The ensemble forms a tight spotlit cluster on a dark stage, with many arms reaching inward and outward.

PATS Theatre, Guildford School of Acting2023

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Production

Guildford School of Acting’s February 2023 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was staged at PATS Theatre, with production photography by Steve Gregson. The actor-training staging brought William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical comedy into GSA’s studio-theatre environment.

44 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Lucy Betts
Musical Director: Dan Smith
Choreographer: Annie Southall
Lighting Design: David W Kidd
Set Design: Roger Ness
Costume Design: Davy String
Commissioned by: Guildford School of Acting
Photography: Steve Gregson

A silhouetted figure stands in a narrow doorway as bright light spills across a dark floor.

A woman in a bright pink suit stands alone at a microphone in a blue-lit school auditorium set.

A performer in a pink animal hat and multicoloured cape speaks at a microphone, with another performer seated behind.

The ensemble lunges and gestures around a central microphone on a brightly lit spelling bee stage.

A woman in a pink suit smiles at the striped microphone, framed by the central doors of the set.

A lone performer stands in a deep blue spotlight while the wider stage and ensemble recede into darkness.

Three performers crowd beside a desk while a woman in a pink suit looks aside, with a trophy and prop box on the tabletop.

A scout-costumed performer stands with arms outstretched in the centre spotlight while the ensemble bends toward him.

A performer in glasses and a sweater vest sings forcefully against a dark background.

Three seated performers lean together closely, one resting against another in an intimate moment.

The ensemble rushes forward across the stage in green-blue light, creating a strong sense of movement.

Two performers play upright string instruments in a dark, side-lit musical moment.

A robed performer with a radiant headpiece appears in a doorway, framed by warm light as others reach from the sides.

A scout-style performer sings at the microphone in front of a large American flag held by other performers.

A caped performer in a pink animal hat leans toward the microphone with an animated expression.

A performer crouches low in a green spotlight while the surrounding ensemble sits in shadow.

A crowd of performers presses around a scout-costumed performer holding a cardboard box, with hands raised around him.

A woman in a bright pink suit enters through double doors with arms open, with the empty microphone in the foreground.

A performer in a blue checked pinafore sings or speaks into the microphone as others react behind the desk.

A performer in a checked skirt throws both arms up mid-dance between benches as the cast moves behind.

Several performers sit along an upper platform beneath a dark opening, with a laptop visible above them.

A performer in a sweater vest stands isolated on the steps in a tight pool of light as cast members watch in blue shadow.

A smiling performer in a multicoloured cape and animal hat spreads the cape wide at centre stage.

A close group of performers hugs around a trophy, smiling under stage light.

The full cast is arranged vertically across a two-level school set with bunting and central doors.

A scout-costumed performer holds a box close to his chest, his face lit against blurred stage bunting.

A woman in a pink suit holds a clipboard while a performer in a yellow striped top raises a hand at the microphone.

A solitary performer stands at the microphone in a warm circular pool of light surrounded by darkness.

Two seated performers embrace closely beside the stairs in soft stage light.

A performer in a blue checked dress stands in the centre spotlight while the ensemble poses around her on the set.

A caped performer lunges wide beside the microphone, extending one arm toward the seated contestants.

Three performers peer over an upper ledge in dim light, one in a red-and-white hat nearest the front.

The cast huddles in a bright central cluster beneath a performer seated at an elevated desk.

A bespectacled performer stands at the microphone in front of seated contestants in colourful costumes.

A caped performer in an animal hat stands at the microphone in saturated red light, with cast silhouettes behind.

A sweater-vested performer balances on a bench while a seated performer and a scout-costumed performer look on.

Three performers sing closely together against a black background, their faces lit by warm side light.

A performer in a blue checked dress sings into the microphone, framed by seated contestants and cool blue stage light.

A colourful group of performers clusters low around the microphone, stretching and leaning into a comic tableau.

A performer in glasses and a sweater vest speaks or sings into the microphone, with a scout-costumed figure blurred behind.

A row of seated contestants leans forward on benches under bright blue lighting.

A woman in a pink suit reaches toward a man in a sweater vest at centre stage while the ensemble watches around them.

A performer in a scout-style costume stands downstage while other cast members watch from the raised set behind.

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