New Bedford Festival Theatre to Cast Local Performers

As the New Bedford Festival Theatre contends with some of its most challenging times in decades, it remains steadfast in its commitment to not only bringing the performing arts to residents of New Bedford but also keeping the performances in New Bedford proper and drawing from local residents to cast its latest show.

This summer will mark the second year of New Bedford Festival Theatre being forced to improvise alternative plans due to the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center's once-in-a-lifetime, massive renovations. There's no doubt that these improvements, once complete, will benefit all, but that doesn't mean there isn't some level of pain for the organizations that call it home.

Producing Artistic Director Elizabeth Bettencourt says that facing adversity sometimes forces you to play better and smarter. Their production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will undoubtedly be smaller and feature a single-digit cast compared to previous years' productions, which had upwards of 30 or more cast members.

The smaller-scale performances have been necessary because of the venue. New Bedford's Steeple Playhouse is tiny compared to the Zeiterion, accommodating only a couple of hundred spectators as opposed to roughly 1,200 inside the Z.

"One of the things I like about having the smaller production is that we are leaning on casting Spelling Bee with local talent," said Bettencourt. "We're looking for nine performers, and we feel we'll be able to find those in our pool of local people."

Interested in landing a part? Send in a demo of yourself singing a short song in the style of the show (think Wicked or Godspell as opposed to Les Misérables). Demos should be sent to ebettencourt@nbfestivaltheatre.com by January 31.