ShenanArts Hosts Auditions For The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee auditions held at ShenanArts at the Ntelos Theater, 300 Churchville Ave., Staunton on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 27 at 2 p.m.

What?
Auditions for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Who?
There are 9 roles: 5 Men and 4 Women
This is an adult production. Only those 18 and older are eligible to audition. However, the ages of the actors portraying the characters does not matter. You can be 18-40 to play one of the kids? roles (of which there are 6) and 18-70+ to play one of the adults (of which there are 3)

Other Details:
Please choose one day to attend auditions. You should plan to arrive at the start time (7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday)
Please bring a prepared piece to sing. There will be a piano player present; however, you may choose to sing acapella if you wish. Choose a song that shows your range and acting ability.
Readings will be from the script.

About the show:
Six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Character Breakdown
CHIP TOLENTINO
A boy scout and champion of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, he returns to defend his title, but he finds puberty hitting at an inopportune moment.
C3 - B4
Tenor

DOUGLAS PANCH
The Vice Principle. After five years' absence from the Bee, Panch returns as judge. There was an "incident" at the Twentieth Annual Bee, but he claims to be in "a better place" now, thanks to a high-fiber diet and Jungian analysis. He is infatuated with Rona Lisa Peretti, but she does not return his affections.

LEAF CONEYBEAR
The second runner-up in his district, Leaf gets into the competition on a lark: the winner and first runner-up had to go to the winner?s Bat Mitzvah. Leaf comes from a large family of former hippies and makes his own clothes. He spells words correctly while in a trance. In his song, "I'm Not That Smart", he sings that his family thinks he is "not that smart," but he insinuates that he is merely easily distracted. Most of the words that he is assigned are South American rodents with amusing names.
A2 - G4
Baritone or Tenor

LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUNENIERRE (SCHWARTZY)
Logainne is the youngest and most politically aware speller, often making comments about current political figures, with two overbearing homosexual fathers. She is somewhat of a neat freak, speaks with a lisp, and will be back next year.
C4 - D5
Soprano

MARCY PARK
A recent transfer from Virginia, Marcy placed ninth in last year?s nationals. She speaks six languages, is a member of all-American hockey, a championship rugby player, plays Chopin and Mozart on multiple instruments, sleeps only three hours a night, hides in the bathroom cabinet, and is getting very tired of always winning. She attends a Catholic school called "Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows." She is also not allowed to cry.
B3 - E5
Soprano/Mezzo-Soprano

MITCH MAHONEY
The Official Comfort Counselor. An ex-convict, Mitch is performing his community service with the Bee, and hands out juice boxes to losing students.
E3 - A4 (B4)
Tenor
OLIVE OSTROVSKY
A young newcomer to competitive spelling. Her mother is in an ashram in India, and her father is working late, as usual, but he is trying to come sometime during the bee. She made friends with her dictionary at a very young age, helping her to make it to the competition.
B3 - F#5
Soprano

RONA Lisa Peretti
The number-one realtor in Putnam County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion herself, and returning moderator. She is a sweet woman who loves children, but she can be very stern when it comes to dealing with Vice Principal Panch, who has feelings for her that she most likely does not return. It is implied that she sees much of herself in Olive Ostrovsky. Her favorite moment of the Bee is in the minutes before it starts, when all the children are filled with the joy of competition, before they begin to resent each other. She later declares that she likes how everyone has an equal chance of winning, citing as an example that last year's winner can be this year's loser and vice versa. Another favorite moment is when the last winners go head to head for the top spot because it is so suspenseful and filled with hope. Ms. Peretti herself won the Third Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by spelling "syzygy," which she recounts at the very beginning of the opening number.
C#4 - Ab5
Soprano

William Barfee
A Putnam County Spelling Bee finalist last year, he was eliminated because of an allergic reaction to peanuts. His famous ?Magic Foot? method of spelling has boosted him to spelling glory, even though he only has one working nostril and a touchy personality. He has an often-mispronounced last name: it is Bar-FAY, not BARF-ee ("there's an accent aigu," he explains with some hostility). He develops a crush on Olive.
Eb3 - Bb4
Tenor

 

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