playbill vip

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been a favorite of mine since the first time I worked on it back in 2012....which may explain why I have gladly worked on this show three more times since then! It's been such a pleasure to direct these two exceptional casts, who have done so well expressing the joys, anxieties, frustrations and, ultimately, growth of all these darling characters that I believe we can all relate to in one way or another.  I hope you all enjoy their honest, funny and touching performances as much as I do!!

I must take a moment to offer thanks to so many wonderful people who supported this little project as it grew from my living room, to a little cafeteria room, then to my garage and ultimately here at Mills-Pate Arts Center. Carmela Hofstee has been there every step of the way and I am so grateful for everything she does to help me. Mary Clare Hyland is an amazing Assistant Stage Manager and has been a wonderful addition to the crew. Titus Keiningham puts in so much time -  setting up and running sound, hauling set pieces, setting up lights, and his help has been invaluable. I'm also blessed to have a great crew: Susie Monk, Emily Dennis and Robyn Saunders have been a tremendous help to our little show, making sure all our cues happen at the right time. Logan Hughes - thank you for helping out wherever needed. Big thanks to our Lighting Designer Jesse William Watts, who simply came in one day to help out and ended up a part of the team! I'm also so grateful to have gotten to work with Paige Christy and Lenny West again. Paige and Lenny make the cast look even better than they usually do - Paige with her great choreography, and Lenny with his beautiful costumes!

Special shout out to our show mascot, Rigsby, and to all of you who helped us out with concessions, box office and strike.

Many thanks to Sheila and KC Whitlow, for their use of LPG Sports as one of our many rehearsal spaces.

And - to those who helped paint and load-in: THANK YOU! Katrin Keiningham, Jeremy Hargis, Lenny West, Titus Keiningham, Alex Wasson and Carmela Hofstee - our set wouldn't look nearly as wonderful as it does if you hadn't given your time to help me. I'm so grateful.

Finally, thank you to my amazing family, who tolerates my slight insanity when I get immersed in a project. They are extremely supportive and PATIENT as I turn the house upside-down with rehearsals, costumes, props and set pieces. Love you guys so much.

When we started this show last year, I was so hopeful I would be able to give the kids a chance to perform. I was heartbroken when we had to shutdown and I made a promise to them (and myself) that we WOULD do this show. I am SO happy most were able to come back, and that we are here this weekend, safely presenting live theatre. Thank you all for your support. Hope to see you at the next Gift of Song production, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, at 4th Story Theatre July 23, 24 and 25!

Leslie

About The Gift of Song

Leslie and her husband, Bob, founded The Gift of Song back in 2007. Their goal was to provide youth performance opportunities they otherwise might not get to experience, at no cost to the participants. Over the years, the mission of the group has grown to include service to the community, fundraising for worthy causes, and the administration of several arts-related scholarship funds. After being strictly a labor of love for Bob and Leslie for a dozen years, The Gift of Song officially became a 501c3 non-profit arts organization in 2019. www.thegiftofsong.net