A new cast member has been added to the upcoming musical cast at Wenatchee High School, but it’s not simply a man dressed like some fictional creature, it is a moving, talking dragon that will fly over the stage during the play. A 20-foot, 60-pound replica of the dragon featured in the Shrek series is currently being constructed by WHS art teacher Don Collins and 12 WHS students. It will be hoisted up by four cast members during WHS’s Shrek: The Musical, and will become part of the play as it talks, sings, and even flies.

Back in June, Paul Atwood, the musical’s director, came up with the idea to have a dragon in the show and asked Collins to build it for him. Collins accepted the offer, and has been working on the creation since the school year began. He has attended workshops, worked on it at his home, and even had some students help him during class. Using paper mache´ and foam, Collins and his students have nearly completed the project.

“Things are going really well, but we still have a lot of work to do if we want this to really ‘wow’ the audience” said Collins.

As for the less gigantic aspects of the musical, everything seems to be going as planned.

“We are having absolutely no huge problems with any parts of the musical, and the dragon is just icing on the cake,” said Atwood.

Shrek: The Musical’s first performance will be on Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m., the first of six showings. The final show is set for Nov. 23. Student tickets are on sale now at Pak-it-Rite for $15 and adult tickets are $18.