Meet the ‘Shrek’ trio

Highlighting Oklahoma Christian University’s homecoming week, “Shrek the Musical” opens tonight at 8 p.m. The Talon talked with the actors performing the lead roles of Shrek, Fiona and Donkey.

Sean Steele, a senior music education major from Flower Mound, Texas plays the show’s namesake, Shrek. Steele acted in past Oklahoma Christian productions of “Seussical the Musical,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Little Women.”

Steele started performing in first grade, but sung his first solo in the third grade. He continued performing through his grade school days, but he said what got him hooked on musical performance was his high school’s production of “Les Misérables” during his 10th-grade year. Steele performed the role of Marius.

“It was a very eye-opening experience and getting to do a show of that depth was really fun,” Steele said.

What Steele loves the most about musical theater is the storytelling. He said it is a way to reach out to people and communicate messages that could have a lasting impact.

“There are lots of stories to be told and lots of lessons to be learned,” Steele said. “To be able to tell them on stage through different characters and through different eyes and situations is really, really cool.”

Steele doesn’t experience stage fright while performing, but he said auditions are sometimes the most nerve-racking. However, the most challenging aspect of a musical production for him is the dancing, he said.

“For being a big guy I move pretty well, but I’m more of a vocalist at this point,” Steele said. “A Singer and an actor are what I call myself – I can dance if I need to.”

Steele’s advice for those looking to get into musical theater is to take a chance by auditioning.

“Don’t look at an audition as a reflection of your character or your worth, look at it as an opportunity to put your name out there – to represent yourself and have fun with it,” Steele said. “An audience knows if you’re having fun on stage or not. And if you’re having fun on stage that energy is going to communicate to them and they’re going to have fun as an audience.”

Steele’s favorite song from “Shrek the Musical” is “Who I’d be.” He said it is a song about identity and realizing potential while staying true to one’s self.

Kendall Haliburton, a junior English education major from Oklahoma City, plays the role of Fiona. She was in Oklahoma Christian productions of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Little Women.”

Haliburton’s first musical performance was in the sixth grade. She said she has been performing every year since and she occasionally feels nervous about performing.

“There’s always jitters, but I always feel really good about going on stage,” Haliburton said. “It’s never nauseating – it’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing and it’s really just fun.”

Haliburton has also performed in productions of “Into the Woods” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” She said her most difficult role was Josephine in “Little Women.” Her current role of Fiona wasn’t what she thought it would be.

“I wasn’t expecting to really enjoy singing Fiona’s role as much as I do, because I think she’s more complex than I gave her credit for at the beginning,” Haliburton said.

In comedies, Haliburton said the rehearsal process seems to drag on because the jokes go without laughs. She’s ready for an audience’s reaction.

“Anytime you do a comedy it starts to feel a little slow when you’re performing it every night to an empty theater because no one is laughing,” Haliburton said. “I think the audience is going to love it. … Laughs will help the energy.”

Her advice for those looking to get into theater: work hard.

“Don’t ever think you deserve a role,” Haliburton said. “You need to work for it, you need to work harder than everyone else if you want to get it. Be prepared and have confidence. … The people who work the hardest get the roles.”

Jabbarri Jones, a senior music major from Los Angeles, is performing as the character Donkey. He took part in Oklahoma Christian’s production of “Seussical the Musical” and “Little Women.”

“I like to sing and perform because it’s very expressive, and you get to share your gifts with other people,” Jones said.

Jones said performance also works as a form of encouragement – that sharing a musical talent can brighten someone’s day.

Jones has been singing since he was two years old. He learned to sing from his mom and first sang in church. His first musical production was during his junior year of high school in “Little Shop of Horrors.”

He said nervousness is a normal part of the theater process.

“I think that it’s normal because every performance is new, I take that nervousness and turn it into energy for the stage,” Jones said.

The most difficult part of theater is learning how to interpret a role, he said. Finding a character’s flair is key.

“You don’t want to copy exactly what the original cast did, but you also don’t want to take away the special elements that they brought forth to the table,” Jones said.

Jones’ advice for new actors is to be flexible.

“Have an open mind when you think of roles because you may not get what you think you should get,” Jones said. “Prepare to be challenged in a way that’s different from daily life.”