Karthy Chin Spells out Her Artistic Vision With the Salterrae

The Trinity College Dramatic Society’s final show of the academic year promises heart, humour, and spontaneity to spare. Karthy Chin will be directing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a zany contemporary musical that centers around one of the Trin community’s favourite pastimes: good old fashioned competition.

How do you think Spelling Bee fits in the GIT?

Well, I actually pitched this show because of the GIT. This being my twelfth show with the TCDS, I have designed for that space before and it is tiny. This is a show that requires audience participation so it’s perfect because the GIT is a small theatre, so it’s very intimate.

Have you ever directed before? I only know you as a set designer. Is it a big leap?

This is my first time directing. Wow! It’s really weird. It’s been challenging but also really interesting. I appreciate actors a lot more now. At the same time, it’s kind of interesting because I almost see them as pieces that need to be painted into a scene. It’s awkward to think of people like that.

Do you find that you have any skills from set designing that will come in handy in your new role?

I think it’s really helpful that I actually know the measurements of the stage by heart. I know that for a lot of the shows that I have worked on — not just at Trin but in general — some directors don’t understand the size so it’s really difficult later when you realize that some things just won’t fit. I’m also very detail-oriented; even with sets, I do research and make a mood board. I haven’t done that for this show, which is kind of funny, but it’s all up in my brain.

Can you tell me anything about the audience participation aspect of the show?

The show basically happens in real time; it takes place over the course of a spelling bee. There are four audience volunteers that get called up in the beginning. We’ve decided to select the volunteers through a lottery system.

This is an improv-heavy show. How are you preparing your actors?

It’s funny because I’ve talked to a lot of them individually and from what I understand, for a lot of them, this is kind of outside of their comfort zone and they’re doing things that they don’t normally do in terms of character work. A lot of the show just happens, especially with the audience volunteers, because they’re a part of it. I’ve been doing a lot of character work and improv with them so that they really know their characters. They don’t have to think anymore about how their character would react and that makes for a more organic show. It makes it funnier, too.

Do you have an aesthetic vision for the show?

It’s actually quite specific. The set itself is primarily wood, navy, and yellow. The set is going to look aged because the show deals with the past encountering the present, how the future comes in, and that sort of temporal interplay. Our set designer, Nic Farber, wants to age every set piece to look faded. I think that’s going to be really cool. The show takes place in a gymnasium so we’re going to tape the floor to have those lines that you find in a gym. Kiga is doing the costume design it, so it’s going to be great, obviously. It has an adults versus kids dynamic at play. The adults are going to wear more sombre clothing, and the kids are going to wear brighter clothing to show the contrast.

It’s an ensemble cast. As an actor, I know that there are a lot of egos at play. How do you keep the peace?

Sorry, I’m just imagining West Side Story-style brawling on stage. It’s not like that, or at least, not yet. Honestly, I don’t think there have been a lot of problems. I guess the main thing is getting them to stay focused. For the most part it’s been pretty good and if I do need to get their attention, I’ll just look at my stage manager, who is amazing, and she’ll put everyone in line. I’ve also done this tactic which it makes me feel like a kindergarten teacher: I don’t say anything and I sit there until the last person stops speaking.

You’ve got people from Sheridan, people from Randolph, people from Trin; can you talk to me about the cast?

It’s a bit of a mix. I’m really happy with the cast. We have Dan the Don. I think this might be the first time a TCDS show has had a don. We have five people that are not from Trin, but everyone else is from the college. Our entire production team is also from Trin. I basically decided that at the beginning: I don’t think that is usually the case but I think it’s really important. We’ve given everyone an assistant because most of the people in the senior roles of the tech team and design team are upper years; I think it’s really important for people to be mentored so that they are able to take over once we have all left.

How has it been working with Giustin MacLean, the music director, and Jane Mochina, the choreographer?

Good! I very much let them do their own thing because I want to empower them. I have been really clear about what I want so I know that we’re on the same page. Giustin gave a character note — more of a suggestion — to Angie about her character kind of being like Wednesday Addams. I hadn’t even thought about that but it was such a good note. It’s good to know that even when we’re not in the same room, we’re on the same page. I think it’s good to have a more relaxed approach. They know that they can always talk to me.

For a non-musical fan—because I’m already sold—how would you pitch the show?

We have divine intervention by a different Jesus Christ every night. If you haven’t seen the show, you’re probably wondering what on earth I’m talking about, but I guarantee you that it will be an amazing part of the show. It’s a great musical and it’s so contemporary. It’s also super funny. You can participate or volunteer one of your friends. No one dies in the show, which is very different than the past few musicals we’ve done at Trin. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s going to be a lot different than other musicals that you’ve seen because it has improv and so it will be different every single night. You’ll laugh, and hopefully you’ll cry at some points. When I pitched it, there was a tagline I used: “hilarious, quirky, awkward, intimate! The show that promises a different Jesus Christ every night! The best spelling bee ever!”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs from March 18-21 2015 at the George Ignatieff Theatre.