25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

By William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin

Directed by JeanneAnn Comiskey

Auditions: 

June 10th 6:00-10:00pm at the Chehalem Cultural Center Black Box Theatre

Email gatherrepertory@gmail.com to sign up for a 5 minute audition slot.

Callbacks (by invitation):

June 12th 6:00-10:00pm at the Chehalem Cultural Center Black Box Theatre

Auditionees should prepare 32 bars (about a minute worth of music). A pianist will be present to play sheet music, or auditionees can bring a track but must bring their own speaker to play the track with during their audition. Please also bring a printed picture of yourself that you love and plan to arrive early or stay late to share some more info with us on an audition form. Feel free to email gatherrepertory@gmail.com or DM us on instagram or facebook with any questions.

Character Descriptions:

NOTE: In reference to the character descriptions below – The characters in this show are on the binary and written with he/him or she/her pronouns (as determined by the writers) as you will see in the following descriptions. People of all gender identities will be considered for any role they wish to be considered for (as expressed in their audition form) with the understanding that we are required by our performance rights to present the character as reflective of the gender identity and pronouns indicated by the writers. 

THE SPELLERS

Chip Tolentino: Difficult singing. Lots of high notes. Vocal range: C4-B5 (C3-B4) The reigning spelling champion of Putnam County, relatively athletic and social, he expects things to come easily to him. Lately though, he’s been going through some weird changes, and things are slipping out of his control. 

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere: Vocal Range: A3 - F5. Younger than most bee participants, she is driven by internal and external pressure - but above all by a desire to win to make her two fathers (from whom she takes her combined last name) proud. She lisps, is a little uncomfortable in her body, has some tics, but still manages to strike a strong presence with her political awareness and keen sense of justice. Having drilled words for hours a day, she is aware of everything that passes in the room. 

Leaf Coneybear: Vocal Range: A3 - A5. A second alternate, he never expected to compete here today. Home-schooled with his many siblings, everything about this public bee is an adventure for him, from meeting the other kids to showing off his homemade clothing, to each moment of unexpected attention. He may have severe Attention Deficit Disorder but delights in his own wandering focus. Leaf doesn’t expect to win - or even to spell one word correctly - but he finds absolutely everything amusing. His mother has made him wear his protective helmet to the bee. 

William Barfee: Vocal Range: E4 - B5. Has a host of health problems and a lot to prove. Loud and combative as a defensive posture, he is the fat kid who becomes a bully to avoid being picked on (though he often gets picked on anyway so gets into a lot of fights). His parents are divorced, his father remarried to a much younger woman; and Willia does not expect kindness from anyone but his mother. So friendship takes him by surprise. Still, he’s noticed on the spelling circuit for his remarkable technique - spelling words out on the floor with his foot. Taken out of the competition last year because of an ill-timed allergic reaction, he’s here for vindication. The journey he doesn’t expect is one of coming to care about someone else - when he sees outside his own needs for perhaps the first time, it shakes him fundamentally. 

Marcy Park: Vocal Range: C4 - E5. The ultimate over-achiever, Marcy has never been given another option. She comes from a family where excellence is expected and so simply produced. A parochial school student, she assumes God, too, expects perfection. She sees herself as a mass of problems but she keeps them to herself. Having moved often because of her parents’ work, she knows she can beat the local competition. Her many talents include piano, dance, martial arts, baton twirling, and/or whatever special gifts you can find in your casting pool.

Olive Ostrovsky: Vocal Range: B3 - F5. A word lover, Olive has a fairly quiet life. An only child with often-absent parents, Olive spends a lot of her time alone. She fills some of that time reading the dictionary - the words bring her comfort, as does the idea of the vastness of the world the book contains. During the first half of the bee, she often peers into the audience to see if her father, who is delayed at work, has made it yet. She starts enormously shy, and shyly blossoms. 

THE ADULTS

Rona Lisa Perretti (Age: 30-40) Vocal Range: B3-F5. Putnam’s long-time spelling bee hostess, a local realtor, and 3rd annual Putnam County spelling champion. This is Rona’s day to be queen. From her perspective, she keeps the bee running smoothie, upholds protocol, and conveys crucial information to the audience. Her interest in the competition is unflagging and drives it forward. She thinks of this as a complex cerebral sporting event, and she wants the audience to understand every twist and turn. If anything, in her life in general, she has to minimize the importance of this event to her, embarrassed that her own championship moment remains such a highlight. A little concerned when the substitute word pronouncer arrives, she knows she has to step up her game to make the day a success.

Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Age: 30+): of Lake Hemingway Dos Passos Junior High is frustrated with his life. He fell into education, less out of love than a general ability uncoupled to a particular passion. The drive of young spellers is alien to him. He never found anything that important. Stuck in his current job, endlessly awaiting a promotion that isn’t coming, he was not happy to get the call this morning that he was needed to substitute; but he starts the bee eager to do well, to redeem himself for past mistakes, and to impress the local hostess, Rona Lisa, who impressed him long ago. 

Mitch Mahoney: Vocal Range: E4-A5. With a bouncer’s physique and demeanor, Mitch appears an odd choice to be the bee’s “comfort counselor”, but it’s part of his community service assignment. The outsider, who in a way gets to inhabit the audience perspective, he wonders about the wisdom of putting kids through this at all. He has no idea how to offer comfort, but does increasingly find himself wishing he could find a way to make the kids feel better about losing, and perhaps place misspelling in wider perspective. 

The following roles may or may not be cast individually or as doubling with other roles, or in combination with being cast as an understudy for one or more of THE SPELLERS:

Schwarzy’s Fathers:

Carl Grubenierre (Carl Dad): Vocal Range: G3 - D5. Schwarzy’s main trainer, the more intense and competitive of Schwarzy’s fathers.

Dan Schwarz (Dan Dad): Vocal Range: G3 - D5. The more laid back and ineffectual of Schwarzy’s fathers.

Leaf’s Mom, Dad, and Siblings: all more academically gifted than Leaf, they are even more surprised than he is at his success. 

Olive’s Mom: Vocal range: D4 - E5. A fantasy version of Olive’s mom at her Ashram in India. 

Olive’s Dad: Vocal range: E4 - B5. A fantasy version of Olive’s dad coming to the bee from work. 

Jesus Christ: Deity invoked by a speller in need.

Rehearsals: 

• August 12th - September 25th

  Dress rehearsals September 23rd-25th

  Preview September 26th

• Mondays-Fridays 6:30-10pm

• First Rehearsal: Monday August 12th

• Rehearsals will be at The Chehalem Cultural Center and performances will be at the CCC in the new LaJoie Theater.

Performances: 

• September 27th - 29th & October 3rd - 5th

  Thursday-Saturday: 7:30pm

  Sundays: 2pm