Come and Sit a Spell . . . Onstage

Think "onomatopoeia" is a spelling cinch? You might be ready for the stage. Or not.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," at the National Theatre through Nov. 4, is looking for volunteers.

It's a quirky chemistry Joe Petrovich tries to achieve when he and his assistant "wranglers" scan the lobby before the show to find four theatergoers who will join the production, which is about six adolescents who live through and learn from that agonizing test of maturity: the spelling bee.

Crossword puzzler? That's a plus.

Read the newspaper? Another plus.

Compulsive talker? Don't think so.

Good speller, but not great? Just maybe.

Petrovich has seen 'em all: the adult who, unbeknownst to the cast, had more than one drink after being chosen, presumably to calm the nerves, and once onstage kept up a brutal barrage of snappy comebacks.

And, among the chief wrangler's favorites, the young boy, about 10, who happened to be both a terrific speller and an irresistible personality. "The audience was on their feet when he was 'spelled out' of the show," Petrovich says. "He just blew the audience away."

And therein lies the key.

"You don't have to be a fantastic speller to be chosen," says Petrovich, who runs the selection process from a booth in the lobby labeled "Do You Spell Well?" His assistants make the rounds among waiting theatergoers, looking for promising prospects and taking notes for a "spelling bee report card." Generally they will talk with 30 to 50 people, depending on the size of the audience, and make their final four selections about 15 minutes before showtime. (Hint: Get to the theater at least a half-hour before the show if you want to have a chance.)

"We generally try to make it fun," Petrovich says. "We don't say, 'Would you like to be part of the show?' We say, 'Would you like to be part of the spelling bee?' " The wranglers can tell when someone's too nervous to be brought onstage, Petrovich says. "We're looking for regular folks, people the audience can identify with . . . people who have a nice sense of humor but aren't too 'out there.' And we try to get a cross section of the audience."

Even what they're wearing figures into the mix: some suits and dresses, some khakis and jeans.

But even with a carefully chosen variety of people who appear comfortable being themselves, "you're never quite sure what you're in store for," Petrovich says.

To help prepare, the chosen four get a quick orientation backstage, on where to walk and the like, but no coaching on words. The rest is up to the volunteers and the cast. "Ninety-five percent of the people we choose are successful and are having a great time," Petrovich says.

Actor Kevin Smith Kirkwood will see to that. As Mitch Mahoney, the "comfort counselor," he dispenses hugs to those who misspell a word and have to leave the stage.

"We love interacting with the volunteers," Kirkwood says. "That's our job, to continually drive the show and to incorporate the guests," who can expect to be onstage for most of the two-hour production.

The best moments, he says, come "when spellers surprise us with a word we didn't expect them to spell." Like what? "Oh, I shouldn't say words," he says, clearly having been asked before.

It's especially satisfying when a child succeeds, Kirkwood says, though with the show's exploration of puberty, it is not appropriate for kids younger than 10. "One of the things that the show captures is that sense of wonder," and children "generally tend to take the bee more seriously," Kirkwood says.

"I actually feel different . . . when a child gets eliminated [than when an adult gets eliminated]," he says.

But even the most serious of adults, particularly in Washington, have a lot of theatrical potential, Petrovich says. Washington audiences are likely to have a certain erudition about them, he says, a "stately, professional" air that could heighten anticipation and then soften onstage, drawing in the audience.

In any case, "Putnam County" is not like "Jeopardy!," Petrovich says, where it's what you know that gets you onstage.

"We're looking for personality."

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW 800-447-7400 orhttp://www.nationaltheatre.org Through Nov. 4. $41.50-$86.50 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW 800-447-7400 orhttp://www.nationaltheatre.org Through Nov. 4. $41.50-$86.50