Shrek W
A Global Success
hen Richard and Marsha Coven, Culver’s Theatre Directors, were considering what spring and summer musical to select for 2015-16, they thought about those which could provide a link between the Winter and Summer Schools and be theatrically magical for both younger and older audiences. Having seen the Broadway production and confirming its availability, Shrek the Musical and Shrek Jr. for Summer Camp were the unanimous choice.
The All-Camp play is the only venue in which both the Woodcraft Camp and Upper Camps have an opportunity to work together every day for six weeks, rehearsing and performing a play or musical together. This summer two Winter School actors from the spring production of Shrek, Ethan Carter (Donkey) and Katie Bevil (Princess Fiona) joined as coaches, working intensively with the actors and providing another link connecting the Winter School, Woodcraft and Upper Camps, a truly global alliance.
Campers come into the summer theatre program with a variety of different experiences and backgrounds: twenty campers had previous camp play experience while eleven campers were either new to Culver or to summer theatre. A grand total of 81 campers auditioned to be in the musical, with a record 31 campers winning acting roles and ten serving as stage crew members. The diverse student body was well represented in Shrek, Jr. with eight international campers performing on stage, as well as domestic campers from seven different states. The camp play was also a family affair, with four sets of siblings participating: three sets on stage and one set on the crew. The musical begins like this, “Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek…” the musical journey of an ogre who finds himself in pursuit of a fairytale princess. Throw in a dozen fairy tale misfits, a talking Donkey, the Gingerbread Man, an evil lord, tap dancing mice and you’ve got the kind of story that provides an enchanting experience for audiences young and old.
All Photos by Lew Kopp.
Bernardo Quintana ‘17, center, in the lead role as Shrek, with cast members in Shrek the Musical Top photo: Woodcrafter Drew Sellemeyer, right, as Shrek during the Summer Camp’s performance of “Shrek Jr.”