- by Anne Finlay-Stewart
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is not a play by children. Nor is it a play for children.
(“Maybe PG-13 for mature subject matter,” says director Cory Laycock.)
Owen Sound Little Theatre's upcoming musical was written for a cast of adults playing an eclectic group of middle-schoolers and Spelling Bee staff. The theatre-goer is attending their children's local spelling bee from the moment they come through the doors until the moment they leave. The “fourth wall” of the theatre is regularly broken, uniquely engaging the audience. It's definitely outside the usual Roxy box.
Cory Laycock has been involved in twenty productions with Owen Sound Little Theatre from the booth to the stage, ten as an actor and this is his first as director. The process of bringing a production to the Roxy stage started sixteen months ago, when Laycock brought the script and his plans to the play-reading committee. He'd seen Spelling Bee twice – once locally as a St. Mary's High School play and once as a student production at U of T. He was thoroughly entertained and began to imagine what Bee could be with adult actors and more time and professional resources.
OSLT regular Brodie McGruer fleshed out Laycock's first thoughts for a set, new set builders arrived to help take it off the paper, and a first-time props manager seemed to find everything they needed in her endless basement treasure trove.
As an entertainer himself, Laycock is delighted that the theatre has invested in a high-end microphone system for the production. The twenty-plus songs are performed by incredibly talented vocalists backed with the best possible sound, he says.
The nine member cast is a blend of OSLT veterans and virgins. Two are well-experienced in theatre, but brand new to Owen Sound. One of them is also handling make-up. Six of them spend the whole first act sitting together on a bleacher. And five days out from opening night, after 34 rehearsals (the company lost six to snow), Laycock says “they are truly one – an ensemble.”
Just as important to him as their faith that the show is ready, the cast and crew are already telling him they have really enjoyed the experience, and want to do it again.
As a community theatre that holds itself to a very high standard, Owen Sound Little Theatre chooses its season by carefully weighing their resources on-stage and off. What will it cost, who will produce and direct and design the set. Do we have the singers and actors suitable for the roles, and will it bring audiences to the theatre? Putting those resources behind a director is a full vote of confidence.
Owen Sound Little Theatre productions are labours of love with volunteers of all ages committing hundreds of hours of their time, sharing their skills and willing to learn new ones, all in the service of the same shared goal. It's an all-consuming communal effort to bring the director's dream to the stage, and one that still amazes Laycock. “The willingness of people to do anything – anything – to bring my vision to life.” He shakes his head.
On March 28th, Cory's job is done. He will sit in the audience with all of you. You will have ten opportunities to enjoy what your community has created for you – Thursday through Saturday, March 28-30, April 4 -6, 11-13 AND a bonus performance for the thrifty, on Wednesday, April 3. Ticket information at Roxy.
For those who really want to get in on the action:
Syzygy – Maybe you know that a syzygy is a straight-line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system. Maybe you could even use it in a sentence. But if you weren't reading it here, would you know how to spell it?
If “syzygy” didn't stump you, there may be fifteen minutes of fame waiting for you as four new contestants will join the spellers on stage in each production.
