Five for Five

Last night we closed the first Akron Summer Theatre Project as our production of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE completed its run of five public performances.

This project was conceived as a way to extend the classroom and provide a platform for learning in a way not typically possible during the school year. The Akron Summer Theatre Project is intended to provide students the opportunity to work side-by-side with talented alumni and experienced members of the theatre community on a production that we would not typically present as part of the Firestone Theatre season. In this way, the project clearly was a smashing success. Most of the students involved in the project made giant leaps forward in their performance and theatrical experience.

In THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, our students were able to work on an excellent modern musical that is simply too small to be presented successfully in our barn of a theatre. The LIA was an inspired venue choice with its functional air conditioning and cabaret-style proximity of performer and audience. It seats around 100 people which seems to be just about the perfect size for what we are doing. We were able to transform a large classroom into a theatre space that benefitted both the audience and the performance. Many member so the audience expressed their satisfaction with the space and told me that it was a good idea to use the LIA as a theatre.

It would not have been possible, of course, without the support of some very talented people who have donated their time and talent to the project. I had the pleasure of working with a fine group of people who were there to have fun and to work hard. Roles onstage and offstage were filled with talented, dedicated artists who took the project seriously like the professionals they truly are or aspire to be. Many thanks to each of them who signed on for the grand experiment and made magic happen with sticks and string. Thanks, too, to the students who jumped into this pool with both feet and never looked back. The show was well attended by patrons who enjoyed the enthusiasm of our cast and crew. Many expressed their admiration for the project.

I think we all have hopes that this is just the start of something that might have a long, successful life. When it does, we can each say we were there at the beginning.