“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was performed by Skyline College’s drama program from Thursday, April 17 to Saturday, April 19 at Skyline’s theater. The show was hilarious, abstract, and heartwarming, delighting audiences for three days straight.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” centers around new-coming speller Olive Ostrovsky, played by Mia Alabado, who attends the spelling bee; throughout the show, she eagerly waits for her dad to arrive: the only parent she has left since her mom has moved far away. Competing against her are various exaggerated characters who, in their own right, are all dealing with their problems with their self-image and wanting to fit in with the crowd. However, throughout the bee, they all begin to realize they shouldn’t be ashamed of what makes them special, but instead love it.
Kaylin Alexis, who played no-nonsense Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre, described the message of the show as doing what you love for the love of doing it.
“If you love something, it doesn’t matter if you’re cool, it doesn’t matter if you’re popular, it just matters that you’re doing what you love, and what the kids in this musical love is to spell,” Alexis said.
Before the audience even took their seats, the performers were backstage preparing. Since Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre has a lisp when he talks, Alexis said she likes to do karaoke with a lisp to help get into character. Kevin Mena, who played athlete Chip Tolentino, said he likes to do vocal warm ups everyday and before the show so he can give the best performance he can.
The show was filled with highly catchy songs and well-executed choreography. For some songs, a screen in the background featured colorful abstract patterns, adding to the mood of the scene. The whole musical commanded the audience’s attention, as every light, line, and dance move had purpose.
The comedy in the musical was outstanding. Most notably, the use of saying the word that needed to be spelled in a wacky sentence. Banter between characters was sharp, and running gags helped show the depth of the characters, such as William Barfée, played by Justin De Guzman, being frustrated at having his last name mispronounced, and his technique of drawing the word out with his “magic foot” before spelling. The performers focused heavily on using actions to convey the personality of their characters, especially when it came to spaz Leaf Coneybear, played perfectly by Kai Guingona, who was jumping, yelling, and running all over the stage.
When the show ended, the audience stood up with a standing ovation as the actors and actresses made their bows. Afterwards, they went offstage, joining their family and friends to celebrate another night of a well-done performance. They were greeted with applause, hugs, and flowers.
The cast’s whole preparation had been leading up to these three nights to showcase their talent to their community. Since January, it has been nothing but rehearsal and practice for the entire cast, with rehearsals being two days a week for three hours or longer, depending on the day.
The audiences could tell the whole cast loved the characters they played based on the depth of their performances. Alabado, who has been doing theater ever since she was young, said she loved playing Olive because it gave her a chance to be carefree and show the innocence of being a kid in a big, complicated world.
“What I enjoy about playing Olive is that I get to channel that inner kid that never really leaves us, no matter how much we grow and get older. She’s such a sweetheart,” said Alabado.
This musical was special for Alabado because she also got to share the stage with her younger sister, Leia Alabado, who played the highly competitive Marcy Park.
“I love her [Leia] so much and I had the best time sharing the stage with her,” Alabado said. “Having her by my side absolutely helped in preparing for the role.”
Alabado also expressed her love for theater. She described the art of drama as being a time where anyone can be free from their worries, and can bring the audience into the world set on stage.
“Theater, to me, is the most liberating place in the world,” Alabado said. “We get to create and be a part of a different world in the short time of a few hours during these shows, and it’s wonderful to share that space with each other and our audiences.”
Mena, who has similarly been drawn to drama ever since he was a kid — and is fueled by a fire he feels when on stage — said he loved playing Chip because he knew how to play the character well through his experiences growing up.
“I think with this role, I love playing Chip because he’s confident and he is competitive, and I embody these characteristics through experience,” Mena said.
The director of the musical was seasoned director Chris Reber. Reber has been a professional union actor for the past 38 years. He got hooked into drama back in highschool, when he was encouraged by his choir teacher to join the school’s musical production. In the past few years, he started getting more into directing.
De Guzman said it was great working with Reber. He said, upon starting production, Reber had plans ready to go for what he wanted the cast to execute during the live performance.
“In terms of the production, he knew what he was doing from basically the get-go,” De Guzman said. “He had a very specific vision, and he really helped us bring that out.”
Alexis added, Reber had given them freedom of expression with the characters and was open to improvisation during rehearsal to see what could work even better for the live performance.
“He gave us a lot of freedom with the characters,” Alexis said. “Freedom to mess around and make mistakes, and I think that allowed us to flesh out the characters a lot more, trying new things every rehearsal until one thing stuck out.”
Being a director comes with its ups and downs. Reber said some of the challenge of directing is the nature of always solving problems. Problems always occur during rehearsal. There are scheduling issues, mechanical issues, whatever the case may be; he is in charge of fixing them.
However, what he likes best about directing is working with the performers. He said he likes seeing them take his vision of the character and completely put their style into it to make the character come alive on stage.
“My favorite part of directing is when a light bulb goes off in somebody and you watch them take an idea and fly,” Reber said. “For me, as a director and a parent, it’s the greatest thing in the world.”
Reber and the Skyline drama program’s efforts paid off in the end, delivering another extravagant performance for Skyline students and their community. For those who would like to see more, or missed the chance to see this musical, check out Skyline colleges drama program on the Skyline college website, as they will have another production coming out in the fall.