The cast poured their hearts out with acting, singing, and dancing for the crowd each night. Photo courtesy of senior Bob Meyers.
On October 4, the final showing of San Luis Obispo High School’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was held. The show wasn’t as well-known as previous shows put on by SLOHS, leading to low ticket sales. However, with roughly thirty students working hard to deliver a stellar performance, the play is now considered to be one of the best productions done at SLOHS.
Parents, siblings, peers and staff have all said nothing but praise, but it’s important to know what the theatre crew has to say too.
“In my opinion, [‘Spelling Bee’] was one the best executed and comedic shows we’ve done in my time at SLOHS. Everyone has put so much time and dedication to bring the community around San Luis Obispo an authentic and professional show! The ‘Spelling Bee’s’ cast and crew specifically for this show has shown talent and love for the arts, hopefully inspiring others to put themselves on stage,” said lighting operator and senior Avery Sheffield.
Professional is an understatement, SLOHS really showed their talent for two weekends in a row.
“It was so much fun! Working as an actor onstage means I got to dance and sing and have fun with all of my friends. I loved the teamwork involved in everything and the way that we were all in this together as a group working to put on the best show possible,” said cast member and sophomore Greenlee Anderson.
Anybody at SLOHS can agree that the theatre crew will always be one of the closest groups of students on campus, with little to no proof even needed.
“I played Chip Tolentino. I loved it! I’ve done every show here at SLOHS since my freshman year and this is my favorite one we’ve done. One cool thing about this show is there were only seventeen people in the cast, which made our cast bond really strong and just have a great time! With a smaller cast it’s easier to be productive during rehearsals as well,” said cast member and senior Jude Biggers.
Seems as though the mood before the lights was amazing, love revolving among everybody. But it wasn’t always all smiles. As said before, expectations were skyrocketing because of how well SLOHS performed last year, but how did that affect the sales of Spelling Bee?
“Ticket sales weren’t great at first. On opening day, we were trying really hard to promote our show so more people would buy tickets since ticket sales were significantly lower than average on past opening nights. However, on the second weekend of shows, ticket sales were a lot higher and the audience was a lot fuller. I think this is because of people who saw it opening weekend not expecting much from the show, but because of how pleasantly surprised they were, promoted it to their friends and maybe saw it again themselves,” said stage manager and senior Charly Elston.
Even though tickets say otherwise, “Spelling Bee” was on par with past performances, perhaps even better than some.
“I think every night was a great laugh for the whole family as it features clever, deep-cut, and shocking jokes. I think the audience participation was implemented very well and that every person walked out of the show with a massive smile and memory,” said cast member and sophomore Luke Miller.
Unfortunately, there will no longer be any showings of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” For those who missed out, do not fret! More musicals and plays will happen, just be patient and support these Tigers!
