There’s a spelling bee taking place in Prince George this month, but it’s not a legit spelling bee competition.
It’s the newest musical production put together by UNBC’s own theatre club called The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a play written for broadway that took the stage in the late 2000s.
The play comes on the cusp of UNBC’s third anniversary of partnering with Theatre NorthWest in using the organization’s stage to put on performances.
“We love having the UNBC club in our space because they have such great energy, and it’s so nice to have so much enthusiasm in this space,” said Theatre NorthWest Executive Director Marnie Hamagami.
“They’re a great energizer in terms of shaking it up and reminding us that this is something that we actually love to do.”
For seven years prior to the partnership began, UNBC Musical Productions was operating out of the Canfor Theatre and Prince George Playhouse.
President Rylee Spencer says her members were barely able to make shows happen in a smaller space along with renting expenses for necessary equipment.
“The guidance Theatre NorthWest has been giving us is amazing. It’s completely changed how our organization works, and having access to this beautiful space and suddenly having professional lights and costumes and sets that we couldn’t fit in the Canfor Theatre. It’s amazing.”
Hamagami adds, by keeping the relationship in sharing its building with UNBC, it makes connections for students even after the curtain closes on their university studies.
“Some of their members will go on to work in the arts and they’ll become our colleagues. Some of their members will go on to be business people, for whom we will expect large philanthropic donations, and some will go to be ticket buyers. It’s a great partnership, it’s a little bit long-term in that sort of that sense, but it’s very immediate too.”
Alex Verge is the choreographer for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and, especially with preparing actors and dancers for this musical comedy, is grateful for the bigger space to use.
“Canfor [Theatre] is nice for small stuff, but as the choreographer of the show, so I’ve been able to step up what we do physically because the Canfor Theatre is carpeted and weirdly-shaped, so having an actual stage, I’ve been able to do so much more with the cast,” she said when asked by PrinceGeorgeMatters about transitioning to a more freeing stage.
“The amount we’ve been able to step our game up and do so much more in this space is incredible. [...] This is a smaller-scale musical that we’re doing coming up; it’s only a 10-person cast, but we have up to 28 members in the club right now and they’re helping with backstage, ushering and tabling to help sell tickets at the university.”
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee involves 10 actors that will share the spotlight with each other and Verge says there’s even potential for audience participation.
The play runs March 12 to 15 and again from March 19 to 22.
You can go to Theatre NorthWest’s website for tickets and more information.
