Year 9

A Peek Behind the Scenes by Cast Members: Pippa and Nadine

“The 25th Annual Spelling Bee” is a musical production that revolves around six different spellers and some quirky adults. Throughout the musical, each speller reveals their own story, all of their experiences unexpected but adding onto their interesting spelling quirks. Six spellers enter, and one speller remains. May the best speller win!

One of the things that was interesting about the process of producing this musical was the auditions. They were held during quarantine and sadly didn’t get many applicants, but something that was funny was how some of the main cast did not even apply to be in the musical at all. For example, Chip Tolentino, played by Dafi, did not submit an audition and instead was ‘force-casted.’ Me (Nadine) and Pippa worked together and submitted a video that included both of us performing. Now that I think about it, I don’t think it was supposed to be group work. Clearly, the process of getting cast members was a bit of a roller-coaster.

We moved on to the first practices, and it was slightly dull due to the fact that they were held online. There were three main lessons for practice that were conducted over three weeks; singing, dancing, and acting. We were also given worksheets to analyze our own characters. The online practices were uninteresting; all that happened was practicing individual songs, and it made the cast very demotivated. So, of course, when we moved on to practicing face-to-face, the level of motivation changed immediately.

The offline practice was so much more fun than online. Of course it was! There were no longer delays with music, and we were able to practice group songs properly. The best time was definitely when we practiced “The Opening”, “The Finale”, and for me, the “I Love You Song”. The process of being able to do the choreography for Olive (Me) and Barfee’s (Atov) dance was interesting. The one thing I remember was that the first time, we didn’t even dance, but instead used a whole after school session to do trust falls.

All of the practices with choreography were tiring, but when we were able to look at the progress and continue to perfect it, it was fun.

During November, we started practicing on the weekends as well. We did run-throughs and practiced with the choir, and for the last week, did a dress rehearsal. The show itself was nerve-wracking. I remember we were all stress-eating and running back and forth backstage. It was all enjoyable though, because the moment we entered the stage, every practice and lesson helped us finish the show with minimal difficulty.

The best part of the show was the teamwork. Everyone worked hard to attend the Saturday meetings, and put their best efforts into being able to perform, even taking extra lessons! We all helped each other to do the choreography, singing, and I don't think anyone could have done it if the cast and crew weren't close together. We hope you enjoyed the show!