OWEGO, NY – Ti-Ahwaga. T-I dash A-H-W-A-G-A. Ti-Ahwaga.

The Ti-Ahwaga Community Players are staging a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee beginning tomorrow.

The comedy follows the exploits of 6 children, each facing their own personal challenges, as they compete in a spelling contest.

Part of the humor comes from the fact that adults portray the kids.

Morgan Prikazsky plays 11 year-old Olive Ostrovsky.

Her character’s bright, shiny personality masks struggles with her home life.

Prikazsky says it’s fun to connect with her inner child.

“As you get older, it’s harder to remember what it’s like to be creative and that imagination you had as a child. This show has really allowed me to find that again and know that it’s okay to be silly and it’s okay to be funny and goofy. As a child, you don’t think about those things, you just do them. So, this has given us all permission to just be free and be wild which has been really cool,” she says.

Prikazsky says the play does deal with some adult themes and that there is some audience participation which contributes to the hilarity.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs for the next 3 weekends at the Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center on Delphine Street in Owego.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets are 30 dollars for adults, 25 for seniors, 20 for students ages 11 to 17 and 15 dollars for kids 10 and under.

You can purchase them at http://Tiahwaga.com.