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Stepping out from a fast-forwarded spelling round, Zach Reeves (12) hawks a loogie as William Barfee before spelling “weevil.” “It was inter-esting trying to get everyone to go the same speed from ridiculously fast to ridiculously slow,” Reeves said. Photo by Matt Hart

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s students filled the seats of the auditorium on

Nov. 18 for the first production of 25th Annual Putnam

County Spelling Bee, the drama department prepared

for their debut, but with an addition to their cast. Along

the front row of the theatre were four less-than-eager

staff members anticipating their guest appearances in

the show as last minute entrees in the Bee.

“I’m scared,” Jason Arrendondo, assistant principal,

said. “My palms are sweaty, my mouth is dry and I for-

got my lines.”

The cast also overcame their fair share of struggles.

Because of the small number of roles required for the

show, the Bee’s female characters were double casted.

While “the more the merrier” may have run through stu-

dents’ minds, it wasn’t without difficulty.

“It was a lot of fun because it was more of a challenge

to work with two people playing one character com-

pletely differently,” Zach Reeves (12) said.

Through the endeavors, the show and its large cast

did go on. While the Bee obviously centered on spelling,

it also went in-depth of the speller’s personal thoughts

and emotions through flashbacks and illusions. One cry

for help even made it to God, who responded sounding

very much like drama teacher Lesa Bettencourt.

“When Bettencourt first started doing drama here

they gave her the nickname Betten-God and that just

inspired her to play God in the show,” Colton Lightner

(10) said.

The show amused students with its physical and

improv comedy, with the “Pandemonium” scene causing

planned confusion and disorder during a stunt.

“Friday night when I picked up Josh Anderson [(11)]

in ‘Pandemonium’, I knocked Ashley Fletcher [(12)] in

the head with his boot,” Reeves said. “She got a huge

bruise on her face that we had to cover up every night.”

“Break a leg” may have been taken a bit too literally.

double casts, staff appearances, stunts pump up show’s inner pandemonium

Hannah Goforth

Belting her feelings of loneliness and abandonment, Sisilia Shaffer (12) harmonizes “I Love You” with her mom and dad as Olive. “She feels abandoned and doesn’t have any friends,” Shaffer said. “She even sings a song, “I Love My Dictionary”, because that’s her only friend.” Photo by Matt Hart

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