Rahway High School Breaks Ground With Virtual Production Of SHREK THE MUSICAL

The award-winning Rahway High School performing arts program will present a truly unique production of Shrek the Musical: Theatre for Young Audiences.

Liveness and theatre go hand-in-hand. But, with the recent shift to online learning, there is an opportunity for performances to have an unlimited reach and find a new audience. This new audience is of the digital world, craving new stories and ways to connect with them. The pandemic has given theatre makers challenges that beg the following question: how can we make art together, but apart?

On the heels of their fall drama, A Christmas Carol: a Radio Play by Philip Grecian, the Rahway High School theatre department is crafting ingenious ways to create theatre with students, with an added awareness of health and safety and new technology and media. "Technology is just as much the content as the libretto of Shrek the Musical: TYA," says director-choreographer Mrs. Jensyn Oertel-Modero, or Mrs. Mo, as the students call her. The creative team and students auditioned and rehearsed 100% virtually using Google Meet and Zoom.

Then came the filming. Twenty green screens were purchased and sent home with each student as well as an at-home kit, complete with each cast member's costumes, props, and makeup. "The whole process is very student-centered because they must take center stage in their own learning," adds Mrs. Mo. Small groups of students report to school to film using a socially-distant three-camera setup with some of the newest recording and broadcasting technology to allow the students to record scenes together - while very much apart. Filming wrapped before spring break and will be edited during the month of April. Mrs. Mo and Mr. VanWyk, the musical director, are extremely proud of the tenacity and work ethic of all students involved in this unique and exciting production.

Shrek the Musical won a Tony Award for costume design and was nominated for eight others, including Best Musical. It is based on the popular movie franchise and children's book of the same name about a green ogre who, in the face of a world that he feels has rejected him, abandons his secluded forest home to rescue a princess and reclaim his home - and along the way discovers friendship, love, and the confidence to be who he is.

The performances will be streamed on Friday, April 23rd, at 7:30 pm and Saturday, April 24th, at 2pm. Purchase a ticket at www.wearerahwayarts.org and let your "Freak Flag" fly!

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