HOLLINGSWORTH HALL CULTURAL CENTER AUDITIONS FORONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
MAY 13 6:30-9:30 PM & MAY 14 6:30-9:30
Hollingsworth Hall Cultural Center will be holding auditions for
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest"-- a play by Dale Wasserman
based on the book by Ken Kesey in arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
The show will be directed by heather lea hollingsworth.
The GROUP AUDITIONS will take place at The Hollingsworth Hall Cultural Center at 4228 Boston Ave on May 13 from 6:30pm to 9:30 pm with GROUP CALLBACKS on May 14 from 6:30 pm-9:30pm.
Rehearsals TBA.
I recommend that you watch the movie which was the recipient of 5 Oscars. A true classic!
Please note that the characters of Chief Bromden, Dr. Spivey, and Nurse Ratched have already been cast. There will be a stipend for actors.
To register: https://forms.gle/MsiCbDNai3h6iG1e7
A PDF of the script:
https://www.lths.net/cms/lib/IL01904810/Centricity/domain/767/visual%20word/acting%20chpt%207/One%20Flew%20complete%20play.pdf
Show Information:
This production is for mature audiences/actors.
Content warning: language, sexual references, drugs, mental illness, suicide & sexual assault.
Character Breakdown for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST.
Ethnically diverse and LGBTQ+ cast desired.
Flexible age ranges for all characters.
CHIEF BROMDEN (previously cast-possible understudy or double cast) (20’s +). A towering man of mixed Native American & white heritage whose identity has broken down due to the pressure of social & familial forces. He is the son of the once-powerful Chinook tribal chief, “The Pine that ‘Stands Tallest on the Mountain,’” but his mother, whose surname he bears, was white. He grew up in an Indian village on the banks of the Columbia River in Oregon, whose land they were forced to sell to accommodate a dam which eventually destroyed his father’s primary means of livelihood, salmon fishing. As a result, his father lost his tribal status & his pride, & died an alcoholic.
When the narrative begins Chief has already spent 20+ years in the mental ward. He is diagnosed as an incurable paranoid-schizophrenic & pretends to be deaf & mute to protect himself from the forces of the Combine. He sees modern society as a huge, oppressive conglomeration that he calls the Combine & the hospital as a place meant to fix people who do not conform. He believes that it is a mechanized society intent on usurping freedom & individuality. The Chief is gradually rehabilitated by McMurphy & emerges as the real protagonist of the book/script at the conclusion. He suffocates McMurphy after Nurse Ratched has him lobotomized & escapes from the hospital.
RANDLE PATRICK McMURPHY (M-20’s—40’s) A manual laborer, gambler, carnival barker, Korean War hero with a dishonorable discharge, & admitted to the ward from a Prison Farm, diagnosed as psychotic--The con man, cocky convict, backroom brawler, & rebel-hero of the play. With his wild hair, boundless energy, loudmouth, foul language, pornographic playing cards, ready laugh, & physical courage, McMurphy challenges authority in the mental institution. Really not insane, he transforms the ward by teaching the other inmates to question arbitrary & repressive authority.
Generosity is his hallmark, & he shares whatever he has—gum, cards, games, booze, even his girlfriend. Has a devilish grin & a wide-open extroverted air which is in harsh contrast to the environment. He represents freedom, life, joy, & the power of the individual against a repressive establishment.
NURSE RATCHED (previously cast) (F-30’s+) The "Big Nurse," and former Army nurse. She maintains order by exercising absolute authority over the hospital staff & its patients. She represents authority, conformity, bureaucracy, repression, evil, & death. With a porcelain doll complexion & white cream enamel face, she runs a tight ship. A twisted smile & tight voice with eyes that stab & “drill into the skull like an electric saw ripping through pine” --she suppresses individuality & free will. She manages to suck out the inmates’ spirits by medicating them, numbing them with routine, reminding them of their problems, & denying their individual dignity.
Hers is the ultimate showdown with MM, determined to bend him to her will & demand obedience to her authority. His is to get her goat, stop the bee in her bonnet, dig out the burr in her bloomers, bug her ‘til she comes apart at the seams.
DALE HARDING (30’s+) (Transgender Woman—assigned male at birth). Dale Harding is an educated & effete “man.” College‐educated with a sharp mind & tongue. An intellectual patient who has problems with his wife & his sexuality. Harding is effeminate & questions his own masculinity. Harding—a face too “pretty,” shoulders too thin, hands long white & dainty. Without a true understanding of his/her gender identity, he/she attempts to conform & identify as a male in the ward & society. It is most likely that his/her sexual orientation is for men.
Harding believes in the natural biological order of things thus complicating his own identity. The thoughtful, articulate Harding is the leader of the ward until McMurphy appears. One who follows the rules, answering Nurse Ratched’s questions in group therapy & taking his medication without complaint. Nurse Ratched feels especially threatened when the obedient Harding begins to side with McMurphy. Harding is an Acute patient--one who has voluntarily committed him/herself to the hospital.
BILLY BIBBIT (M, 20’s to 30’s) A stammering, suicidal young man with a fixation on his mother. Billy is tentative, inhibited, virginal, gentle, & sweet. Shy, an HSP (highly sensitive person) with a significant stutter. He reads younger than his age. He is bullied & infantilized by Nurse Ratched & his mother (who are friends) into submission. He has scars on wrists & signs of cigarette burns. When threatened, he cringes & cowers to make himself smaller, hugging himself into a ball. He attaches himself to McMurphy as a devoted follower. Billy is voluntarily in the hospital.
Charles Atkins Cheswick III (M, 30’s+) Eager & quick to argue or fight. Aggressively defiant yet cringing. All talk, no action. The first patient to adopt McMurphy's rebellious stance. An anxious, fretful patient whose brow is always wrinkled in concern. With thick glasses framing his worried eyes, the childish Cheswick sometimes holds his breath and screws up his features until he looks like he will explode. Subject to hissy fits, he stamps his feet & clinches his fists so tight he shakes.
Frank Scanlon (M, 30+) Vietnam vet with PTSD. Scanlon has fantasies of blowing things up. Doesn’t care for “the bastards in the government.” Believes in blowing the “whole business off the face of the earth.” The only Acute besides McMurphy who was involuntarily committed to the hospital.
Anthony Martini (M, 20’s+) An inmate with a dim, foolish smile, & infantile manner. Although Martini is unable to follow even the simplest rules in a game of cards or Monopoly, he loves to play & is always ready for fun. He has a sense of joie de vivre despite his circumstances. His mouth twitches & grimaces when Nurse Ratched makes him uncomfortable. A delusional man, who hallucinates other persons around him. Martini is fascinated by McMurphy from the moment McMurphy shows him the deck of dirty cards. He learns to laugh at himself & the world around him and is one of McMurphy’s most loyal followers.
Ruckly (M, 20’s+) A Chronic patient. Ruckly was once an Acute but was transformed into a Chronic due to a botched lobotomy.
Dr. Spivey (F, previously cast) A Morph*ne addict, chosen by Nurse Ratched to work on her ward because she can exploit her weakness & vulnerability. She is as easily cowed & dominated as the patients. It was her theory of “therapeutic community” that Nurse Ratched commandeered & manipulated. She is completely conscious of her inadequacy & is a frightened, desperate ineffectual “little rabbit.” Dr. Spivey attempts to incorporate lively events such as a carnival in pursuit of lightening the atmosphere although they are shot down. She is tickled by McMurphy & begins to assert herself after continued exposure to McMurphy's behavior.
Mr. Turkle (30’s+) The nighttime orderly for Nurse Ratched’s ward. Mr. Turkle is kind to Bromden, untying the sheets that confine him to his bed at night, & he goes along with the nighttime ward party. Turkle accepts McMurphy’s bribes of cash, alcohol, & the promise of a party girl. He turns a sly, blind eye to McMurphy & Candy in his eagerness to be with Sandy.
Nurse Flinn (F, 18 to early 20’s) A perpetually frightened & attractive young nurse. She defends herself from perceived threats by McMurphy by protesting that she is a Catholic, indicating her sense of guilt & fear of sex.
Aide Washington (M, 20’s+) The lead attendant—physically strong. Washington enforces Nurse Ratched’s rules & exercises authority through discipline. He does not mind using force, gladly tightening a strap around his knuckles to threaten McMurphy. He enjoys manhandling the patients & pokes McMurphy with a pole simply to emphasize his authority. The orderlies are chosen because of their hostility & strength. They keep order on the ward by threatening the patients & each other.
Aide Williams (M,20’s+) The second attendant. William’s physical presence helps keep the patients in line. He does Nurse Ratched’s bidding without comment. The orderlies are chosen because of their hostility & strength. They keep order on the ward by threatening the patients & each other.
Candy (F, 20’s to 30’s) A physically attractive “party girl” who is McMurphy’s main squeeze. She brings the booze & the reefer. She relieves Billy Bibbit of his virginity.
Sandy (F, 20’s to 30’s) A giggling, ditzy, intoxicated friend of Candy’s. Sandy helps distract Turkle during the party & later dances with the infantile Martini’s head on her breasts.
Nurse Itsu (F, Any age) The nurse who administers McMurphy’s electroshock therapy. Nurse Itsu has a beautifully soothing voice & gentle manner at odds with the torture she inflicts.
Event Venue
4228 Boston Ave, Lubbock, TX 79413, United States
