[Capdist-auditions] SPELLING BEE AUDITIONS, SLOC, December 9 and 10 (Adults Only!)

[Michael McDermott]

Schenectady
Light Opera Company will be holding auditions for their upcoming production
of:  
"The
25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee"
Music
and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachael Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca
Feldman
Director:  Grace McCarthy
Directorial
Mentor:  Michael Mensching
Musical
Director: Frank Krumal
Choreographer:  Jordon Fyvie
Location:  Schenectady Light Opera Company, Cabaret Room.  427 Franklin Street, Schenectady, NY
Dates:  December 9th and 10th, 2014.  Callbacks:  December 11th pending a need.
Times:  7:00-9:30 p.m.
Rehearsals:  Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 7 p.m. -   10 p.m., commencing January 5, 2014.
Performance
Dates:  March 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29
and 30.
We
are looking for adults that can easily look and play the parts of middle school
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 come
dressed in the persona of the character you most wish to play.  Please be prepared for a simple movement audition,
and bring dance and clothes shoes if necessary (i.e., if your “character” clothes
are not appropriate for dancing).
 We’re looking for unique characters that would
be “different” in a group setting-- the kids that either annoy or stand-out to their
teachers.  The humor of these contestants
is that they are adult actors in these roles.  Though the show depicts children, they are played by adults so all cast
members must be 18 years or older to audition. 
 Spelling Bee Administrators (roles of Rona, Panch,
and Mitch):  Please prepare either a song
from the show or a ballad that is appropriate for your character, Vice Principal
Panch does not sing a lot, so most anything is fine.  For these three characters, please come
dressed as the professional character appropriate for the role.  
SHOW
SYNOPSIS:   A spelling bee is depicted
through hilarious and sometimes deeply touching musical numbers and dialog
depicting the trials and tribulations of contestants.  Audience participation adds a spontaneous,
fun and upbeat energy to the show.  
Character
Breakdown:  
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.   (Actor also plays Jesus).
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.   (Actor also plays
Carl Dad)
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.   (Actor also plays Olive’s Mom in Fantasy Sequence).
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.  (Actor also plays DAN DAD and OLIVE'S DAD in
Fantasy)
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