MONROE - Two Planks Theater Company will present the Tony Award-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, February 19-March 6, as part of its 2015-16 Main Stage season.Spelling Bee was the perfect opportunity to help bring attention to the work of The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement," she added. "While the musical is set against the backdrop of a regional, grade school spelling competition, it's really about the lives of the contestants and the social and emotional challenges they face growing up."Choose Love Enrichment Program, a pre-K through 12th grade curriculum that contains the simple universal teachings of courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion in action: the foundational concepts of Social and Emotional Learning. The Choose Love Movement is named for one of the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 12/14.Next to Normal, about a suburban mother's struggles with her worsening bipolar disorder.Spelling Bee is also a really warm and charming musical that audience members will adore.Spelling Bee is being directed by Susan Halliwell. Performances will be Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm., with Sunday matinees at 5 pm.twoplankstheater.org/buy-tickets/ or by emailing boxoffice@twoplankstheater.org.

Instead of just producing a play, however, the theater is using its production to help bring attention to the work of another organization: The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement of Newtown.

Two Planks Executive Director Brooke Burling says one of the theater's driving principles is to not only produce shows, but also to use the arts as a way of giving back to their community.

"While theater can be great entertainment," Ms Burling explained. "It can also be a vehicle to present important issues.

"For us,

That focus on characters is what brought Two Planks to The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, whose mission is to provide free Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum to school districts worldwide.

The signature program of the Choose Love Movement is its

Scarlett Lewis, Jesse's mother and the Founder of the Choose Love Movement, explains SEL as the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy and compassion for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.

"This powerful and proactive initiative has been proven to reduce current and future mental health issues including depression, stress and anxiety disorders and disruptive behavioral issues such as ADHD and bullying," Ms Lewis said. "The outcome reduces incarceration, addiction and suicide rates in individuals."

The timing of the partnership was also perfect, said Ms Burling, as the Two Planks production will follow on the heels of the 2nd Annual Social and Emotional Learning Awareness Week in the state of Connecticut, proclaimed by Governor Dannel Malloy for the week of February 7-14. The week is designed to bring attention to the importance of teaching children core competencies and skills, beyond academics, that can help them thrive physically, mentally and emotionally.

"Although we can't always choose what happens to us, we can always choose how to respond," said Ms Lewis. "Children can learn to choose a loving thought over an angry one. When a child realizes that they have the power to positively impact themselves as well as those around them, it is empowering and perpetuates their positive actions and interactions."

This isn't the first time Two Planks has used one of its shows to bring attention to an issue. Last year it produced the Tony Award-winning musical

For the show, Two Planks partnered with 12 different mental health service and support organizations from across the state to present the show this past May as part of National Mental Health Awareness Month.

"We really hope to get a lot of folks to come out to support the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement," Burling said. "

"And it's such a fun community-building event," she added, "because unlike most other Broadway shows, there is a component where audience members have a chance to be called up on stage to be part of the action themselves."

Each night during the production, attendees can sign up for a chance to be one of four "guest spellers" who get to take part in the opening minutes of the Bee. In addition, notable members of the local community will be appearing on stage nightly as surprise guest stars.

"We have local towns' First Selectmen joining us in support of the Choose Love Movement," Ms Burling said. "School district superintendents, local business leaders, high school principals… You never know who you just might see on stage any given evening."

The Two Planks production of

Performances are at the United Methodist Church, 515 Cutlers Farm Road in Monroe.

Tickets purchased in advance are $20 for adults, $18 students and seniors; or $25 and $20 at the door, respectively. Additional information on the show and online ticket ordering can be done at