I’ve made my Broadway debut….Spelling Bee Friday, 10/7

[tkts]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:43am

My wife and I are in NYC for the week and last night (Friday, 10/7) we went to see Spelling Bee and I was chosen as a speller! I figured I’d put my name in as a lark knowing that they prefer people from big groups. Go figure, they picked me! LOL Possible spoilers here so read at your own risk!

Let’s see, here’s what I remember. I noticed the first interviewer as we headed down the stairs to the theatre and he was just standing and waiting, people just passing him by and him not saying anything to them. When we went by he immediately asked me if I was interested in spelling. I told the interviewer flat out I can’t spell! And I can’t. I suck at spelling. The only reason anything in this post is spelled right is my spellchecker and that doesn’t always get all my mistakes. My second grade teacher flat out told me so. Maybe they liked that! He asked where we were from, can I spell, what I do for a living, etc. Then he sent me to a second interviewer who asked more questions. He asked me what made us come to see Spelling Bee. I told the truth, the Tony performance was the best of the 4 that night and the only one that made us say “We have to see that!” I guess I was what they were looking for. I went onstage with 2 women, one maybe 40 and one maybe 25 plus a cute little 8 year old girl. So if you’re looking for a demographic, I’m a 40 year old male going grey with a goatee.

The four of us were given directions about how to enter and exit the stage and what was going to go on. Most important, no matter what the word, you always ask for a definition and a sentence. We were given a pin that says “Spelling Bee Finalist”. They told us we could sell it on e-bay or something! LOL. We then headed back to our seats and waited to be called on stage with our entry forms. Oh yeah, and I went to the bathroom and made sure to zip my fly and not pee on myself!

Our names are called and we headed onstage toward the desk. We get a few instructions and hand over our entry form. I was given number 4 and was escorted to the top row of the bleachers sitting between Chip Tolentino (Jose Llana) and Leaf Coneybear (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Such a strange experience being on this side looking out at the audience, all you can really think about is “Don’t screw up! Don’t trip! Definition THEN sentence.”

I think I was the third of the audience members to head to the mic. The first one eliminated was the 40 year old woman. When I was called, the joke that Rona Lisa Peretti (Lisa Howard) used for my walk to the mic cracked me up. I had on a black Tommy Bahama type shirt on with Docker pants. She said something to the effect of “He is in morning for the passing of summer by wearing his black Hawaiian shirt.” I had to get hold of myself I was laughing so hard. My word was ‘Mexicans” and thank God I spelled it right! The little girl went up to the mic next and got “cow”. Definition? “It’s a cow.” Sentence? “Spell cow.” Of course this sets the real cast members off in a frenzy!


My second trip up was my last. My comment from Rona Lisa Peretti was just as good. My last name is “Schneider” so she said “Mr. Schneider is wearing his goatee as homage to Schneider, the janitor on ‘One Day at a Time’.” My word was “kumkum” which means the red mark on the forehead fashionable for woman from India. I spelled it “koomkoom”. Oh well. As a consolation prize, I received my juice box from Mitch Mahoney (Derrick Baskin) and 2 big hugs! They sang the Goodbye song to me as I walked off stage to take my seat with the rest of the audience.

The little girl was the final audience member to remain on stage. The word she was given was actually very hard but she spelled it correctly. I don’t think they expected that. I’m pretty sure they wanted her out on that word. As she sat down, she was immediately called back up to spell an even more challenging word. The word began with an X but she started with a Z. She was dinged out immediately.

The cast members tell you what to do all the while. They let you know when to stay seated, when the bleachers are going to move, when to come with them for a silly side step dance and then to hold hands with the other audience participants and jump up and down. When the bleachers would move they would hold their hand on our backs so we don’t tip over!

I had a great time! Can I join Equity now? LOL

[zepka102]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:55am

thats great tkts! i was too chicken for it so i said no! Lisa's comments really ARE hysterical. glad you enjoyed being a part of a great show !

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:59am

Glad you had fun!

[Creative Lunatic]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 12:08pm

I think that the people who interview and ultimately select the guest spellers have elevated this task to an art form or semi-science. They have gotten so astute at putting together a great mix of people that contribute so much genuine entertainment to this smart, quirky innovative show.
I also sense that the cast really treat the guest spellers with respect and affection. They want you to have a great experience.

[robin99]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 12:22pm

Good for you, tkts - sounds like a great evening, and a great cast at Spelling Bee!

[eyeonbroadway]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 1:12pm

Interesting, tkts. When I saw Spelling Bee in July, the same thing happened. The boy they chose (maybe 9 or 10) spelled his "exit" word correctly, everyone acted surprised but they played along with it. They got him out with xenophobe, I think it was, because he started to spell it with a "z", also, so that must be their "back up plan" for when it happens. It seemed very spontaneous, though. The audience loved it and the kid got a big ovation when he sat down.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 1:17pm

Hmm - when I saw it in August the kid got the first word she got right also. I wonder if they just say it's right no matter what?

I hope one of my students gets in the show when I go in November!

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 1:34pm

I'm glad you had fun.

[pab]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 1:47pm

Okay the same thing, with a kid, happened when I saw the show so does anyone else see a patten here? I assume that the kid is usually a plant or it's just an amazing coincidence that the same thing happens a number of time in this show.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 2:07pm

I don't think the kid is a PLANT per se, but I think that it's rigged in some way. My reasoning -- I saw the little girl who was called on stage on my way out of the bathroom afterwards and she was practically jumping up and down talking to her mom about what it was like... (no, not in the bathroom, on the stage, get your heads out of the gutter).

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 2:19pm

No matter how someone spells the really hard word, they will always get it right. It's part of the show. They're very good at hiding that, though.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 2:19pm

Congrats, glad you had a great time!

[Creative Lunatic]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 2:40pm

As those who were guest spellers can attest to, they are not given any of the spellings ahead of time. Thus, the last speller stands or falls based on his or her own abilities. Sometimes, I have witnessed the most delightful spellers get eliminated with their first word. However, once everyone except the last speller is disqualified theatrical convention is employed to heighten the suspense and make the experience more compelling for the audience. I think everyone wins.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 3:18pm

The evening I went the demographics were about the same. And the same thing happened. The young boy they called up was the last to be disqualified. I wanted to try to get onstage but was running late and got there about 5 minutes before the show started. A few days later I was at Sth's Chatterbox and Jose Llana, Sara Sltzberg and Jat Reiss were the guests. I got to chat with Jay and Sara. I mentioned the young kid on the night I saw the show and Sara said that they were getting nervous because they couldn't stump this kid. I think it took 3 or 4 words to stump him. She was really nice. So was Jay Reiss. Didn't get a chance to talk to Jose (God is he cute!) they were running off for an evening performance.

[One Song Glory]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 3:38pm

I remember being a speller, it was cool. I'm glad you had fun.

[tkts]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 5:30pm

Definitely there was no coaching involved. I wish I remembered the little girls word. I bet she did misspell it but was told it was correct. Great part of the show.

[One Song Glory]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 6:08pm

Was it something like catterjoons? That was a word I got when I was the last speller and I got it right.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 6:57pm

im seeing it tomorrow night! (i hope i can go and spell!!!!!!!!!!)

[tmz814]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 7:21pm

They usually give the last speller catterjoons (or some other word) and let them spell it anyway they want. They always say they are correct, make them sit down and then call them right back up to the mic. The audience loves it and the cast does a good job playing it off. Then they usually give an impossible word like xerophthalmiology and that pretty much eliminates the last remaining speller.

I think they usually make the kid the last speller to make it cuter, but the tiem I went and one of the kids I brought was a guest speller she was the third speller to get out and an older man was the final speller, so I guess the kid isn't always the last speller.

[ozdustgirl2]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 10:48pm

hey congrats tkts,

what an awesome experience that must have been. Glad to hear you had so much fun, I would love to be able to make it to NY to see Spelling Bee, I rarely get there since I am in college and live 6 (home) or 9 (college) hours away. So any chance I get to go there I am extremely excited.

[Feathah]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:30pm

tkts - you're so lucky! Glad you got picked!

And LOVE your signature!

[tkts]

Posted: 10/9/05 at 3:56pm

Thank you, Feathah!