Now in week 3 of rehearsals with Cardinal Stage Company's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST and so far the journey has been quite interesting. We officially moved into the quarters of the theatre company to rehearse with parts of the assembled set which are still in the process of being completed. Working with a rough version of the set will prove to be extremely helpful for myself as an actor as I track my journey through the play and where my character exists within the confides of the mental institution. Getting a feel for the cage-like qualities of the room really helps inform character and story for such a large ensemble of performers. Costume pieces are still being gathered and prepared which will also help add another crucial dimension and layer to the storytelling. When everything starts coming together in rehearsals I am confident that this will only develop and grow into a fabulous live stage production which audiences will be greatly affected and moved by. Pictured Above: Jeremy Proulx as Chief Bromden in the Cardinal Stage Company production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.
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Pictured Above (L-R): Constance Macy (Nurse Ratchet), Jeremy Proulx (Chief Bromden) and Mike Price (R.P. McMurphy) in the Cardinal Stage Company production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST directed by Randy White Week 2 of rehearsals has just begun with the Cardinal Stage Company on the upcoming production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Unfortunately, we did not have the entire cast assembled and available during this first week and we had to improvise in terms of people filling in for others as we started to block scenes in the rehearsal hall. That being said I can attest to the fact that this ensemble, while different from the one I worked with in Atlanta last year on the same play, is just as kind and giving which is great! Truth be told I'm always a little bit nervous when start any new production, especially with a company I don't know and a production with this large a cast. Sometimes a clash of different personalities or inflated egos seriously get in the way of creativity and collaboration. However this cast and director in Indiana are very respectful and truly listen to what I am offering to the creative process. Revisiting this play with an entirely new director and ensemble is having its share of rewards and challenges. Having performed the role of Chief Bromden in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST not that long ago I feel his monologues and spirit are still very fresh in my bones, and surprisingly, it hasn't been that challenging or difficult to recall the dialogue in my mind during rehearsals. I am quite surprised by how much my mind has retained from the show I did last September in 2015. One of the biggest challenges in rehearsals has been to sit back and allow this new company to figure out and discover the play for themselves even though I am quite familiar with the story then most. It has been very amusing and thrilling watching a different actor interpret a specific character from the play and bring a new take and perspective on it. I am confident that this cast will eventually hit their strides and really begin to elevate the play. We've only been rehearsing for 1 week as an ensemble and definitely got so much further in terms of establishing character, tone, pacing, blocking, etc. Want to know more about the talented artists I'm currently working with on the production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST? Click on this link here to read their bios on the Cardinal Stage Company website. We have roughly 4 more weeks before we open at the Ivy Tech Waldron Arts Centre on February 13th! I really hope some of you out there can come join us in Bloomington, IN during the run of the show from February 12-28, 2016. I hope you continue to follow my journey through this blog... In Spirit, Jeremy AKA Chief Bromden Pictured Above: Chief Bromden plagued by the nightmarish visions of machinery and fog also known as The Combine from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.
I'm off to Bloomington, Indiana next week to begin rehearsals on an entirely new production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST with the Cardinal Stage Company. I am beyond thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to delve further into the character of Chief Bromden and the play. More information on the production, which runs from February 12-28, 2016, can be found by visiting http://www.cardinalstage.org/plays/2015-2016-season/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest/overview-17/
Indiana are you ready for me?! It's be a challenging and rewarding 7 weeks working with the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Four generations of my family traveled all the way from southern Ontario, Canada to see the show last night. It was so wonderful to have them in the audience to experience the play live onstage. After the evening show the entire cast was gracious enough to hang around in the Green Room to meet my family.
I will miss working in Atlanta. Overall it was a very positive experience coming down south to work with an wonderful group of theatre artists. I hope to return someday to Atlanta to visit. Many have already said I more than welcome to stay with them if I should I ever return. The invitations were very sweet. I will be letting go the spirit of Chief Bromden after tonight's performance. I have come to love and care about the character so very much. It has also taken so much courage and energy to be so emotionally raw and naked onstage as well as to consistently go through his struggle, awakening and sometimes painful journey onstage with every show that I do. I've expressed to others that doing each show is like a marathon and it has taken a lot of energy, spirit and commitment to get through the production run. But I wouldn't change it for the world because it has been so rewarding being able to share the stage with such an awesome group of actors who are so giving and open onstage as well as share the story with Atlanta audiences who have been so receptive, engaged and enthusiastic about the production. Audiences are the main reason why we create theatre. Hopefully many of have gone away from the whole experience changed in some way. I am certain and positive that a lot of lives have been touched by watching this play and experiencing the individual journeys of each character. Chi-Miigwetch Alliance Theatre and director Susan V. Booth for this opportunity! ~ "The Soopah Chief" Bromden We are already halfway into the run of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. How time flies. I feels like yesterday that I just arrived in Atlanta to begin this crazy adventure with an entire group of strangers. Many of whom have now since become good friends. I try to stay clear away from theatre critics and their opinions until the end of a production run. They can sometimes be devastating, especially when critics are quick and harsh with their opinions or totally miss the message of the show. But I felt obliged to share with you some interesting and positive ones that have just recently appeared online praising the production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST as "shockingly good", "moving" and "powerful". Check them out below by clicking on the blue button links. Enjoy! Pictured Above: Jeremy Proulx as Chief Bromden in the Alliance Theatre production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Opening Night is tomorrow and I'm getting nervous. Audiences for our preview performances have been pretty generous for the past week. Some audiences have been more responsive than others but that's to be expected with live theatre. To wet your palette and give you a further insiders feel of the show I've attached a few of the original musical compositions that were created and composed especially for the production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by the talented Haddon Kime in collaboration with Clay Benning. Simply click on the orange play buttons to listen to the tracks. Enjoy!
I've neglected this blog a little bit on account of being so busy with technical rehearsals. The days have been long and tiring but we're getting there in terms of being show ready for Opening Night a week from today. We head into preview performances tonight for the very first time and I'm confident that I'm in a strong place with the character of Chief Bromden and his emotional journey/arc in the play. The ensemble of actors have been an absolute joy to work with for the past 4 weeks and we're in very capable hands with a wonderful director. Check out the video below to watch a time lapse of the set load in for the stage production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST designed by Tony Award-winner Todd Rosenthal who designed such Broadway sets as AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, THE MOTHERF*#ER WITH THE HAT, OF MICE AND MEN and WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? If you watch closely you might catch a lightning glimpse of me onstage rehearsing the lift and rip out of the floor of a heavy electrical transformer, which is a powerful and pivotal moment near the end of the play. Enjoy! Already in the midst of week two of rehearsals for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. A lot of stopping and going as we stumble and explore our way through staging and blocking. It can be a tedious process but necessary in order for performers to figure out where they move, carry and hold themselves within the space of each scene in the play. It's also vital to figure how we enter and exit the stage for each scene so that once we start running the entire play that the story progression feels smooth and organic in terms of the flow and pacing. Nobody likes to sit through an awkward and clunky stage production. It can be agony for both the performers and audience. Some of the rough blocking that we have been working through with Act 1 all this past week will more than likely change once we hit the actual constructed set onstage in few weeks. This always seems to be the case once actors are working inside the actual constructed set. So adjustments are a natural progression of rehearsals. But for now we are all doing our best to be patient as we continue to work through the staging and blocking of scenes. We just started working through Act 2 today for the very first time on our feet so it still feels relatively new for everyone. Truth be told I am getting nervous about working through the final scene of the play in rehearsals. For me it's going to be so emotionally demanding but also devastating for the audience to witness. Having to bare my soul onstage in such a vulnerable way can be challenging, especially if there is no trust or support from your director or fellow actors. I am praying that the utmost respect will be given in the rehearsal room as I chart out my emotional journey through the play and am asked to go to some pretty emotionally raw places. More exploration to come in the coming weeks as I delve further into the story and character of Chief Bromden in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. You can follow Alliance Theatre's many updates about this production through their main website by clicking here and also their Facebook page by clicking here. There you'll find a few photos from the first day of rehearsals. Enjoy! Miigwetch/Thank you for continuing to follow my journey. Pictured Above: The front exterior of the Woodruff Arts Center.
Pictured Above: The original character sketches for the costume of Chief Bromden in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Pictured Above: Jeremy takes a pic in the change room during a second costume fitting in the wardrobe department at the Alliance Theatre. Day 3 of the rehearsal process has been productive. We are still getting through table work and dissecting the script as best we can before we actually get on our feet and start exploring in the rehearsal space. I have to admit that it's been a challenge in rehearsals with being so still onstage. In the play Chief Bromden is described as a character that comes in and out of a series of schizophrenic hallucinations. It's a clinical viewpoint that I don't always agree with. From a First Nations perspective I call these "hallucinations" more of dreamlike states where he communicates with the spirit of his deceased father. Through his dreams he is being given signs of how his spirit is beginning to reawaken and break free from the binds of colonization that have kept him "small" and inside a box for over a decade. He also someone who has been displaced and therefore is struggling to reconnect with his sense of place and connection within creation. Even though he appears catatonic to those around him who believe him to be simply "deaf and dumb" and unable to speak he is actually a very multi-dimensional character full of depth and quiet power. He is a character who is constantly listening and therefore knows everyone's secrets. The challenge as an actor is bringing a level of presence and history onstage for a character who has become so institutionalized within a state mental hospital that he has become indoctrinated by a colonial gaze and Euro-centric power that has seeked to assimilate and destroy the very cultural fabric of who he is an Indigenous person. It's a lot to chew on for an actor. I am confident that I will be able to delve further into truth and spirit of Chief Bromden as the rehearsals progress, It's just a matter of trusting the process and knowing that have an extraordinary director and team of artists to support me.
Pictured Above: A side exterior view of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta Pictured Above: The entire cast, crew and creative team begin to gather inside the Alliance Theatre rehearsal hall for the very first read-through of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NESTPictured Above: The mock set design for the production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST at the Alliance TheatreWith every new production I begin there is always some aspect of nervousness and excitement. With this particular production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST with the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta I feel very blessed to be part of such a terrific group of creative minds who are so open, generous and willing to play. For the past few days I have been getting to know this entirely new group of people who already have a strong working relationship with each other. I am sort of the new fish in the pond having travelled all the way from Canada to join to this amazing ensemble of actors. For the past few days the entire production team has been sharing all of their extraordinary gifts to help bring this classic story to life onstage. Everyone from wardrobe, to production and sound design, to fight choreography and direction have been sharing their vision and expertise in their chosen fields. I am so excited to be part of this journey in bringing the role of Chief Bromden to life for American audiences to experience. I am positive this journey is going to be an amazing learning experience and one that I will remember for a very long time. I am looking forward to the powerful and cathartic experience of performing in this production and hope you follow along this journey with me. Miigwetch! Pictured Above: The foyer of the Woodruff Arts Center that houses the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre and Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony OrchestraPictured Above: An exterior shot from behind the Woodruff Arts Center which houses the Alliance TheatrePictured Above: A Tony Award for Best Regional Theatre that was awarded to the Alliance Theatre in 2007
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