Dynamic Stage Productions' first outing is "Spelling Bee"

In case you’re wondering whether “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” — now being staged by a new local amateur theater company called Dynamic Stage Productions — has personal resonance for director Kyle Farr, rest assured that the answer is ‘no.’

“I’m a horrible speller, actually,” confessed Farr.

Fortunately, though, you don’t need to have any spelling skills to enjoy this Tony Award-winning musical comedy that focuses on a handful of awkward kids who are considered freaks at home and at school, but who feel completely normal in the realm of a highly competitive spelling bee.

“It’s a good show for a community theater,” said Farr. “And it’s perfect for the space (at a href="http://www.riversidearts.org/">Riverside Arts Center), for a small setting. … There’s audience participation involved, and it’s a show that takes adults back to their youth.”

Of course, having adult actors play kids is a tricky prospect, so Farr asked his cast to watch the documentary “Spellbound” — which focused on eight kids who qualified for the 1999 National Spelling Bee — in order to see what real kids in this environment are like.

But another challenge for performers concerns the fact that at each performance, four audience members will become part of the bee and will stay on stage for a while.

“I’ve made sure (the actors) have been practicing and are ready for this by bringing in friends of my own to rehearsals,” said Farr. “It’s four additional bodies they have to drag around and do some choreography with, and it really provides for some funny moments.”

Audience participants are interviewed and selected before the start of the show, at which point they are provided with some basic guidelines. Occasionally, of course, a ringer makes it to the stage, but according to Farr, the show’s book, penned by Rachel Sheinkin, “guides you in ways to get them out. There’s a lot of room to play with the script — the two announcers especially have a lot of leeway on what they say about the audience members. It won’t be the same show each night, that's for sure.”

Farr — who recently co-founded DSP with his friend, Jami Krause — thinks “Bee”’s popularity as a show stems from its timeliness.

“There’s a girl in the bee that has two dads, … and there’s a girl who’s not necessarily abandoned by her parents, but she’s left alone a lot,” said Farr. “Everyone can relate to one of the kids in this show. You see yourself, as you were as a kid, in these characters.”

PREVIEW
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
Who: Dynamic Stage Productions, a new local community theater company.
What: Musical comedy (for adults) about a group of kids who are confronting the anxiety of being in a highly competitive spelling bee.
Where: Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron St. in Ypsilanti.
When: Thursday-Friday, November 12-13 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, November 14 at 3 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, November 15 at 2 p.m.
How much: $15.
Info: For reserved seating info, e-mail a request to dynamicstageproductions@yahoo.com. Otherwise, general admission tickets will be available at the door. To learn more about DSP, visit the theater company's web site.

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.