Every year, the Chelsea Theater Guild puts on a fall musical for the community; however, most people don’t realize how much hard work and dedication the cast and crew members put into putting on a show. As we reflect on the fall musical production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, we start to take a deeper look at what goes into the making of a fantastic and exciting performance.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is “a lively, quirky show that tells the story of a wildly diverse and competitive group of fourth-graders competing in their county’s spelling bee.” Junior Jordan Nelson says, “The show brings to light personal experiences that the audience can connect with.”
In the theater world, no show is ever the same; each has its own plot, set-up, music, and characters. One of the biggest things in a play is the characters; how they act and what they do establishes the storyline and plot of the performance. This can be any level of difficulty, depending on the personalities of the characters.
“The process of characterization, which is to say developing the personality of each character, was, and always is, a heavily involved process.” Nelson said, “Every cast that puts on a show is wildly different, and the artistry displayed by this cast is no exception.”
Even though developing an entirely new personality can be difficult, that’s not the only demanding thing about executing a performance. Every set-up can be entirely different depending on the play, each taking different amounts of time and hard work to set up that require lots of beforehand planning.
“Auditions took place in May 2023, after the conclusion of the spring play. This was to allow for the cast to learn music and choreography over the summer.” Nelson said, “Set building, prop management, and costuming were picked up several weeks before the show opened. The cast and crew combined totaled 26 students, excluding the adult production staff.”
Another demanding thing for the preparation of the play is rehearsing. Every performer and crew member has to perfect their part to execute the dream performance of a play.
“Most rehearsals look nothing like what the audience sees at the performances; some rehearsals are only for vocals, others only for choreography, and some only for certain scenes,” Nelson said. “Not every cast member is needed at every rehearsal, but these rehearsals typically run anywhere from 2–3 1/2 hours, but as you get into production week (the week leading up to a performance), rehearsals will run 5 hours every night.”
