AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION &
THE VOLUNTEER SPELLER WRANGLER

Photo: Cast from "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" touring production.

Once upon a theater-going time, all that was required of an audience member was a willingness to watch. The auditorium seats were filled with folks who came in, enjoyed the show, then left. These days, audiences are being asked not just to sit through a show, but also to be a part of it! The phenomenon had its roots Off-Broadway, but audience participation has moved to the “big time,” just as so many productions have done.

The popularity of “interactive theater” has been around for many years in children’s theater with shouts of “Look behind the tree!” or “Bo-o-o-o” or “Hi-s-s-s” when a villain might appear to be triumphing. Productions of Peter Pan beg the young audiences to clap and shout out “I believe in fairies!” so that Tinkerbell doesn’t “die.” There is usually no problem in breaking that invisible “fourth wall,” separating the players from the audience, in any engaging kids’ production.

Actually, that fourth wall that actors and directors speak of is now coming down all around us. Call it participatory, environmental or interactive: whatever the category, it’s a style of theater that is becoming wildly popular.

From the tacky nuptials of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding to the hair-styling hijinks in Shear Madness, from the no-nonsense, adult “refresher” religion class of Late Night Catechism to the strange – but mesmerizing – variety show of Blue Man Group, audiences are eagerly getting out of their seats to dance with Tina, solve a crime in a beauty salon, answer questions from a bossy nun or be made sport of by three men transformed by blue grease paint.

Monty Python’s Spamalot has great fun pulling an audience member onstage, involving him or her in the discovery of the Holy Grail, and later getting everyone to join the cast in a follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-along with “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”

Even Spring Awakening places a small number of audience members in onstage seating that flanks the action. Although there is no actual physical participation, it puts playgoers in the heart of the experience.

Then, of course, there’s THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. Part of the genius of the show is that four members of the audience are selected to sit with the other “children” on the stage and actively compete in the Spelling Bee. Unlike Dame Edna, who pulls unprepared audience members out of their seats, people here are given a chance to volunteer before the show begins.

To find out more, Broadway Buzz went right to the source, Beth Reisman, the Volunteer Speller Wrangler for the touring production.

BB: That is a great title! What does it mean?

BR: Pretty much just what it says. It’s up to me to get the four audience volunteers, prep them, keep an eye and an ear out for them, and see to it that they know what’s going on—so they can have a great time.

BB: You do this by yourself?

BR: Oh, no! Technically I am the “captain” of the volunteer speller wrangler team, but I have lots of help, too. Several other tour staff members help me, and we’re also joined by three or four local volunteers who are a huge help!

BB: How so?

BR: At the pre-show meet ‘n’ greets, or at regular pre-show lobby gatherings, the four local volunteers do the majority of the chatting and asking if anyone is interested in actually participating in the show as a spelling competitor. When they start finding people who are interested, they send them to talk to two of the staff members for a type of interview. We then put our heads together and pick four people who represent a variety of audience types.

BB: Any “types” you don’t want?

BR: Well, it’s not that so much, as it is the “type” we DO want. We don’t want professional actors, but we do like well-known local celebrities. What we really like are just “average Joes” who might get a kick out of doing this, trying to spell words just like they did when they were in school.

BB: How much prep do they get? Do you tell them words they might get?

BR: No! Absolutely not! I do tell them that the words will be fairly easy at the beginning, but that they’ll get progressively harder as the show – the Bee – goes on. I explain the numbers that will be sung while they’re up there, and that they might be involved in a little choreography with those numbers. Their participation makes every show unique, which really showcases the improvisational skills of the company.

BB: Has anyone lasted longer than the show expected?

BR: Well, there have been several people who spelled VERY well, but it hasn’t really thrown the show off yet. One little 12-year-old girl spelled correctly longer than anyone else has on the entire tour! We thought it was her special technique: she spelled the word into her hand, as if she were writing with her finger. That may have helped, but we found out that she was a spelling bee champ and had won all kinds of bees throughout the district. We do have a special word reserved to eliminate particularly good audience spellers and even a backup plan in case someone ever does spell that word correctly.