[Capdist-auditions] THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

Mon Jul 19 12:14:56 EDT 2010

Announcing Open Auditions

for our October production of William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s

Director – Michael Mensching  *  Musical Director – Val Lord 

Choreographer – Melissa Lacijan

Welcome to the Bee!

To Spelling Bee Contestants: (actors 20’s to 30’s)   We are pleased that you
are considering entering the Bee.   For contestants we are looking for
adults that can easily look and play the parts of children ages 8-14.  All
ethnicities are encouraged to audition.  Please prepare 16 bars from an up
tempo or comedic song (most preferably one from the show) and prepare a one
minute joke or story that will be told in the persona of the character you
most wish to play.  Please be prepared for a simple movement audition. ***
What we are looking for are talented performers that can stand out in a
crowd.  Remember, these are Spelling Bee kids; they are not conformists.
Part of the humor of these contestants is that they are adult actors in
these roles.

To Spelling Bee Administrators (roles of Rona, Panch, Mitch): Please prepare
either a song from the show or a ballad that is appropriate for your
character (We might suggest a song from A New Brain which is another Finn
piece if you can’t find one from this show) Vice Principal Panch does not
sing a lot, so most anything is fine. For these three characters, we would
like a one minute fictitious history of your character.  Start with your
character description and go from there. 

Character Breakdown - Characters include but are not limited to the
following:

Chip Tolentino: TENOR (to high B) 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. 

William Barfée: TENOR (to high B flat) 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. His parents are divorced, his
father remarried to a much younger woman; and William 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
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. 

Olive Ostrovsky: MEZZO (B to  F sharp)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. 

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre: MEZZO (C to D)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 this room. 

Leaf Coneybear: TENOR ( A to G)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 incredibly amusing. His
mother has made him wear his protective helmet to the bee. 

Marcy Park: MEZZO (B to E)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 other special gifts. 

Rona Lisa Peretti: MEZZO (C# to A Flat), Age 30-40 The #1 realtor in Putnam
County, a former Putnam County Spelling Bee Champ (at the 3rd annual Bee)
and long-time spelling bee moderator. From her perspective, she keeps the
bee running smoothly, 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 ever 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: BARITONE, Age 40-55 This Vice Principal 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 the 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: TENOR (E to A), Age 25-35 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 the 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. 

Text Box: F.Y.I.
Prior to the auditions scripts are available at The Saratoga Springs Public
Library Reference Desk
Visit www.homemadetheater.org for more information
PRODUCTION DATES: Weekends, October 15 – 31 REHEARSALS: Will begin late
August with a full schedule beginning September 7th For further information
please call Home Made Theater at (518) 587-4427

Kathleen Dunham HMT Office Manager

26th Season 2010-11

P.O. Box 1182

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

518-587-4427

www.homemadetheater.org

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