The Department of Theatre will perform its Homecoming show, Shrek: The Musical, in the Boone Family Theatre, running from Oct. 30 through Nov. 2.

The story follows Shrek, an ogre whose quiet life is disrupted when a group of fairy-tale creatures shows up in his swamp. To get his home back, he goes on a mission to rescue Princess Fiona, who has her own surprises. Along the way, he teams up with Donkey, and together they discover the importance of friendship, acceptance and being yourself.

Evan Owens, senior theater major from Hurst, is stepping into the swampy shoes of Shrek. He said he’s excited to perform for audiences of all ages, especially during the show on Halloween night.

“Some of them might be in costumes,” he said. “So it’s just going to be a lot of fun to work on this with all of my friends and all of my classmates.”

Playing Shrek is also a challenge for Owens, who is learning to connect with a character very different from himself.

“I try to find a balance between myself and the character,” he said. “With Shrek, it’s not very easy because I am not an ogre. I’m hoping to gain just kind of like a better understanding of how to find a balance with characters that are so different from anything that we’re used to in daily life.”

James Bradshaw, senior theater major from Sachse, will play the role of Donkey.

“It’s going to be a really hilarious show,” Bradshaw said. “But it also talks about some real things, like Shrek’s insecurities. You’ll actually get a balance of good laughter but also some real themes that bring a serious undertone, but overlaid with comedy.”

Bradshaw also shared how he connects to his character.

“I feel like every character I play, there’s always a piece of yourself that you bring to the character,” he said. “There are some ways that I relate to this character a lot, but then there are also some things that I find really different. It’s just about bringing a little bit of that sparkle to it, but also playing the honesty of the character.” 

Bradshaw hopes the audience leaves the show with a message about embracing differences.

“It’s really a show about people and how different people are, maybe not fitting in with society,” he said. “I think it’s just a good message overall for people to take away, not being afraid to be different and accepting those differences and looking at them in a good way rather than a negative light.”