Arts & Entertainment

Canyon Vista Student is Young Shrek in New Musical

How would your 9-year-old react to 12-hour work days, 7 days a week for a month? If the work involves playing a favorite movie character, would that change things?

For Emilie Lafontaine, a Canyon Vista 4th-grader performing as Young Shrek in a summer musical, the rigorous rehearsal schedule is all in good fun. For details about the performance, scroll down.

"It's really cool," she said. "I get to wear a big beard and a funny hat and a nose and they have to glue ears onto my own ears."

Despite missing her usual 7 p.m. bedtime by about four hours each night, her mother Tonya says Emilie loves it.

"She does not complain, she's very happy," Tonya said. "I've never seen my child light up so much. It's really cool to see her in her element."

The performance is a musical retelling of the popular animated film. Shrek is an ugly green ogre tasked with rescuing a feisty princess with the help of a talking donkey.

A lifelong Aliso resident, Emilie started performing at Center Stage Studios, 27101 Aliso Creek Road, at age 4.

Her parents spotted her talent after watching her imitate a little girl on the Ellen DeGeneres show who sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

"She looked at this little girl and said, 'I can do that,'" Tonya recalled. "And she sang in a beautiful vibrato. My husband and I said, 'My Gosh, she's got a bit of talent.'"

Now Emilie's performing with former Broadway actors. How does she feel performing with adults?

"It makes it really funny, they take it seriously," she said. "It's very strict, and I like that."

  • Plummer Auditorium (201 E Chapman Avenue, Fullerton) July 19-Aug. 4
  • Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center (1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd.) Aug. 9-11
Find ticket details and other info here.


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