All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
About
School News
Behind the Scenes of Shrek the Musical
For the first time in five years, Woodberry’s drama department staged a musical for the winter production. Students, faculty, and friends were treated to three nights of Shrek the Musical.
Why such a long time between musicals? The covid pandemic of 2020.
“Traditionally, we put on a musical for our winter production,” said Tim Stakem, who was the musical’s orchestra manager and sound engineer. “During the pandemic, we had to stay six feet apart. And in an orchestra pit, it is tight quarters. Musicians sit shoulder to shoulder.”
Because this was the first musical in so long, the drama department wanted to come out with a bang.
“We did Shrek because we wanted to pick something that was fun, something that would get a lot of voices back on the stage, and something that the audience would be excited to come and see,” said Stakem.
Shrek saw the return of the live orchestra, which Stakem assembled. The orchestra’s role was crucial, providing the musical backdrop for the entire production. Stakem’s job involved rallying fourteen orchestra members and managing sound throughout the production.
“My job for showtime is listening and balancing. What you hear and what you don’t hear. You just have to learn the sound of somebody's voice,” said Stakem. His time during production is spent listening to sounds on stage, backstage, and even in the audience. He then spends the play balancing sound and minimizing unnecessary noise.
Laura Aylor directed the musical and seemed to be involved in everything else as well — including costume designer, the dragon's voice, and the exploding bird.
“On a production like Shrek, my job is mostly spending time with the cast, giving them acting direction, guidance, and insight into their character. As well as general movement across the stage,” said Aylor.
Working with the cast was what Aylor enjoyed most, and it is why she does what she does. “So many wonderful things happen in those two hours we meet each day,” said Aylor.
The cast reciprocated her feelings, some finding Shrek the most enjoyable show they’ve been a part of.
“It was a great cast, and it was a joy to work with them all,” said Troy Lupien ’25, who played Lord Farquaad.
Lupien was initially wary about doing the play, but after talking and practicing with DK Kim ’25, who played Shrek, Troy realized he wanted to be Farquaad.
“I wanted to get back into shows and thought this would be the perfect role for it. I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. All of my other roles have been serious ones,” explained Lupien.
It was a wise decision for Lupien, as he explains, “Farquaad was by far the most fun I’ve ever had doing a role. I didn’t have parameters in the play, so I could take liberties with the character, such as breaking the fourth wall.”
The director and actors agree that a musical requires more work than a play. Musicals add a new element with music, which can be challenging.
“In shows, music enriches scenes, while in musicals, songs advance the plot,” Aylor said. “You have to invest just as much time, if not more, in the music."
Despite the challenges, Lupien and Aylor both say it was worth it.
“Shrek was exactly what Woodberry needed. When you get the right group of people that put their heart and soul into a show, you get something special, which I think we got with Shrek,” Lupien said.
However, the play would not have been the spectacle it was without the tech crew. Technical Director Michael Johnson, assisted by Nicholas Edelman, spearheaded the play's scenery design and technical direction.
Shrek provided a unique challenge for scenery design. They had to implement many recognizable locations from the movie on the stage.
“You want to be able to pay homage to the original movie, but not copy directly from the movie and do something original and creative,” said Johnson.
The process of designing the scenery begins right after the previous play concludes.
“Basically, right after the previous show ends, we meet with our tech crew the following week, and we start construction on the next show right away,” Johnson explained. They work for ten to eleven weeks.
The process begins with examining the script and determining the locations needed. From there, they start sketching and designing the sets.
“Although we certainly use some parts from previous shows, we still custom-build everything for each show. It’s a challenging but fun part of the job,” said Johnson.
The biggest challenge they face is space. There is not a lot of backstage space, which can make it difficult to store sets with actors running around.
“It's always an interesting challenge. We utilize a lot of the fly space above the stage. But we have to be wary of what we put in the wings because there’s only so much space for pieces and actors,” said Johnson.
“When people think of drama, they usually only think of actors. But there’s a whole world backstage, and if you don’t notice the tech crew, we did our job well,” said Johnson.
However, they are not the only ones the audience doesn’t see. While Stakem manages the sound, and Johnson takes care of the set, Wallace Hornady directs the music. He serves as the musical director in the pit under the stage and orchestrates the performance.
“My main job is to direct traffic and make sure we are together with the cast on the stage,” said Hornady. Woodberry hires a live orchestra because most people who would play are already on stage.
“This allows us to do more sophisticated pieces and more difficult shows,” said Hornady. Most orchestra members already teach an instrument at Woodberry, including Lisa Wright, who teaches strings, and Susan Nothnagle, who teaches piano.
“It's a blast to get back into the musicals, and it’s wonderful to be a part of such a professional group,” said Hornady, “we’ve really stepped up and been our best selves for this production.”
>> Reporting by Ryker Simpson ’26
>> Reporting by Ryker Simpson ’26
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
Explore & Resources
Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.