The students had to figure out every detail, both on- and off-stage.
The seniors at Center Grove High School wanted someone to direct the students in the music pit. They had to find the director.
And when the students wanted to rehearse their upcoming production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” they had to make sure the auditorium was open and booked for their rehearsal.
Then, they had to actually coach the actors and learn their own roles.
A group of students will be performing the musical this weekend as part of the Center Grove Festival of the Arts. Shows are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday at Center Grove High School, 2717 S. Morgantown Road, Greenwood.
The show is fully produced, directed and acted by seniors at the high school.
Wilson Smith, a director, remembers attending a fully student-directed show his sophomore year at the school. The show looked like fun and he knew he wanted a similar experience to help him finish his high school thespian career.
Smith and his friends got to work over the last few years picking a show.
They decided on “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” because the small cast size and minimal set was likely something the group of students could pull off, Smith said. “We thought it would be a really good show for our cast,” he said.
The directors went into the six-week rehearsal process deciding to take it week by week and to get their actors, while also trying to get backstage logistics arranged, Smith said.
“Most of the time, we have just kind of taken it as we go,” he said. “We have really done things day-by-day.”
