The spotlight illuminates the actors on stage. The curtain slowly opens as the band plays the first chords of music. The audience waits for the show to begin.
Rehearsals start today for the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical to be performed in January 2025.
“I auditioned in the hopes that I would be able to get a role that will help me pursue my future career as an actor,” junior Alexzander Talkington said. “Generally speaking when you audition any role you get will help you with both experience and new future tactics to do in your acting career, but my motivation was to get one of the bigger roles to help me out in the long run.”
It takes months of prep time and rehearsals to get the actors ready for the show. If mistakes happen during a performance, actors should be able to improvise on the spot.
“In the main role, it’s better to go with the flow,” junior Jhun Abarquez said. “If you mess up, learn to be better. If you don’t mess up, good job. But whatever happens, make it good, even if it’s wrong.”
To make the show, three days of auditions were held. Preparation for auditions required focus and dedication.
“With the small amount of time we had from the audition announcement to the day itself,” Talkington said. “It took a lot of focus out of my time to try and practice for the auditions, especially since I was in Colorado at the time.”
There was a tight turnaround from the audition announcement so many people who auditioned practiced last minute.
“The day before the audition day,” Abarquez said. “I was like, oh my god, I gotta do this now. But I did it and got the lead so it is what it is. Come see us sometime in January. All I know is that the performances will be on a Friday and a Saturday.”
The students had to show their ability in acting, singing and dancing during the auditions, with callbacks on the final day.
“I prepared by reading the lines for the monologue sequence over and over again,” Talkington said. “You just had to pick a musical you already knew for the song. Most of my singing practice was coming out of the shower for the next few days.”
To land a role, you must be a good actor and willing to grow alongside cast members.
“The best thing you can do is to think like the character,” theater teacher Cassandra Matlock said. “Don’t let yourself think like you. Put all of the emotions and how you think the character is feeling, and just put yourself on the back burner, because that’s what acting is.”
