “You can live your life the way you want to and be who you want to be even though there are aspects of yourself that are deemed abnormal.”

Senior Mia Deukmedjian played Pinocchio, a puppet made out of wood whose nose grows every time he tells a lie. Deukmedjian sees Pinnochio’s life story as a message of resilience and self-acceptance.

“At the beginning of the musical, he’s really upset with the circumstances that he’s in,” Deukmedjian said. “He feels like he’s been treated unfairly, he’s being judged because of his nose. But in the end, he accepts that he truly is a wooden boy and becomes proud of who he is. In life, there are always going to be circumstances that you feel are unfair. It’s what you’re proud of in the end that really matters.”

Lord Farquaad

The role of Lord Farquaad was played by two different actors. Seniors Williams Brooks and Elena Cozma both took on the role of the ruler of Duloc, Lord Farquaad.

“I have a high expectation for myself in acting, and I think it’s the same connection for Farquaad because he’s the king, a perfectionist for his kingdom, whose kingdom has to be perfect. He’s obsessed and needs it to be his perfect Duloc. ”

Like Cozma, Brooks also wanted to focus on the comedic role of Lord Farquaad.

“I hope they laugh and they’re a little bit shocked. I just hope that they see my emotions, energy, and psychoticness, and all of it mixed together. I hope that they have a joyous time watching.”