Starting Wednesday, opportunity will be spelled with a K for a local theatre company and several students at Kalamazoo College. That’s because K’s Festival Playhouse and Farmers Alley Theatre are joining forces for nine performances of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St.
The partnership is uniting K students with professional Actors’ Equity Association performers and stage workers who will present what Megan J. Herbst ’25 describes as a laugh-out-loud, super witty and heart-touching comedy about six socially outcast tweens.
“The characters are trying to figure out their own personalities, they’re all competitive and they all love to spell,” said Herbst, who is working in a paid position as an associate assistant stage manager for the show. “There are a few additional supporting characters, but it’s a story of kids coming together and creating bonds between them. It’s easy to connect with so many elements of each character’s story. Even though they’re weird, you will find a soft spot for every one of them. We’ve had test audiences and every person who’s come to see it so far has loved it.”
Herbst is a theatre and psychology double major and religion minor, who pursued acting from sixth grade through high school. When she arrived at K, she wanted to try something new within the theatre world. Since then, Herbst has served as a stage manager, assistant stage manager, scenic designer, fight captain, assistant costumer designer, performer and more for 11 shows with Festival Playhouse. Some of her favorites include Othello; Next to Normal; On the Exhale, a senior integrated project by Brooklyn Moore ‘24; and Be More Chill.
Herbst said her work—and that of several other K students—with Spelling Bee started nearly immediately after Be More Chill, the last Festival Playhouse production of the 2023–24 academic season, ended. That meant a rigorous schedule that included end-of-term academic work and preparing for finals in addition to the challenges of working on a musical, but every experience in working alongside Farmers Alley representatives has been valuable.
“So many college students have summer jobs and I’m grateful that mine is something I’m passionate about,” Herbst said. “It’s a privilege to get to work on my craft because sometimes these opportunities can be far and few in between. I get to do what I love every day, so I’m fortunate that this is not only a paid opportunity, but an opportunity that exists at all.
“What people don’t understand about stage management is that there is somebody verbally making everything happen,” she added. “There’s somebody saying, ‘Lights down, go. Fog machine, go.’ Everything is controlled by multiple people. But what’s important about our job is that people don’t notice us. Stage management and all of the backstage crew are responsible for making things run as smoothly as possible, so the audience has a truly immersive and magical experience. If you see a truly great show and don’t catch any issues, then it’s either because we did our job well or caught any mistakes before you could. There’s as much talent offstage of any show as there is on stage.”
Robert Weiner, a founder and executive director of Farmers Alley, says an equity theatre experience is valuable for students to learn from as it follows a set of guidelines from the union that students need to be aware of if they ever work for a professional theatre.
“We hire talented artists from all over the country, even directors and actors who have worked on Broadway,” Weiner said. “To have the ability to watch and learn from these established veterans of the theatre scene is invaluable, not to mention the talented artists we hire locally.”
With Spelling Bee, Weiner is directing a company production for the first time since Avenue Q in 2019.
“Because of audience participation—we invite four members of the audience for each show to ‘compete’ alongside our spellers in the bee—every show has a new feeling where anything could happen,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate during the rehearsal process to have some K students volunteer their time to be guest spellers and they’ve had fun participating. Also, this is the best sounding group of singers I’ve ever heard in a production of Spelling Bee. There are a couple of numbers like Pandemonium or The I Love You Song that are very challenging, and these performers absolutely crush it every single time. The show is like a warm hug that will have you leaving the theatre in a good mood. I really hope K students take advantage of our student and rush tickets. It’s a guaranteed fun evening!”
Weiner previously directed Farmers Alley productions such as [title of show], The Toxic Avenger, Fully Committed, All in the Timing and A Grand Night for Singing. However, he is eager for the experience of bringing productions like Spelling Bee—and School of Rock later this summer—to a larger venue.
“We are so grateful to be performing at the Festival Playhouse all summer with Spelling Bee and School of Rock,” Weiner said. “The main draw was the added stage space and audience capacity. School of Rock features 30 performers, including 15 students aged 11–16, and our small, intimate space downtown just wouldn’t be viable for a show of that magnitude. There are lots of challenges producing a show not in our space, including set building and load-in off site and all the intricacies of this unique space to adjust to. Thankfully, Professor of Theatre Lanny Potts and the entire K staff have been so welcoming and the whole process has been a win-win.
“One thing I’ve noticed about K students is how kind and accepting they are,” he added. “Theatre attracts individuals of all kinds. We want to make Farmers Alley Theatre a space for all, and from my purview, it looks like K does the same. They’re smart, hard-working and willing to adapt and problem solve while keeping a positive attitude.”
If Herbst and Weiner have piqued your interest, performances of Spelling Bee are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12–Saturday, June 15; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 16; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20–Saturday, June 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23. The performance Sunday, June 16, includes American Sign Language interpretation. Tickets are available online.
“Why should you see it? This show is flat-out fun,” Weiner said. “There are catchy songs with clever lyrics, quirky characters, lots of laughs and a fair amount of heart. Plus, it’s only 90 minutes long. It really is a perfect little evening of summer entertainment.”
