Roles Available for Award-Winning Play at Southern

Southern WV Community & Technical College will be putting its Savas Kostas Performing Arts Center to good use this semester.

The local college is holding auditions this week for its production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The first set of auditions will be on Friday, January 21^st from 5-7pm. The second set of auditions will be on Saturday, January 22^nd from noon-2pm. You don’t need to attend both days. No experience is needed to audition.

The play, written by Dale Wasserman and based on Ken Kesey’s award-winning novel, won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play in 2001. It won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play the same year. The play also won an Outer Critics Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play. The Drama League awarded it Distinguished Production of a Revival.

The movie version of the story swept the Academy Awards in 1976. The film won all five major Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Director for Milos Forman. It also won the Best Actor in a Lead role award for Jack Nicholson for his portrayal of Randle McMurphy. It also produced a Best Actress in a Lead Role award for Louise Fletcher for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched.

There are roles in the stage version for men and women. Auditions are open to the general public. However, you must be at least 18 to audition. The show is being directed by Bill France, who also serves as Southern’s Director of Communications.

Upon arriving you will be asked to fill out an audition form. It mostly contains contact information but it will also request a list of conflicts. These include dates and times for work, classes, and other appointments. This will allow the Director to see when you are available to work on the show. Rehearsals will be scheduled on the days and times you are available.

Those auditioning can completely skip filling out the audition form by filling it out online at https://tinyurl.com/Sp2022Show. A Microsoft account is needed to access the early form.

After the audition form is out of the way, those auditioning will be given several scenes based on their gender, size, and age. You will be given time to read over the scenes to become familiar with the lines.

You are not expected to memorize the lines. Just be familiar with the words so you can better focus on acting and not worrying about the words. Read over all the roles that fit your gender. The roles may be flipped while you are onstage. Meaning, you may be reading for more than one role in a particular scene.

If you don’t receive a role, the Director may offer you a position on the tech crew. Meaning you can help with the show behind the scenes. The Director likes to fill these positions with people that can act, in case he needs to bump you into a role as rehearsals proceed.

It may take several days to cast the show. Everyone will be contacted by phone, in most cases, and offered a part in the show or a part of the tech crew.

Southern encourages mask-wearing during auditions, but it’s not required. Our theater seats 500 people and there is plenty of room to socially distance. When you are reading on stage with other performers, you can wear your mask or take it off based on your comfort level. You will not be required to touch anyone or get very close to anyone during the auditions. They want you to feel safe during the process.

“The most important part of auditions is to have fun,” France says “Don’t let your nerves get the best of you. Relax and know that it’s not a competition. It’s an opportunity to show us who you are and what you can do.”

“The show will be a fun, positive, learning experience for everyone involved,” France says. “We encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and try something new.”