NILES — This weekend, burps and flatulence resounded on the stage of Eastside Connections School’s lunch room, as did the chuckles that followed.

Eastside’s drama club was the culprit, or rather, the volunteer technicians that played the gross sound effects. The club’s 42 students performed a production of “Shrek: The Musical Jr.” Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16, with a special rehearsal and showing for young Niles-Buchanan YMCA guests Thursday, Nov. 14

The musical was not all toilet humor, however. Director and special education teacher Megan Bartlett said she chose the junior production because it gave an important message to her sixth- to eighth-grade cast members.

“The big theme of the show is be who you are,” she said. “Let your freak flag fly. I love that. It’s a great lesson.”

The story followed Shrek, a reclusive, grumpy ogre who finds a crowd of other fairy tale creatures outside his swamp home. They were all cast of out Duloc, ruled by Lord Farquaad, for being different.

Shrek, who was played by Dominick Sandoval, cuts a deal with Farquaad, played by Wyatt Mitchell: if he rescues Princess Fiona, played by BeAnka Finch, from a dragon, played by Alizabeth Van De Putte, the fairy tale creatures will be allowed back into Duloc.

Along the way, Shrek finds love, friendship and a lesson in celebrating who you are, no matter how far out of social norms that may be.

“I think it’s telling people that there’s no perfect, and that everyone who is considered weird is not weird because it just accepts everyone,” said eighth-grade student Eva Van Dyke, who plays banished fairy tale character, Pinocchio. “Everyone is included in this.”

One way the production allowed all cast members and their characters to express themselves was through a number of eccentric, colorful and fantastical roles, Bartlett said. While some cast members may not have dominated in speaking lines, many people that would otherwise be chorus members had a chance to speak, to sing and to flash their creative garbs, from the Big Bad Wolf down to Gingy, the gingerbread man.

When the cast came on stage to sing a song, such as “Freak Flag,” the audience did not see a cluster of similar-looking chorus members, but individuals, each with their own look and personality.

Van Dyke was hoping to land a larger role when she auditioned, and she was happy with Pinocchio. She was able to have a musical solo in the play, where she recounted Pinocchio’s life of strife to Shrek.

“I feel like he’s very sassy in this role, and I felt like that spoke to me because I am very sassy sometimes,” she said.

Now, when she heads to Niles High School next year, she has every intention to join its theater program.

Bartlett said she started the drama club because she wanted to students to have theater opportunities that the high school and fellow district middle school, Ring Lardner, had.

“I wanted to create an opportunity for our middle school students to have more of the fine arts, so it’s become a tradition we just can’t let go of anymore,” she said. “These kids have so much talent.”

This is Bartlett’s fifth production at Eastside, made possible by tech, stage and organizational volunteers, from parents of cast members to students who were previously in an Eastside production.

“It’s crazy what one person’s passion can do,” said Joe Racht, Eastside principal, after final rehearsal last Thursday. “She brought all these kids out.”

As he spoke, students filed out of the hallway next to the cafeteria and onto the stage, leaving their backpacks, homework and costumes along the edges of the walls. The school, historically not used to musical productions, was turned into a makeshift backstage.

Racht echoed Bartlett’s sentiments, saying the musical provided a fine arts outlet in an area where those opportunities are few.

Bartlett, a Niles alumna who performed with traveling troop The Young Americans after high school before becoming a teacher, has now brought the fine arts to scores of students and audiences so large to Eastside they near the fire code capacity limits, Racht said.