[Capdist-auditions] "White Rabbit Red Rabbit" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at Confetti Stage

[Confetti Stage]

Confetti Stage is excited to announce tandem auditions for its next two
productions: “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest.”
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“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” by Nassim Soleimanpour, directed by Rachel
Bratager. Running March 22-24 at the Albany Masonic Temple. No rehearsals.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit is not like any other play. Each night, a different
actor performs it for the first and only time. No rehearsals. No Director.
No do over. The play is a cold reading. Each actor cast will be given a
performance. Actors are asked not to read the play before auditions.

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“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Dale Wasserman, directed by Siobhan
Shea. Running May 10-19 at the Shaker Heritage Site. Free preview May 9.
Rehearsals to start in mid-late March.

The stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s celebrated 1962 novel explores the
brutality of life in a mental institution with humor, candor, and
unforgettable characters. The band of misfits – Harding, Martini, Cheswick,
Billy Bibbit, and Scanlon, still live in Dale Wasserman’s stage adaptation
of the still live in this stage adaptation of the classic counterculture
fable. The silent giant, Chief Bromden, watches as the band twitches and
cowers under the icy sway of Nurse Ratched until a savior in a leather
jacket stomps into the ward. RP McMurphy, a self confessed psychopathic mad
dog does battle with Nurse Ratched. Misrule and free will struggle against
order and conformity in a tragicomic fight to the finish.

The Patients:
Chief Bromden – (POC req.) the child of a Native American Chief and a white
woman. In addition to suffering from paranoia and hallucinations, Chief has
received multiple electroshock treatments and has been in the hospital for
10 years, longer than any other patient in the ward. Bromden sees modern
society as a huge oppressive conglomeration that he calls the Combine, and
the hospital as a place meant to fix people who do not conform.

Dale Harding – an acerbic, erudite patient and president of the Patients’
Council. Harding helps McMurphy understand the realities of the hospital.
Although married, Harding is queer, and has difficulty dealing with the
overwhelming social prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community, so he hides in
the hospital voluntarily. The actor performing the role must be comfortable
smoking a cigarette and being onstage in underwear.

Billy Bibbit – A shy patient that’s a case study in arrested development.
Billy has a bad stutter and seems much younger than his 31 years. Billy is
dominated by his mother, one of Nurse Ratched’s close friends. The actor
performing the role of Billy must be comfortable both kissing another actor
onstage as well as being comfortable in underwear onstage.

Frank Scanlon – Scanlon is the only Acute patient besides McMurphy who was
involuntarily committed to the hospital. He’s cranky, stand-offish, and
possibly violent. Scanlon has fantasies of blowing things up. The actor
performing this role must be comfortable being onstage in their underwear.

Charles Cheswick II – A man of much talk and little action. Has a nervous
disposition and is prone to hysterical outbursts. When McMurphy arrives, he
believes he’s found a savior who’ll stand up for him and the other
patients. The actor must be comfortable being onstage in underwear.

Anthony Martini – Martini is a delusional Italian-American man who lives in
a world of hallucinations and has a highly contagious and recognizable
laugh. McMurphy frequently includes him the card games with the other
patients, even when Martini is interacting with his own hallucinations. The
actor must be comfortable being onstage in underwear.

Ruckley – A Chronic patient, Ruckley was once an Acute, but became a
Chronic due to a botched lobotomy. His few lines are mostly profanities,
but his tortured silence and stillness speak volumes. The actor must be
comfortable remaining in a “Christ-like” pose for much of the play.

RP McMurphy – The play’s protagonist. Randle McMurphy is a charismatic,
larger-than-life, and profoundly masculine gambler, con man, and backroom
boxer. After being sentenced to six months at a prison work farm, he didn’t
protest when he was diagnosed as a psychopath and transferred to the
hospital, as he figured life in a mental ward would be easier than physical
labor. The actor must be comfortable smoking a cigarette, kissing another
actor, safely engaging in stage combat, and being onstage in underwear.

THE STAFF
Aide Williams and Aide Warren – The hospital daytime aides are written as
angry and disenfranchised. After hiring them, Nurse Ratched used their
hatred of society to her own advantages, and now they both submit to her
wishes completely. The actors performing the roles of Warren and Williams
must be comfortable safely engaging in physical situations including small
hand-to-hand combat.

Dr. Spivey – A smart but soft push-over of a doctor who is easily
controlled by Nurse Ratched due to his mild-mannered and milquetoast
demeanor. With McMurphy’s arrival, he, like the patients, begins to assert
himself and often finds himself supporting McMurphy against Nurse Ratched.

Nurse Ratched – (female or feminine-presenting) The domineering head nurse
of the hospital ward and the play’s antagonist. She is a former army nurse
of indeterminate age who rules her patients with an iron hand from behind a
placating but icy façade. She selects her staff for their submissiveness
and she weakens her patients through a psychologically manipulative program
designed to destroy their self-esteem. The actor playing Nurse Ratched must
be comfortable engaging safely in light stage combat and having her torso
exposed while wearing a bra.

Nurse Flynn – A meek, ineffectual, and highly-religious young woman. She is
obsessed with a birthmark on her body the she attempts to scrub away
nightly. Nurse Flynn is afraid of the patients’ sexuality as well as her
own.

Aide Turkle – The nighttime orderly for Nurse Ratched’s ward has a
genuinely warm presence that standings in opposition to the rest of the
hospital staff, but they’re not the best employee. They frequently show up
to work stoned and are responsible for helping McMurphy throw the illicit
nighttime party that leads to the play’s tragic ending. The actor
performing the role must be comfortable smoking a pretend joint onstage.

OTHERS:
Candy Starr – A beautiful, gamine prostitute from Portland, Oregon who may
or may not be old enough to be over the legal age of consent. Candy has
been with McMurphy in the past, but when she arrives at the hospital, she
finds herself attracted to Billy Bibbit. The actor must be comfortable
kissing another actor and being in various states of undress onstage.

Sandy Gilfillian – An earthy, edgy prostitute with a good sense of humor.
She is good friends with Candy and has had a past relationship with
McMurphy. She accompanies Candy to the illicit nighttime party that
McMurphy hosts in the hospital ward. The actor must be comfortable kissing
another actor onstage.

CASTING WILL BE GENDER BLIND EXCEPT FOR NURSE RATCHED.

All ethnicities welcome! Chief Bromden must be POC, preferably Indigenous
American.

“Which one of you nuts has got any guts?” - McMurphy
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Auditions will run Sunday March 10 and Monday March 11 from 6:30-9:30.
Sign-ins begin at 6:15. Auditions will be held at the Albany Masonic
Temple, 67 Corning Place, Albany, NY 12207.

Actors may choose to audition for one or both plays.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from sides from “One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest.” Be prepared for a movement aspect of the audition as well.
Please feel free to contact confettistageinc at gmail.com or
shea.siobhant at gmail.com with any questions.

-- 
Confetti Stage, Inc
www.confettistage.org
https://www.facebook.com/ConfettiStageInc
Twitter: @StageConfetti
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