The theater department of Allen Community College is putting on the world famous musical “Shrek” on October 9-11 at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.

“Shrek,” which was a blockbuster film in 2001, is about an ogre and his quest to save a princess. Their ensuing love story is one that people of all ages love because of its funny and twisting plot.

On August 19, the Allen drama department had a huge audition for the musical. Everybody was excited to see who would get to play Shrek. The title role went 19-year-old sophomore Jordan Mateo Garcia.

“I was so excited when I found out I was going to be Shrek. I really wanted to get that part,” said Garcia.

Garcia, of Iola, is on a theater scholarship at Allen. Last year Allen theater staged a Shakespeare show, “Comedy of Errors,” in which Jordan played a lead role. The musical “Shrek” is Garcia`s eighth play.

“This is the first time I have ever had a big role in the musical. That’s really nerve-racking, but it`s also exciting. Last year I had one song in the entire musical. And now I`m the lead in Shrek. It is a pretty big jump,” said Garcia laughing.

He has been involved in theater since his senior year of high school. Throughout his theater experience Garcia had multiple some minor parts in plays and musicals. One of them was a supporting role in the famous musical “Grease.” Garcia never took acting seriously. He, for the most part, considered acting as a fun extracurricular activity until something happened to him.

In his senior year at Iola High School, during a play performance, a freshman who was working backstage approached him shyly and told Garcia that he was a big inspiration for him. He inspired the student to join theater in any way possible.

“That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks. When the freshman told me about how I had inspired him, I realized how much it had affected me,” said Garcia.

That story was a big sign for Garcia to continue chasing his passion.

“I could spark that same passion in others. So I decided to spread my love for theater,” he said

Now Garcia works on getting into his character. Shrek sings nine songs and a lot of those are solos. In the musical he has as manysinging as acting scenes. In addition to theater practices Monday through Thursday evenings, Garcia takes private lessons on Fridays to work on his singing parts. One of the difficulties that Garcia faces is Shrek`s unusual accent.

“I decided to just go in there and show them how I act and get the meaning behind the words. For me the accent can be worked on. I did not do the accent and I was so afraid. But everything went well,” said Garcia.

The story about Shrek has always been one of Garcia`s favorites because of its meaningful and inspiring plot. According to the story Shrek has always been judged by his physical appearance and it is something he has no control over. Shrek`s personality does not let that get him down; it does not matter to him what people think of him.

“Shrek is a lot like me,” Garcia said. “He just acts the way he acts. He is always himself and he is not willing to change that for anyone else. And I love that about him.” Jokingly, he added, “I do dislike that sometimes he is really cranky but I can get that way too.”

The musical consists of two acts. In the second act, Shrek, after saving Princess Fiona, has to fight a dragon. That scene Garcia thinks is the most awkward in the entire show will be as Shrek fights dragon while Fiona sings a song. Yet, that scene is also his favorite as it is really entertaining.

“I`ll have to fight some giant mechanized dragon for like three minutes. That will be awkward. I don’t know what to do, like stabbing him with a sword for the whole time? I`m really nervous about that scene,” Garcia said.

If not Shrek, Garcia would be happy with playing the donkey or one of the fairy tale creatures because they get to dance throughout the musical.

“I don’t get to dance at all. Shrek does not dance, ever. I would want to be one of the fairy tale creatures juts to have an opportunity to dance,” said Garcia.

The drama department has put a lot of effort into the show. Professional costumes, complex sets and a huge dragon will be unforgettable parts of the musical. Future Shrek Jordan Garcia is anxious and excited about the show. His big family, including uncle, aunt, cousins and grandparents, will come to support him.

“I invited everyone just because everybody knows and loves Shrek, especially kids. Even friends who go to other schools are going to come see me,” said Garcia, with a big excitement on his face.

Garcia`s passion for theater grows and grows every day. He is determined that involvement with theater is what he wants to do in his life. Garcia tries to spread his passion and love for acting and singing with as many people as possible.

“Before I started acting I was so shy. Somehow by some twist of fate I fell into the world of theater. It really helped me break out of my shell and become who I am today,” shared Garcia.

Garcia`s field of study now is secondary education. After graduating Allen in spring 2015, Garcia plans to go to Emporia State University to pursue his degree in secondary education and English. Also, great theater department is another major reason why Jordan plans on transferring there. His passion is acting and singing so his plan is to branch out into the arts. Garcia would love to direct choir or plays, or coach forensics and do drama classes as it is what he is passion about.

“If I get discovered and famous along the way that is okay too. I`ll be a star too,” said Garcia laughing.

Garcia is sure that Shrek is going to be amazing and he hopes and would love to see everybody in the audience.

“It`s hilarious. It really is a story all age groups can enjoy. Kids love the fun, hilarious twist on a fairytale story and adults love the mature humor and themes that it portraits,” concluded the interview Garcia.