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Bee All That You Can Bee
By Brandon Brady
Things were buzzing (Get it? Buzzing?) at this year's SCRIPPS SPELLING BEE FOR LITERACY held Feb. 28. We'll cut right to the chase for those dying to know how CityBeat did in this benefit for The Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati. Yes, our team lost yet again, but there is good news. Finishing ninth out of 25 teams, we exhibited a much stronger showing. Apparently, those late night flash card sessions paid off. Well, kind of.
It seems we were wronged. Yes, an actual scandal at a spelling bee. Let me set the scene for you. There I was with my two teammates. I was suffering from a mild case of stupidity, so I just stood there and looked pretty while they did the bulk of the work.
In no time, we had made it to round 11. Onto the stage we walked. "Dramaturge," the pronouncer said. Not a problem, we thought: We had Dr. P (aka Rick Pender, aka our onstage editor, aka the dude who knows more about theater than Andrew Lloyd Webber). Up to the mic he goes. "D-R-A-M-A-T-U-R-G." The room was silent. The judges didn't even move, just choosing to stare, wanting Dr. P to say "E." Oops. Time ran out. Dr. P's ego was severely beaten: a theater critic misspelling a fancy-schmancy name for playwright. Oh, the embarrassment. And Dr. P was so sure he was right. Not to gloat, but he was. (Are you listening, judges?) Both "dramaturge" and "dramaturg" are acceptable spellings for the same word. That comes from just about ... oh ... any source you can think of, such as www.dramaturgy.net to name but one. We feel robbed. We want a replay! We want our free dinner at The Syndicate! We want the judges brought up on charges! And, no, we're not being soar luzers!
E-mail Brandon Brady
Previously in Writers Block
Writers's Block
By Brandon Brady
(February 3, 2000)
Other articles by Brandon Brady
The Dish (February 24, 2000)
Writer's Block (February 17, 2000)
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