Aurora Arts to show 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' for summer musical

Get ready to learn how to properly spell "syzygy," "strabismus," "lugubrious" and "cow" at Aurora Arts Theatre.

The local community theater will show "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" for its summer musical starting Friday through Saturday, Aug. 31.

For tickets, visit auroraartstheatre.com .

The musical centers on a fictional spelling bee at Putnam Valley Middle School, where six quirky adolescents compete as three equally quirky grown-ups run the competition.

Co-director Peter Guzman-Howard said community theater is in his blood, as he's been directing for 20 years and performing for more than 30 years. He said he knows the community will enjoy the musical due to the audience participation aspect.

"It makes it so much more fun and transcends your average night out to the theater," Guzman-Howard said.

Once the audience walks into Aurora Arts, they can sign up at a table to possibly be selected as one of the four guest spellers on stage to be in the first act of the musical.

"They will be asked to spell a word, and they have to ask the judges to use it in a sentence and what the definition is," Guzman-Howard said. "Then they do their best to spell that word. Occasionally they might be pulled up to dance with the cast — but nothing too complicated. All we're looking for is people who will have a good time but not steal the spotlight."

Jacob Zamarrón is one of the cast members ready to entertain the audience. He portrays William Barfée, a middle-schooler with a plethora of health issues and a love for sci-fi.

"I saw myself in the character, especially my time back in middle school," Zamarrón said. "Getting to portray him on stage is kind of like a caricature of myself."

He said he hasn't been in a stage production since 2022 and is happy to return.

"It's been great reconnecting with the theater community here," Zamarrón said. "Community theater is a great way to create new memories and make new friends."

Guzman-Howard echoed Zamarrón's words and said he owes everything to community theater. He was able to get his day job, a physical therapist's assistant, through community theater. He was also able to meet his wife and step-daughter through the local arts.

"It's a place where people can come together and learn to shed a lot of fears," Guzman-Howard said. "There is no better team-building exercise than doing theater. People say sports is a great way to learn about team-building, and it is. But if you're not a star player, you're on the sidelines. In theater, there's always a place.

"We have so many people contributing in the smallest manner, but it can make the biggest impact. Theater has an opportunity to waken people's minds and hearts. There's a certain magic in seeing live performances. To watch people volunteer their time out of love and passion on stage is beautiful."

Returning for her fifth musical, Kyler Brooklyn said her role as Marcy Park is the hardest she's ever had.

"All the kids are very unique and have their own quirk," Brooklyn said. "Marcy is a winner. She never fails and is good in everything she does. But she's tired of being a winner. While everyone wants to win this so bad, she's ready to throw it. I always want to win, so it's been difficult trying to portray that."

Brooklyn said even though the role has been more challenging than she expected, she's having the time of her life like she always does when she's on stage.

"As long as you're having fun and immerse yourself into the show, you're going to look great no matter what," Brooklyn said. "The second you doubt yourself, the audience will see that."

For any audience members that get the itch to be in the spotlight, Brooklyn said to "do it."

"Community theater is a great start into the world of art, dancing, singing and acting," Brooklyn said. "It's such a welcoming community. There are different levels of performers, but we are all at the same place doing the same show at the end of the day. Everyone is so kind to each other. You're singing, dancing and acting on stage — there's nothing better than that."

RELATED COVERAGE

More: 'Dream come true': Harbor Playhouse puts on 'Rock of Ages' for summer musical

More: 20 last-minute summer vacations to take from Corpus Christi International Airport

John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Twitter @johnpoliva .

Consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times .

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Aurora Arts to show 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' for summer musical