“Winning isn’t everything, nor does losing a round or two in life make you a loser.”

That’s the central message behind the witty dialogue and lyrics of the musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Dionysus Theatre will perform this show June 12-30 in southwest Houston by a troupe of actors who live that theme everyday of their lives.

The cast includes three Katy-area actors: Shaun Linsey, Ryan Smith and Noriann Doguim.

Shaun Linsey

Linsey is a 20-year-old student in his freshman year at Houston Community College in Katy and commutes to school and Dionysus from Fulshear.

After playing lead roles in the two previous Dionysus productions this year — Autistic License in January, and The Boys Next Door in late April-early May — he only has a cameo role in Putnam, but it’s a memorable part.

“I play Jesus,” Linsey said. “Jesus answers the prayers of a kid who is in the spelling competition.”

Linsey said playing the role of a deity “feels good.”

He has worked for theater groups, including Main Street Youth Theatre, but Dionysus is his acting home of choice.

“It’s good because I get the chance to do more,” Linsey said, “and to do what this cast does, be good actors and develop our acting.” He added, “And I get to learn a lot more lines.”

Before Dionysus, Linsey said, he didn’t have many lines and some theaters didn’t really try to include actors with autism or other disabilities.

“On the stage here and with other actors, it’s more accepting of disabled people and more chance to work with other people of all abilities.”

In this spelling bee, he said, “everybody is a winner.”

Ryan Smith

President of of Morton High School’s Thespian troupe in Katy, Ryan Smith has amassed several leading musical roles at the high school’s performing arts center at age 16. This is Smith’s first performance with Dionysus Theatre, but said it won’t be his last.

He was drawn by the announcement of the theater’s casting call, especially since it was for Putnam.

“That’s my dream play,” he said. “And the role of Chip is my dream part. Chip is a boy having difficulty with puberty,” Smith said. It’s a plight Chip bemoans in a solo, Chip’s Lament.

“I love it here,” Smith said. “I forget about the Dionysus mission. These are the most talented actors I have ever worked with. You forget the disabilities because nothing feels different. If anything, they are ahead in ability.

“It’s because the message of acceptance is there, in the theater and the play.”

Noriann Doguim

Katy’s Noriann Dogium, 17, attends Gateway Academy Inc., near Allen Parkway is rehearsing her third play at Dionysus Theatre.

“I enjoy being here,” Dogium said. “I want to be an actor,” Dogium said. “I was in (Dionysus Theatre’s) Pirates of Penzance, and The Boys Next Door.”

In Putnam, she plays a girl nicknamed “Schwartzy” who sports pigtails and has a lisp — which Doguim does not.

“She has two daddies,” Dogium said. She didn’t add that one of them will stop at nothing to see his daughter win.

“The play has an inclusive message,” Dogium said. “Everybody cares about everybody else here. We practice hard in our acting and singing. We show that everybody can be a winner. You just can’t give up.”

Dionysus Theatre is composed of actors with disabilities and those who are able-bodied and for 12 years have brought song, laughter and the spirit of inclusion and diversity to audiences from Houston to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Winner of two 2005 Tony Awards, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was written by Rachel Sheinkin, with music and lyrics by William Finn.

For this show, Dionysus Theatre’s mission and inclusion reaches into the audience. In each of the 11 shows, four audience members will join the cast to become part of the fun on stage. Each performance will have surprise guests, guaranteeing that “no two shows will be alike,” said Deborah Nowinski, founding artistic director.

Shows will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday June 12-30 at 5601 S. Braeswood inside the Joe Frank Theatre, where Dionysus rents from the Jewish Community Center. Sunday matinees begin at 1 p.m. All shows are captioned. On June 27, the show will be described for visually impaired patrons.

For more information about the theater, classes, upcoming shows, touring and youth theater troupe, call 713-728-0041 or visit the www.dionysustheatre.org.