It takes a village to shun an ogre.

This weekend, 70 kids will descend on Lourdes University’s Franciscan Center to share a story they’ve been familiar with since (even earlier) childhood. 

Based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek the Musical follows the titular miserly green ogre on his quest to regain his swamp after a gaggle of fairytale creatures land on his doorstep. After encountering the annoyingly affectionate Donkey and the prickly Princess Fiona along the way, Shrek reluctantly conquers his deepest insecurities, and in doing so, frees the kingdom.

And the Sylvania Arts Youth Theater isn’t settling for Shrek Jr., thank you very much.

In honor of the program’s 20-year milestone, Shrek the Musical is Sylvania Arts’ first-ever full-length musical production. Performed entirely by actors aged 8 to 17, participating children and teens hail from across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

“We have so many students who are coming back for our shows and classes, and I’m so proud of their accomplishments,” Sylvania Arts Youth Theater Artistic Director Irina Zaurov said.

Watching students grow into confident young adults — and often friends — has made 20 years of Sylvania Arts programming worth it. Five of her former students have pursued the performing arts professionally.

“Every year when I have a spring or fall production, all my former students who are still here in Ohio, they come to see the show, support us. It just means a lot,” Zaurov said.

Zaurov is part of a passionate adult volunteer team that includes music director Bella Cole, choreographer Alyx Fisher, producer Alana Tobis, and set designer Ken Dymond.

Dymond, also the nonprofit Sylvania Arts’ executive director, often oversees set design for the youth theater’s programming. He put together Shrek’s home interior located inside a big tree, Fiona’s castle, a chapel, a cave — and Shrek's beloved swamp, of course.

“I made some 30-foot-tall trees that fly in from above, and that kind of makes a big arch of greenery across the entire stage,” he said.

With a chagrined chuckle, Dymond admits that Shrek the Musical called for more sets than he realized when he initially volunteered for the role.

Breaking his leg halfway through rehearsals didn’t help.

While Dymond normally designs solo, it took some help from the volunteer crew to take apart, transport, and reassemble the sets ahead of Shrek the Musical’s opening night.

“It’s a labor of love. We have just a wonderful group of people who volunteer for the organization, and just to be a part of that celebration of the arts and celebration of the kids being able to show off their talents, it’s just wonderful to do all that,” Dymond said.

Sylvania Arts oversees the Sylvania Community Orchestra, youth theater programming (including spring classes and a summer camp alongside the usual yearly musical), and two community festivals, the Maple & Main Art and Music Festival and the Tree City Film Festival.

Zaurov and Rona Simon began Sylvania Arts’ youth theater arm in 2004.

“Sometimes people ask why we’re doing the show. But the thing is, Shrek is a very unlikely hero,” Zaurov said. “We talk about this all the time with the kids; some of them [are] shy, or some of them cannot project their voice, or some of them, like me, having an accent.”

Zaurov was born in the former Soviet Union, where she earned a master’s in theatre from Moscow’s Russian Institute of Theatre Arts.

“I’m here so many years, but I’m still freaking out when people don’t understand me, and sometimes I just close up and don’t want to repeat it, but sometimes I’m okay,” Zaurov said. “This is why we get the Shrek. It just gives me something that I can be, you know, myself. I cannot do anything about my accent.”

Productions like Shrek teach young people that appearances don’t matter; no matter how green or grumpy, it’s the inside that counts.

Coming up:

● Colin & Brad – Asking For Trouble, Friday, at the Valentine Theatre, 410 Adams St., Toledo.

● A Bench in the Sun, Friday through March 16, by the Playmakers Civic Theatre, at 604 W. 6th St., Port Clinton.

● The Cat in the Hat, March 14-16, at the Croswell Opera House (Youth production), 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian.

● Murder at the Pie Auction, March 14-16, by the Black Swamp Players, 115 E. Oak St., Bowling Green.

● Toledo Voices, March 14-16, at the Toledo Repertoire Theatre, 16 10th St., Toledo.

● Spring Awakening, March 21-30, by Stone Productions at the Collingwood Arts Center, 2413 Collingwood Blvd., Toledo.

● STOMP, March 22-23, at the Stranahan Theater, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd., Toledo.

● Late Nite Catechism, March 29, by Entertainment Events at the Valentine Theatre, 410 Adams St.

● The 39 Steps, March 28-April 6, at the Village Players Theatre, 2740 Upton Ave., Toledo.

First Published March 6, 2025, 1:00 p.m.