Home Base Theatre

Lauren Looby, Choreographer

home base theatre — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:30:01 +0000

Lauren Looby ’08 – Choreographer

Lauren Looby has “mega pride” for her hometown of Maple Grove, and is thrilled to be choreographing this summer’s production of Shrek the Musical. Growing up as a student in District 279 and as a 2008 Maple Grove Senior High graduate, Lauren danced competitively in Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, and Ballet. She also participated in the high school’s music department by singing in choir and performing in the musicals: Hello Dolly, Bye Bye Birdie, and Seussical.

After working what she has considered “100 different jobs,” Lauren believes that her life has been shaped by the diversity of work experiences she has had.

“Each of us can carry our own ‘freak flag’ with poise, respect and confidence–that type of humor can take you a long way.”

Lauren graduated cum laude from Minnesota State University, Mankato, in 2012 with a degree in Mass Media and a Minor in Dance Performance. Her impressive resume in the dance industry will bring life and movement to this summer’s show:

Choreographed Altar Boyz at MNSU and received a Kennedy Center Honor for the American Collegiate Theater Festival for Outstanding Choreography Award
Teachers assistant for Advanced Tap at the collegiate level
MNSU Theatre and Dance Intern for 1 year
Dancer for the Collegiate Dance Team, MNSU Mavericks
Performed in theatre productions at MNSU including Chicago and RENT and dance captained for The Producers
Maple Grove Rotarian’s recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award for leadership and volunteerism in the community
Worked with Chanhassen Dinner Theatres as the Outreach Specialist in Group Sales

We at Home Base Theatre are thrilled to have Lauren working with us this summer — a talented and highly capable Maple Grove Senior High graduate with a knack for choreography and a love for theater.

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Dragon Puppet Concept

duhaimec — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:30:20 +0000

Dragan Puppet Concept by Chris Lutter

Summoning some of our fittest cast members, Home Base Theatre will employ five actors to operate our huge, puppet dragon. On its hind legs, the creature will sit more than 11 feet tall, towering over cast members when she comes bellowing out of her cave.

You may recognize Chris Lutter’s sketch-designs as the familiar dragon from the DreamWorks film. That’s because Chris and his team at Puppet Farm Arts are working to replicate the look, personality, and nature of the original character. We at Home Base Theatre can’t wait for these sketches to become the reality of our life-size dragon. Production for the creature takes off on Wednesday, May 15th.

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Meet Shrek’s Noble Steed: Kevin Brown to Portray Donkey in Summer Musical

home base theatre — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:34 +0000

Kevin Brown – Donkey

Making both his Maple Grove Senior High Theatre and Home Base Theatre debut in the same year, Kevin Brown considers himself “somewhat new” to musical theater. Since his SpotLight® Award-winning performance as ‘Tiny Tom’ in MGSH’s Urinetown last fall, Kevin knew that he “loved being on stage and performing.” We at Home Base Theatre knew that we loved watching Kevin perform on stage, and couldn’t wait to cast him as the hilarious ‘Donkey’ for this summer’s production.

Kevin Brown is a 16-year-old sophomore at Maple Grove Senior High, and is determined to make his first major role a memorable one.

“I see this as a great opportunity to gain theatrical experience and to get better at being on stage. As a kid, Shrek was one of my all-time favorite movies, and of course Donkey was my favorite character. So I am absolutely elated to have the opportunity to be him this summer. I hope I can give everybody a good laugh.”

Without giving too much away, we at Home Base Theatre can’t wait for audiences to witness Kevin’s undeniable talent. John Neumann, a co-founder of Home Base Theatre says:

“He [Kevin] has a great sense of comedic-timing, and has a hilarious knack for portraying his emotions via physical movement…I am really excited to watch him unleash his energy in the show this summer.”

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Meet the Two Youngest Actors at Home Base Theatre

home base theatre — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:12 +0000

From the Graduating Classes of 2024 and 2025: Meet the Two Youngest Actors at Home Base Theatre

Hailing from Maple Grove, MN, the Farrens brothers will make their theatrical debut as ‘Little Shrek’ and ‘Lord Farquaad’s Dad’ in this summer’s production of Shrek the Musical.

Gannon Farrens – Lord Farquaad’s Dad

Gannon Michael Farrens

Age: 6 years old
Born: Maple Grove, Minnesota
School: Kindergarten at Maple Grove Primrose Academy and will be attending 1st grade at Basswood in the Fall
Neighborhood: Notthingham Neighborhood
Favorite Subjects: Recess and Paint
Favorite Sport: Soccer, Baseball, Dance, Riding Bike
Favorite Video Game: SkyLanders
Favorite Food: Noodle Soup
Favorite Book: Star Wars
Favorite Movie: Croods
Favorite Super Hero: Flash
What I want to be when I grow up: Cowboy from the Wild Wild West

Gannon recalls being a little anxious at his audition for Shrek the Musical:

“At first it was pretty scary when I had to stand in front of ALL those people. But then I liked it because it’s fun when I get to dance to ‘Whoop’um Gangnam Style’. That’s the funnest part. Now I get to be Lord Farquadd’s Dad. I get to boss around my son.”

Miles Farrens – Little Shrek

Miles Bryan Farrens

Age: 4 years old
Born: Maple Grove, Minnesota
School: Pre-Kindergarten at Maple Grove Primrose Academy and will be attending Kindergarten at Primrose Academy in the Fall
Neighborhood: Notthingham Neighborhood
Favorite Subjects: Play and Sing
Favorite Sport: Soccer and Baseball
Favorite Video Game: Cinderella
Favorite Food: Chicken Nuggets, Sandwiches, and Quesadillas
Favorite Book: Cinderella
Favorite Movie: Repunzel
Favorite Super Hero: Green Lantern
What I want to be when I grow up: Superhero

Miles looks forward to bringing his dance moves to the stage:

“I wanted to be in the play so I danced to ‘Call me Maybe’. I am so excited to be in the musical play, Shrek. I get to be baby (little) Shrek. It is my favorite movie character. You guys are so awesome to give me a chance at becoming a future Maple Grove Drama Graduate.”

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Lord Farquaad: Men of his stature are in “short” supply

home base theatre — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:00:37 +0000

Phil Horn – Lord Farquaad

Fans may remember him as the self-proclaimed Latin lover, Aldolpho, from Maple Grove Senior High’s 2011 production of The Drowsy Chaperone. But this summer, theatre-goers will get a new taste of Phil Horn’s comedic-genius as the hysterically short and ruthless ruler of Duloc: Lord Farquaad. Phil is a 19-year-old engineering student at the University of North Dakota, and will finish up his freshman year of college before heading back to Maple Grove to make his Home Base Theatre stage-debut.

“I am super stoked to play Lord Farquaad this summer. I’ve never played a part like this before, and Farquaad is such a big character inside this little, tiny, body– I will need to focus on not hesitating to go really big with him. It will be fun to play the villain, even if he possesses a kind of evil that one might see from a 4-year-old. I also can’t wait for the experience of being about two feet shorter than everyone else while playing the character on my knees and all. It will be an awesome experience.”

Putting his UND Concert-Choir vocals to the test, Phil will belt his way through the all-new score written for Shrek the Musical, and will delight audiences as he gives new meaning to the phrase, “These knees were made for walkin’…”

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Chris Lutter: The Man Behind the Magic of Shrek

home base theatre — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:00:05 +0000

Christopher Lutter-Gardella has been making masks, puppets, costumes, sets, floats and various theatrical accoutrements out of waste materials for over ten years. Chris champions the process of transforming trash into imaginative art for communities throughout the upper midwest and beyond.

Chris has worked extensively in schools, libraries, community centers and other civic organizations as an artist-in-residence, and has guided communities in the development of art-making workshops for theatrical productions. With his extensive experience in facilitating broad and diverse groups of people in the process of collaborative art-making, from conceptualization through to final presentation, Chris will commision all new set and puppet pieces for Home Base Theatre’s production of Shrek the Musical.

Chris’s love and practice of imaginative trash-transformation will be at the heart of his designs for Shrek the Musical: Chris will bring the story of everyone’s favorite Ogre to dazzling new life on stage: all new scenery and staging elements that will tell the story of Shrek and Donkey’s journey from a stinky swamp, to a castle guarded by an enormous dragon, all the way to Lord Farquaad’s castle in the kingdom of Far, Far Away.

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Meet our Princess Fiona!

home base theatre — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:00:06 +0000

Erin McWilliams – Princess Fiona

As a Home Base Theatre hat-trick actress, Erin McWilliams will make her third season debut as the not-so-lady-like Princess Fiona in this summer’s production of Shrek the Musical. With roles in 13 the Musical and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Erin is looking forward to perfecting her farting and belching skills through Princess Fiona:

“I am a lot like Fiona. We both have personalities that are ‘bigish’, and I love to sing to pass the time! Fiona and I are both independent and loving women, and I am thrilled to be portraying her this summer.”

In addition to being a musical theater actress, Erin is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology from St. Cloud State University. She also keeps busy by teaching swimming lessons and singing for a downtown church choir. Erin is most looking forward to sharing this summer’s show with old friends in addition to making new ones. With a great message told by heart-warming characters, Erin can’t wait to share the story of Shrek the Musical with the City of Maple Grove.

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical? Click here to donate!

Applebee’s: A Home Base for Shrek the Musical

home base theatre — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:00:33 +0000

As an active member of our community, Applebee’s of Maple Grove values our hometown just as much as we do at Home Base Theatre. This local restaurant strives to improve the City of Maple Grove with its presence, and recognizes that their own success depends on the prosperity of the communities in which they do business.

Applebee’s Flapjack Breakfast
Saturday, April 27th, 2013
8:00 – 10:00am

14400 Weaver Lake Rd
Maple Grove, MN 55311

The Applebee’s franchisees are a significant source of inspiration and commitment to the local neighborhoods where they are located. Last year, Applebee’s franchisees’ employees donated 54,000 hours of community service with an average of 30 employees per restaurant donating their time.

Here in Maple Grove, Applebee’s has invited Home Base Theatre to host a “Flapjack Fundraiser” at the Maple Grove restaurant. This breakfast fundraiser will be a fun and easy way for our community of supporters to gather at a hometown-favorite restaurant and raise money for Shrek the Musical. Home Base Theatre and Applebee’s are both important parts of this community, and are exctied to make a difference by giving back to the community where we operate. In its purest form, our breakfast fundrasier is one way both our organizations can say “thank you” for supporting us! So bring your Ogre-sized appetite to the April 27th breakfast and enjoy some Fundraising Flapjacks in support of Shrek the Musical!

The event is schedule for Saturday, April 27th from 8:00am-10:00am, tickets are $7.00 and can be purchased by emailing info@homebasetheatre.com, or at the door. If you are unable to attend this breakfast fundraising event, please consider supporting us by contributing to our Kickstarter project, now through May 20th!

Interested in supporting Shrek the Musical in other ways? Click here to donate!

Kickstarter

home base theatre — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:04:14 +0000

The success of Home Base Theatre is credited to the businesses, organizations, family, and friends whom have provided financial and product donations for us over the years… for this we are truly grateful! This year we’re hoping you’ll consider us again, but we’re going to be trying something a little different. Today we are excited to announce our next big adventure on this journey to producing Shrek the Musical, a Kickstarter project! We are challenging our community to help us raise $9,000.00 over the next 30 days. We hope this platform will be a great way for our friends and family, and their friends and family, to donate to the show.

Now, if you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, there is one caveat… if we don’t raise our goal of $9,000.00 we don’t get any of the money raised. This just means we need to spread the word and tell the world why Shrek the Musical is so important to us and the Maple Grove community! Take a look at our project page, and if you like what you see, consider us for your next donation.

Fundraising Event!

duhaimec — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:53:01 +0000

Eat Bread to Raise Dough!

This month we have been focusing a lot on fundraising for this large-scale endeavor, and it’s finally your turn to help! Tonight (yes, we know its a bit last minute), we’ll be hosting a fundraising event at Panera Bread in Maple Grove between 4:00pm and 8:00pm.

The way this works, you print out the digital flyer attached below and turn it in when you purchase your meal or any item(s) from Panera. The more flyers we have turned in, the higher percentage rate we get of all the sales. It’s that simple. We will have a Home Base Theatre representative there all night long who can answer any of your questions.

Now don’t be surprised to not see Home Base Theatre’s name on the flyer, we are teaming up with the Maple Grove Theatre Boosters this summer, so their name is on the flyer (but, the money still goes to us). So, work up your appetite and head on over to Panera tonight (Wednesday, April 3, 2013) from 4:00pm to 8:00pm!

Download and print the flyer here!