Abigail Cook-Robinson stars in Virginia Rep’s production of “Akeelah and the Bee.” (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Audra Honaker, director of Virginia Repertory Theatre’s production of “Akeelah and the Bee,” knows firsthand the pressure of spelling difficult words in front of an audience. A Hopewell native, Honaker grew up performing onstage — singing, acting, dancing — and taking part in spelling bees before going off to study English at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Because she is someone who always reads the book before watching the movie, Honaker perused the script for “Akeelah and the Bee” before seeing the 2006 film starring Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. If people loved the movie, she says, they will be getting a similar experience when they come to see Virginia Rep’s production.
Honaker, also an instructor at SPARC, the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community, has been acting and directing in Richmond for the past 16 years. She’s pleased by what she sees as an increased depth of talent in the city.
“We had several young ladies who came in the first night of auditions and were possibilities,” she says. “They had studied and were so thoughtful about choices they were going to make.”
Ultimately, it was 10-year-old Abigail Cook-Robinson of Chesterfield County who won over the casting crew.
“Abigail sparkled,” says Honaker. “Her reading of the scene at callbacks made me want to keep watching and know more about Akeelah, and that’s exactly what you want an audience to feel.”
Abigail, who attends Park Ridge Elementary School in Stafford County, started acting at age 6, when she stayed after school with her mother, Johnetta Cook-Robinson, a drama teacher at North Stafford High School. “I would watch the older kids and learn the choreography,” she says. “I had to audition and everything. That’s where I realized that I wanted to be onstage.”
Abigail says she likes the script’s blend of seriousness and comedy, and she admires Akeelah’s can-do spirit. “She tries her best and practices her words and just wants to be the best she can be.”
“Akeelah and the Bee” runs through Nov. 5 at The Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn. $20. 804-282-2620 or va-rep.org.
