AUDITIONS: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A community theater production

Loading Events
  • This event has passed.

Audition Dates: September 7 & 8 at 6 pm
in the Matthews Fireplace Room
Audition selections will be available in the Matthews Gallery beginning Monday, August 28
Rehearsals Begin September 13 at 6 pm

RATED R: This show has mature themes and language. 

This stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s celebrated novel explores the brutality of life in a mental institution with humor, candor, and unforgettable characters.

The Story…

After being convicted of a petty crime, a charming, rebellious rogue named McMurphy contrives to serve his short sentence in an airy mental institution rather than in a prison. This, he soon learns, was a mistake. He immediately clashes with the authoritarian head nurse, a fierce martinet named Nurse Ratched. Despite Ratched’s strict reign, McMurphy quickly takes over the yard, leading others out of introversion, staging a revolt so that they can see the World Series on television, and arranging a rollicking midnight party with liquor and women. But McMurphy’s brash insubordination has its consequences; Ratched ultimately triumphs by subjecting McMurphy to a frontal lobotomy.

Audition Dates

September 7 & 8  from 6 – 8 pm. The cast will be announced on Monday, September 11 and rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, September 13 at 6 pm.

Audition location: Matthews Opera House, 612 N. Main Street, Spearfish

What to expect: No experience necessary! You will be asked to read with other participants from sections of the script previously selected by the director. You may choose to commit to a “cold read” (seeing the script for the first time), or you may get the scene selections in advance to become familiar with them. Scene selections will be available in the Matthews Gallery by August 28 at 10 am.

Auditions are also a great time to express your interest in backstage work, set building, lights and all of the other necessary skills that make a show great! Stop by if you have any interest “behind the scenes” and visit with the director. 

Performance Dates

Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 pm on October 27 & 28 and November 3 and 4
Sunday matinees at 2 pm on October 29 and November 5

Character List:

12 males, 4 females

RANDLE P. MCMURPHY – (M, Patient – 20’s to 40’s) A gambler, con man, and backroom brawler.  Will have kissing scenes and a choreographed fight scene. Wears just a towel and boxer shorts in another scene. Uses foul language.

NURSE RATCHED – (F, Staff – 30’s to 50’s) The head of the hospital ward. She weakens her patients through a psychologically manipulative program designed to destroy their self-esteem. Will have a choreographed fight scene.

CHIEF BROMDEN – (M, Patient – 20’s to 50’s) The huge, bull-muscled son of a Chief. He has been in the hospital for more than ten years.

AIDE WARREN and AIDE WILLIAMS – (M, Staff – 20’s to 40’s) The daytime aides. Cruel and demeaning, they are Nurse Rached’s stooges. (Fight scenes, both use foul language)

NURSE FLINN – (F, Staff – 20’s To 60’s) A vapid woman with apprehensive eyes. Fearful and religious.

DALE HARDING – (M, Patient – 40 plus) College-educated with a sharp mind and tongue. Although he is married, he is effeminate and questions his masculinity.

BILLY BIBBIT – (M, Patient – 20’s to 30’s) Shy, with a bad stutter. He seems younger than his age and is dominated by his mother.

SCANLON – (M, Patient – 20’s to 60) Involuntarily committed to the hospital. Uses foul language.

CHESWICK – (M, Patient – 30 to 60) Eager and quick to argue or fight, yet cowardly. All talk, no action.

MARTINI – (M, Patient – 25 to 60) A little Italian man who lives in a world of delusional hallucinations.

RUCKLY – (M, Patient –  25 to 50) A Chronic patient due to a botched lobotomy. Uses foul language.

  1. SPIVEY – (M, Staff – 40 to 70) The administrator and psychiatrist of the mental institution. He bonds with McMurphy’, but defers to the opinion of Nurse  Ratched.

AIDE TURKLE – (M, Staff – 50s to 70’s) The nighttime orderly for Nurse Ratched’s ward. McMurphy bribes him to help arrange the production’s final party.

CANDY STARR – (F – 21 to 40) A prostitute with a “heart of gold.” Will have kissing scenes.

SANDY GILFILLIAM – (F – 30 to 45) Candy’s friend; comes with her to the party on the ward. Will have a kissing scene.

 

Details

Date and Time:

Date:

Friday, September 8, 2023

Time:

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Category:

Location

612 Main Street
Spearfish, 57783 United States
+ Google Map
Phone:
605-642-7973

Our Sponsors

KEVN Black Hills Fox
Holiday Inn
Black Hills Pioneer
Sanford Underground Research Facility
TDG new logo 2024
  • Pioneer Bank
  • Redwater Kitchen
  • DeSmet and Biggs, LLP
  • BHSU Dept of Fine Arts
  • Spearfish
  • Spearfish Insurance Brokerage
  • ONEOK
  • South Dakota Arts Council
  • Prairie Hills Transit
  • QuikSigns
  • Mitchell's Barber Shop