{"id":25500,"date":"2025-11-06T09:35:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/?p=25500"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:40:04","slug":"spelling-songs-and-soul-the-25th-annual-putnam-county-spelling-bee-buzzes-into-transy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/2025\/11\/spelling-songs-and-soul-the-25th-annual-putnam-county-spelling-bee-buzzes-into-transy\/","title":{"rendered":"Spelling, songs and soul: &#8216;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&#8217; buzzes into Transy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"411\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-730x411.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-730x411.png 730w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-350x197.png 350w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-690x388.png 690w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-810x456.png 810w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/Blog-file-1920x1080-1.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;<strong>The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&#8221;<br><\/strong> Music and lyrics by <strong>William Finn<br><\/strong> Book by <strong>Rachel Sheinkin<br><\/strong> Directed by <strong>Derrick Ledbetter<br><\/strong> Musical direction by <strong>Brent Merritt<br><\/strong> <strong>Wednesday, Nov. 19 &#8211; Sunday, Nov. 23<br><\/strong> <strong>Transylvania University\u2019s Little Theater<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-about-the-play\"><strong>About the play<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Winner of the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, &#8220;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&#8221; has delighted audiences across the country with its clever humor, heartfelt songs and big dose of middle school nostalgia. With a witty, fast-paced script by Rachel Sheinkin and a fresh, playful score by William Finn, &#8220;Spelling Bee&#8221; is an unforgettable celebration of growing up, fitting in and finding your voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An eclectic group of six eager spellers \u2014 each with their own quirks, hopes and heartbreaks \u2014 compete for the championship of a lifetime. Between spelling triumphs and missteps, they share hilariously honest stories that remind us what it feels like to want something deeply \u2014 and to risk being seen. Six spellers enter; one leaves a champion. At least the losers get a juice box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-bee-built-on-collaboration\"><strong>A bee built on collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Behind the laughter, this production is pure Transy: rooted in collaboration, creativity and curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This fall\u2019s &#8220;Spelling Bee&#8221; brings together director Derrick Ledbetter, music director Brent Merritt and a cast of passionate student performers from across majors and disciplines. Together, they\u2019re proving what the liberal arts do best \u2014 combine talents and ideas from different fields to create something extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ledbetter, who brings a background in movement, speech and physical acting, says that creative exchange is at the heart of every rehearsal. \u201cOur goal is to stay curious and keep discovering. We only get to discover something once \u2014 and that\u2019s where the real joy lives,\u201d he said. \u201cThe best idea in the room wins, and it\u2019s usually the students\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Merritt, Transy\u2019s director of choral activities, the show is a masterclass in collaboration between theater and music. \u201cWe have a mix of students \u2014 some from choir, some who\u2019ve never sung onstage before \u2014 and they\u2019ve all been lifting each other up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s everything you hope for when music and theater come together under one roof. These are some beautiful souls we get to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-where-the-arts-connect\"><strong>Where the arts connect<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At Transylvania, the arts aren\u2019t just performances \u2014 they\u2019re experiences that connect students across disciplines. Whether you\u2019re a biology major who loves to sing, a psychology student who designs costumes or a music major discovering acting for the first time, there\u2019s a place for you onstage or behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cProductions like &#8220;Spelling Bee&#8221; are where Transy shines,\u201d Ledbetter said. \u201cStudents are learning to take risks, collaborate and bring their authentic selves to the work. It\u2019s not just about performing \u2014 it\u2019s about growing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-about-the-directors\"><strong>About the directors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ledbetter is an actor, director and teacher based in Louisville. An Atlanta native, he has worked in New York City and across the U.S. in theater and film. He holds an M.F.A. in acting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Merritt, director of choral activities, holds an M.M.E. from the University of Kentucky and a B.M.E. from Illinois Wesleyan University. He has led choral programs at Scott County, Franklin County and Olympia schools and has served as vocal director for more than 40 productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-miss-the-bee\"><strong>Don\u2019t miss the &#8216;Bee&#8217;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&#8221; runs Nov. 19-23 in Transylvania\u2019s Little Theater. Expect laughter, heart and maybe even a little audience participation \u2014 because at Transy, everyone\u2019s part of the story. Admission is free and open to the public. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/calendar\/theater-season\">Ticket reservations will be available approximately two weeks prior opening night.<\/a> Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/program\/theater\/\">theater<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/program\/music\/\">music<\/a> at Transylvania and how creativity connects across campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transylvania&#8217;s theater and music students bring &#8220;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&#8221; to campus Nov. 19-23.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":25501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"18973,6009,15921,17287,11587,15181","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[134,62,61],"feeds":[581],"class_list":["post-25500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-music","tag-theater","tag-top-stories","feeds-academics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spelling, Songs and Soul: &quot;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&quot; 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