{"id":32753,"date":"2012-12-17T07:41:59","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T12:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=32753"},"modified":"2012-12-18T07:47:32","modified_gmt":"2012-12-18T12:47:32","slug":"ugly-can-be-fun-as-shrek-actor-perry-sook-discovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2012\/12\/17\/ugly-can-be-fun-as-shrek-actor-perry-sook-discovers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ugly can be fun, ‘Shrek’ actor discovers"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD<\/strong>independent feature writer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Perry Sook is an ugly ogre. He\u2019s okay with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty of Shrek is that he isn\u2019t trying to be funny, and I love that,\u201d Sook said. \u201cShrek is a really good guy, and he\u2019s just trying to get through his life. It becomes funny because of the situation he\u2019s presented with, but he\u2019s really not trying to be funny, which is actually the best type of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Perry Sook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sook plays the lead role in the upcoming performances of Shrek The Musical<\/em> that are coming to Van Wert on December 22 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. The musical brings to the stage the iconic DreamWorks film that children and adults fell in love with. While Sook enjoys bringing the ogre to life, it can be a struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely interesting trying to keep it authentic to what DreamWorks created, but at the same time putting your own spin on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s managed to do just that. Sook is part of an ensemble cast that delivers the story of the ogre who finds himself in the middle of an adventure to reclaim his land. Shrek is joined along the way by a donkey, a dragon and Princess Fiona, played beautifully by Whitney Winfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is just a phenomenal talent, fun to work with, and is really just a juggernaut of energy,\u201d Sook said of his castmate. \u201cWe always have fun together. If we\u2019re in a scene together where we\u2019re laughing on stage, we actually are still laughing backstage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only 4 years old when the acting bug bit him, Sook treasures his time spent on stage, and his ability to make a living doing something he loves. \u201cWith the tour life, there\u2019s really not a time when I\u2019m not Shrek,\u201d Sook said, adding, \u201cso much of our craft is a physical and emotional investment. Music is very important to me and I absolutely love to sing so getting the opportunity to do that for a profession is really just a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sook and his castmates bring 19 songs to the production, a load of laughs and brilliant scenery that draws the audience into the story. Since his humble beginning at age 4 as a fill-in in a local production, Sook has immersed himself in the world of theatre, graduating from the University of Oklahoma School of Musical Training.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of my sisters were already in a play my mom was directing and someone got sick two days before the show and had to drop out,\u201d Sook said. \u201cSo I told my mom I wanted to do it and I haven\u2019t looked back since then.\u201d<\/p>\n

A large part of acting, Sook said, is making a connection with the audience as well as listening to opinions of cast mates and stagehands. \u201cThat\u2019s really how you keep it fresh,\u201d he said. \u201cFortunately, we have a wonderful cast that is a pleasure to work with. You make the connections real and authentic by truly listening to what you hear, and reacting to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plenty of doors have been slammed in his face along his career path, but Sook remained committed to theatre, and kept auditioning. Eventually, he began landing parts and building his resume. \u201cYou\u2019re going to get a hundred no\u2019s for every one yes, but every one yes makes those hundred no\u2019s irrelevant,\u201d he said. \u201cYou really just have to go for it and be relentless with your passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relying on what he calls the best advice he was ever given, Sook walks into auditions \u201clike I own the place,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cAnd then you walk out like you couldn\u2019t have done any worse. More times than not, you will get a \u2018no\u2019. I walked out of the Shrek<\/em> audition feeling really good, but you never really think you landed it.\u201d
\nFortunately, he did land it, and he\u2019s happy to show what he hopes will be a sold-out audience why during his upcoming performance. \u201cMany people know the story of Shrek and Fiona, but what\u2019s really magical is getting to see that come to life. People have seen the ogre and the donkey, but to see it come to life before your eyes in such a real and visceral way is a joy to anyone watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

For tickets, or information about the show, visit www.npacvw.org<\/a> or call the box office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOODindependent feature writer Perry Sook is an ugly ogre. He\u2019s okay with that. \u201cThe beauty of Shrek is that he isn\u2019t trying to be funny, and I love that,\u201d Sook said. \u201cShrek is a really good guy, and he\u2019s just trying to get through his life. It becomes funny because of the situation he\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 08:34:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}