Children's Theatre Of Charlotte Presents SHREK THE MUSICAL

With the 2021-22 season coming to a close soon, Children's Theatre of Charlotte wanted to leave audiences with something to remember. The multiple Tony award-nominated show, "Shrek the Musical," is no small feat; so, the Theatre has decided to scale everything up!

Audiences are transported from Shrek's swamp to Duloc in a matter of seconds with Alessia Carpoca's set design while Aimee Hanyzewski's lighting design and Tomas La's projections add mood and magic to every scene. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, child actors are joining the professional Mainstage cast filling the stage with 24 actors directed by Adam Burke while donning Mieka van der Ploeg's lively costumes. The show features a live orchestra and singing directed by Charlene Miranda Thomas, high-energy choreography by Ron Chisholm, and larger-than-life puppetry.

"In many theatres, the puppet creation comes from the properties department, but because I have some training in puppet making, I take on the larger tasks when it comes to puppets," says Magda Guichard, Puppet Designer and Interim Costume Shop Manager at the Theatre. Guichard is no stranger to designing puppets for Children's Theatre of Charlotte. In 2014, she designed Rupert the Dragon for the show "The Reluctant Dragon." Today, the 30-foot dragon can be seen resting above the lobby doors as one enters ImaginOn. She also built the loveable 6-foot Rhinoceros and 7-foot Elephant puppets from "A Sick Day for Amos McGee" which premiered in the 2018-19 season as part of The Kindness Project and will be making its return for the 75th season.

For "Shrek the Musical" she has created another large-scale dragon for audiences to enjoy. The singing 15-foot-tall dragon slithers its 20-foot-long body around the stage operated by four puppeteers. "Isabel Gonzalez is a rockstar," says Guichard while praising the actress who plays Dragon. "She's lifting 20 pounds up in the air, making the mouth and eyes open and close, running around, and belting one of the most difficult songs in Shrek." While Gonzalez controls the Dragon's head, two other puppeteers operate the body, and another puppeteer animates the tail bringing the entire dragon to life. "Every time I build a puppet, I learn something," Guichard states while discussing the arduous process of creating something this large. She mentions that there are a lot of technical elements involved in this work but like anything it is also trial and error, which is a huge risk when under time constraints. "The risk is always worth it if you can get the right idea in the end."

Watch the magic of "Shrek the Musical" come to life now until May 1. For more information regarding the show or Children's Theatre of Charlotte's 2021-22 season, please visit www.ctcharlotte.org.

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