Equity Actors for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

The reigning spelling champion of Putnam County, relatively athletic and social, he expects things to come easily to him. Lately though, he’s been going through some weird changes, and things are slipping out of his control. Doubles as Jesus Christ. Vocal Range C3-B4

Younger than most bee participants, she is driven by internal and external pressure - but above all by a desire to win to make her two fathers (from whom she takes her combined last name) proud. She lisps, is a little uncomfortable in her body, has some tics, but still manages to strike a strong presence with her political awareness and keen sense of justice. Having drilled words for hours a day, she is aware of everything that passes in the room. Vocal Range G3-G5

A second alternate, he never expected to compete here today. Home-schooled with his many siblings, everything about this public bee is an adventure for him, from meeting the other kids to showing off his homemade clothing, to each moment of unexpected attention. He may have severe Attention Deficit Disorder but delights in his own wandering focus. Leaf doesn’t expect to win - or even to spell one word correctly, but he finds everything incredibly amusing. Doubles as Carl Dad. Vocal Range A2-A4

Has a host of health problems and a lot to prove. Loud and combative as a defensive posture, he is the kid who becomes a bully to avoid being picked on (though often gets picked on anyway so gets into a lot of fights). His parents are divorced, his father remarried to a much younger woman; and William does not expect kindness from anyone but his mother. So friendship takes him by surprise. Still, he’s noticed on the spelling circuit for his remarkable technique. Vocal range C3-Bb4

The ultimate over-achiever, Marcy has never been given another option. She comes from a family where excellence is expected and so simply produced. A parochial school student, she assumes God, too, expects perfection. She sees herself as a mass of problems but she keeps them to herself. Having moved often because of her parents' work, she knows she can beat the local competition. Her many talents include piano, dance, martial arts, baton twirling, etc. Vocal range A3-Eb5

A word lover, Olive has a fairly quiet life. An only child with often-absent parents, Olive spends a lot of her time alone. She fills some of that time reading the dictionary - the words bring her comfort, as does the idea of the vastness of the world the book contains. During the first half of the bee, she often peers into the audience to see if her father, who is delayed at work, has made it yet. She starts enormously shy and shyly blossoms. Vocal range A3-F#5

(Female, Open Ethnicity, age 30-50) Putnam’s long-time spelling bee hostess, a local realtor, and 3rd annual Putnam County spelling champion. This is Rona’s day to be queen. From her perspective she keeps the bee running smoothly, upholds protocol, and conveys crucial information to the audience. Her interest in the competition is unflagging and drives it forward. She thinks of this as a complex cerebral sporting event. Doubles as Olive’s mom. Vocal Range C4-E5

The Vice Principal, frustrated with his life. He fell into education, less out of love than a general ability uncoupled to a particular passion. The drive of the young spellers is alien to him. He never found anything that important. Stuck in his current job, endlessly awaiting a promotion that isn’t coming, he was not happy to get the call this morning that he was needed to substitute; but he starts the bee eager to do well, to redeem himself for past mistakes. Non-singing role.

With a bouncer’s physique and demeanor, Mitch appears an odd choice to be the bee’s “comfort counselor”, but it’s part of his community service assignment. The outsider, who in a way gets to inhabit the audience perspective, he wonders about the wisdom of putting the kids through this at all. He has no idea how to offer comfort but does increasingly find himself wishing he could find a way to make the kids feel better about losing. Doubles as Dan Dad and Olive’s Dad. Vocal Range E3-B4