Artistic Overview:
In the quest to win the spelling bee and go on a trip to Washington D.C., a cast of six middle school students show off their spelling skills. They are hosted by three adults who are themselves complex characters, and while they are not competing to win, they end up changed by the contest. 

Technically, the show consisted of 9 wireless lavalier microphones for actors, a wireless handheld for audience participation, and 8 inputs for a 5-piece pit orchestra that sat downstage of the stage, at audience level. The venue had permanently installed LCR mains and a center subwoofer. I added monitors for the band, monitors on stage for the actors, monitors backstage, and a front fill.  

The world of this play revolves around the inner thoughts of its characters, and how they choose to express or conceal their emotions. There were several instances when the characters had a moment of to be perfectly candid and tell the audience how they truly felt. While the lighting design used darkness to shade out the world outside and focus on the inner mind of a character, I chose to use silence to support the effect. For example, Mitch Mahoney, the comfort counselor, has a moment when he shares what he really thinks about how the children react to defeat and disappointment in the contest. During his short monologue, the stage turns considerably darker, shining a soft front light on Mahoney. I chose to turn down Mahoney's mic so it was barely reinforced, letting the actor fill the room with her own (mostly unamplified) voice. This resulted in an effective way to create a serious, intimate moment that contrasted with the playful, bombastic nature of the rest of the show.