Olivia Takes the Stage

Olivia has been participating in a theater program through the local Hoogland Center for the Arts and their big production was Shrek the Musical.  This production was no small event - professional costumes, all 6 performances sold out (a sell out is 400+ people each night), and unbelievable acting by the kids - all characters were in grades 4-12 with the exception of Shrek who was the theater class instructor.  Olivia was cast as a guard - she was on the stage for about 6 numbers which included singing and dancing.  

I was the backstage mom for one show.  Turns out there is a lot of waiting for your turn to go on stage!  The girls stayed busy with lots of card games, books, electronic devices, and overall silliness.  Joe, Ethan, and I have seen the performance 5 times; Olivia has performed it 8 times and has never seen it from start to finish!

Olivia's first appearance on stage - chasing donkey into the forest and then being scared by Shrek.  The kids loved shouting as loudly as possible!  Olivia is directly behind the ogre sign with her hands on her face.

Lord Farquaad arguing with Gingie.  Olivia is the farthest on the right.

Guarding Farquaad while he waits for Fiona.  Olivia is second row on the right.

Shrek stopping Fiona and Farquaad's wedding.  It was difficult for the guards to keep straight faces for this scene - Farquaad was hilarious!

Olivia singing the finale - she is the third guard from the right.

The entire cast singing the finale.  Our seats were typically within the first three rows, but for one performance we traded seats with another family and I actually took much better photos of the performance from a distance.  I will need to remember that for next year's performance!

Olivia (middle) taking her bow.

The entire cast singing the grand finale of "I'm a Believer".  Olivia is difficult to see in these photos - she is in the top towards the right side.  This was a fun number to watch, and Olivia said it was her favorite to perform since it was basically a big party song for the cast - lots of singing and silly dancing.

Olivia was so lucky to have so many friends and family members come to watch her perform!

The family with Shrek.  I'm guess this is a Christmas card photo!

Our fantastic "guard #9".  This was a lot of hard work, long nights, and tricky dance moves for Olivia.  Each time we saw her on the stage we were overwhelmed with pride and joy!  Joe and I cannot tell you how proud we are of Olivia for her performance!