I am new to the Parker Players theater company. Lots of other people have described Richard's approach to auditioning, so I won’t repeat that, However, he did ask me what part was I interested in and since it had been many years since I had seen the movie of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, I had said the first name that entered my mind, the Chief. He said that if I could figure out how to play an American Indian, he would consider it. Well, that’s a bridge too far for my acting talents, so he had said that I would be a good Aide Turkle.
Every part has its challenges. As an actor, you have to get into the mind of the character and bring the person to life. So far in my acting experiences, I have been an Army Captain, a monk, a southern chauffeur, a reporter, Santa, a ghost, and a girl mouse, to name a few. Aide Turkle brings his own challenge as there is not much written for him. The first time he is on stage he is humming a tune. That’s it. Walking and humming. Simple, right? Not so. I have to figure out what tune is he humming. Why is he humming that particular tune? What significance does that tune play in the overall theme of the play? Will it be on key? Is my walking in step with the tune or not? The pressure.
Seriously though, it is more evident in Aide Turkle’s other scene what he is about. He is just a guy doing a job. Not a job he is particularly excited about. He is more than willing to break a lot of the ward’s rules for a handful of money and a bottle of booze. The job and the people are just a means to an end, that end being a paycheck. It just so happens that the people are patients in a psychiatric ward. This guy is not too terribly deep. He’s like I have been in a lot of my “real” jobs over the years. Just putting in my time until something better comes along. I have often heard the quote “either you run the day or the day runs you.” That could be Aide Turkle’s motto.
Now if you will excuse me, I have to practice my humming.
Dwight Brown plays Aide Turkle