Mrs. Kayla Konkle, three-year drama director and teacher at Bishop Noll, recently brought a new music director on board to help direct the music for this year’s show, 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee. Mrs. Hannah Jacobs, a musical theater veteran and current middle school choir director at Taft Middle in Crown Point, came to stage Feb 2nd. 

Konkle was looking for a new music director to fill the shoes of Mr. David Herr; who was the music director for the past two years but was unable to fill in this year. Konkle met Jacobs “through a series of email chains as [she] was looking all over the place for someone who’d be willing to teach the music”. 

According to Konkle, her message couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

Mrs. Jacobs, who was unable to meet for interview, was known to be a great fit for Konkle; “[She expressed] how excited she was to work with students who may or may not have the strongest vocal background but are extremely talented in creating character voices and selling a performance,” Konkle said. 

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical about a cast of “weird” middle school students taking part in a county spelling bee for the chance to move onto the state championship. Rehearsals span from now until late April, when the show opens. It is currently unknown with the Covid-19 pandemic how the show will open or if it will be live-streamed like Clue, but Konkle hopes for a live audience of at least a hundred people.