Shrek The Musical

We are going to watch the musical over the next few lessons and complete this worksheet which
watching it. Below are some questions the complete during and after the show. We will be watching the
Broadway cast version of Shrek The Musical, the Jnr production we are doing will have some scenes and
song cut out to make it shorter.

Overall Show

1) After the first song, “Big Bright Beautiful World”, what are your impressions of the show so
far?

My impression is that it is going to be very comical throughout the show in songs and in the acting.
The song allows you to hear the words of the clearly. I think the whole show will be great.

2) After the song “What’s Up Duloc?” we have met most of the characters in this show. What are
some that stand out to you? Do you recognise any? If so, where are they from?

Most of the characters stand out to me like Pinocchio, Peter Pan, 3 pigs, Big bad wolf, wicked witch,
Gingy, and of course donkey, Shrek and Lord Farquaad. They are all familiar characters from
fairytales, books and movies.

3) Lord Faquaad is a very comical character throughout the show, describe his song “What’s up
Duloc” explain why he uses over the top characterisation?

He sings about how he turned Duloc into a perfect place. He uses over the top characterization to
show his comical character. He is very proud of himself and thinks highly of what his done.

4) What do you think of Lord Farquaad’s costume and how do you think they have made him
look short but still able to move around the stage?

I think they made the actor kneel down and his legs are hidden in the darkness underneath his cloak
so you cannot see the actor’s leg.
 5) Throughout the show Princess Fiona has a lot of quick costume changes from human to Ogre
form. How do you think they do the quick change in the scene where Donkey finds out
Princess Fiona is cursed?

They may use more than one actress for the ogre and the human versions of Fiona. In some of the
scenes where Fiona is an ogre it looked like they filmed the scene before hand and played on screen
as a digital background. I think in the last scene (the wedding) they did a quick change to the actress
offstage.

6) “Freak Show” is a great anthem for the Fairytale characters in this show, what do you think is
the main message behind the song?

To be confident in your own skin cause everyone is unique. They are showing who they really are
and are being proud of it.

Character analysis
While watching the performance, pick a character to focus on and evaluate the following:

Character’s Name: Donkey

a) Voice (accent, tone, pace or intonation) or vocal techniques that this character uses.
He speaks fast, he is very talkative and he speaks comically.
b) Physical movement (movement, gesture, posture, facial expression) used by this character;
how does this enhance their character?
He has many funny facial expressions, his character is very energetic and the actor’s arms are
bent in a position that shows his animal.
c) How does their character develop throughout the show?
We see him become friends with Shrek and rescue the princess.
d) If you were the director of this show, what are some tips you might give to an actor when they
are approaching this character?
He is very forward and tells the truth no matter how brutal it is for the other person.

Songs

How do the songs in this in this show tell the story?

They sing what is happening, act and dance in the scene at the same time.

What are vocal skills are required to perform these songs?

They act while they sing and stay in character. They have to move around the stage and sing at the same
time.

Do you think that Solo songs or Chorus songs are more enjoyable to watch? Why?
Solo songs are more enjoyable to watch but I think chorus songs are more fun and playful with more
people to show a fun scene and have it be more interactive between characters.

What are some instruments that you hear in these songs? List below.

Guitar, percussion, strings, wood wind instruments, trumpet,