In Shrek The Musical there are some lines that really stick out to me and help remind me that musicals are an incredible tool to learning valuable life lessons. In the opening line of 'Freak Flag', Gingy goes on a small rant that starts: "We spend our whole lives wishing we weren't so freakin' strange." If we could all dig into our memories of middle school we would all remember a time of feeling like a freak, feeling different, feeling like an outsider. Those are never fun moments for a middle schooler to experience. But right after that line, Gingy continues on: "They made us feel that way, but it's they who need to change." When you're made to feel like an outsider, you are letting people's opinions of you influence your feelings. I wish every middle school student had someone to convince them to let their freak flag fly and to not let other people get them down for just being themselves! I want all of these kids, and middle schoolers everywhere to know that they can AND SHOULD do what they love, no matter what their peers may make them think of it.
When Shrek (the movie) came out in 2001 I remember a funny movie with silly characters and good music. I was too young to truly interpret the meaning of this story. As someone who has known and loved this story over the last 18 years, I can say that I finally have interpreted the moral of the story in a way that I can happily settle on. BE YOURSELF! It's not a hard moral to understand, but as a child watching a cartoon movie about an Ogre and a Donkey, the moral wasn't the most impactful thing of going to see a new movie. The sour gummy worms that we snuck in so we didn't have to pay movie theatre prices were the most important things back then. But now, as a director and educator, I realize how truly important it is for these young people to be told to be themselves. In a world of social media and pop culture telling everyone the right way to walk, the best clothes to wear, and which pop star is on top this week, the next generation needs that simple reminder to allow themselves to be who they are. As we would say every night before "Big Fish" last fall, Be Yourself, because everyone else is taken!
For any of you who have been in Minnesota for the last couple months, you know that mother nature has taken a toll on all of us. As a cast and crew, the cold and snow have taken many precious rehearsal hours away from us. But these students have blown me away with their perserverance and hard work, and they should all be immensely proud of the incredible show they have put on this stage. So please, sit back, and enjoy Shrek The Musical Jr.!
-Eli Johnson, Director
