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The Spelling Bee cast with director Dana Shaheen and stage manager Jo Jackson
All photos courtesy of Jamie Foster Photography
This week, I got to be onstage again. I was attending a rehearsal of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE and they chose me as an audience contestant. The last time I acted in a musical was... hmmmm... maybe it was NUNSENSE about 20 years ago? Yikes. At any rate, I spelled two words right and did the Macarena (badly) before being escorted offstage with my juice box prize. Even in a rehearsal setting with only about six people in the audience, it was a blast!
Director Dana Shaheen has gathered together a talented and energetic cast to take on this delightful tale of teenage overachievers' angst in the guise of a spelling bee and they are amazing. But don't be lulled into complacency as you sit in your seat waiting to be entertained. You too might end up being part of the entertainment! A handful of audience members are going to be asked to join the fun onstage every single performance, and whether it's you, your spouse or your next door neighbor, it's all part of the fun and you'll have a blast on or off the stage. I know I did!
Yep. That's them. The talented cast that can sing, dance, spell and make me laugh. ALOT. Come on out to the Little Theatre this weekend and maybe you'll get called on to spell a word and do the Macarena too. Even if you don't, I promise you'll have a great time. Just ask SLO Tribune writer Debby Nicklas, I think she'll agree. Or better yet, you can read her story about SPELLING BEE in today's TICKET right HERE.
Every speller has a unique "technique" to help them spell correctly
I think the rest of today's BLOG can speak for itself. Enjoy a little taste of the show with these great photos by Jamie Foster Photography and I'll hope to see you this weekend, or the next, or even the next here at the Little Theatre. But don't wait too long to reserve your seats, click HERE to get your tickets today !
Chip and Barf "warm-up"
Rona Lisa Peretti introduces the contestants
Marcy gets a "lift" from Rona and Mitch
Leaf Coneybear's parents offer a little support...sort of.
Every contestant's exit gets a grand "good-bye"
Okay. I think that's enough for now. I don't want to spoil the ending or anything. If you want to know who wins THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, you'll have to get your own tickets and come down to the theatre and see for yourself. You'll be glad you did.
CFSLOCO's Janice Fong Wolf, Kevin Harris and Board President Bryce Engstrom in the booth with our new light board.
Thanks to two generous grants from The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County, we are looking pretty spiffy these days, both onstage and off, here at the Little Theatre. In October, we received a very generous grant of $5,000 to fund the purchase of a new state-of-the-art computerized lighting console replacing our 23 year old “antique” light board. The new system is able to be programmed with multiple lighting designs for multiple shows and will greatly enhance the experience of both audiences and technicians alike during our ambitious 2014-15 Season.
Intern extraordinaire Ellis Beardsley displaying our new tickets and color print materials.
In addition to our gorgeous new light board, we also have new printers! Almost a year ago now, we received a grant of $2,850 through the Foundation to purchase a new thermal ticket printer and a new color printer/scanner. It took awhile to find the perfect ticket printer AND to program it to work with our ticketing system, but now, you can actually read the seat numbers on your tickets and our publicity materials really stand out in full color! Many thanks to our Community Foundation for their generous support!
Every time we turn around lately, it seems like it's time for more auditions. I love it! Our next Ubu's Other Shoe staged reading to hit the rehearsal room will be MISS WITHERSPOON by Christopher Durang. Director Kelly Fidopiastis needs five or six talented actors and actresses to bring this deliciously offbeat comedy to life. Auditions are this Sunday at 4 pm and Monday at 6 pm. Hope to see you here. Click HERE for all the details.
If musicals are more to your talents and taste, be sure to dust off your tap shoes and come on down on November 23 and 24 for SINGIN' IN THE RAIN auditions. This is going to be our biggest musical of the year, so warm up those vocal chords and stretch those dancing muscles. You can check out audition requirements and the roles available HERE, then come on down and "make 'em laugh...make 'em laugh...make 'em laugh!"
When the trick or treating (in the rain or under moonlight!) is done, the party is definitely NOT over! If you like LIVE, ORIGINAL, FREE late-night theatre, come on down for a one-of-a-kind Halloween party at NO SHAME THEATRE. Because when NO SHAME and HALLOWEEN collide, you never know what might happen. The doors open at 9:30 pm, we'll accept your original five minute scripts at 10 pm and the show starts at 10:30 pm.
Saw a rehearsal for THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM VALLEY SPELLING BEE last night and we are in for a real treat! This Tony Award winning musical comedy opens next Friday, November 7th. Directed by Dana Shaheen, the laughs and songs come fast and funny and don't be surprised if YOU wind up on stage joining the BEE! Click HERE for more info and tickets.
And finally....THRILLER! It's an oldie, but it's also a goodie. So, in honor of Halloween, here's a little zombie action just to get you in the mood. Have a fun Halloween weekend! ~ Patty
