Auditions for "Ride the Cyclone"

Auditions for the comic musical "Ride the Cyclone" directed by Ericka Mac will be held on Saturday, September 30.

Auditions are open to all Western students.

About the production

"Ride the Cyclone" is a musical and the second installment in Jacob Richmond’s “Uranium Teen Scream Trilogy.” In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other – the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well lived!

Instructions for your audition

Read all the instructions carefully.

• Choose one show appropriate monologue, 1 minute in length.
• Choose two 16-32 bar cuts of music, one from a comedic song and one from a song that showcases your range. Please bring legible, well-marked sheet music for the accompanist. Specific musical sides from the show will be distributed for callbacks.
• Make sure to fill out the form below to sign up for an acting audition slot. Everyone will be called at the same time for the dance audition.
• Deadline to sign up is Friday September 29 at 5 p.m. If you need to change your audition time or if you missed the deadline please email Production Manager Teylor Lowe to see what options might be available to you.
• Auditions will be held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday September 30 in PA 399; and will be broken up into 5 minute slots. You will sign up for your 5 minute slot using the form below.
• The dance audition will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday September 30 on Mainstage (PA 282). Everyone for the Dance audition will be expected to arrive at 5 p.m.
• Callbacks will be held on Mainstage (PA 282), starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 1. The callback list will be announced Saturday evening after initial auditions. Students are responsible for checking their emails for information about callbacks.
• Covid-19 Vaccinations: While vaccinations will not be required to participate in this production, we still strongly encourage that everyone auditioning be vaccinated and boosted for Covid-19. This will help protect the cast, production team, and audience from being exposed to Covid-19 and keep everyone healthy.

Character Breakdown

We will be casting 9 actors and 4 additional “pit singers” who may also double as understudies.

Be sure to read the Additional Character Information. It will tell you a lot about the characters and the play.

Descriptions of Primary Roles

• The Amazing Karnak: The interactive narrator. Karnak is an advanced precognition machine whose proclivity towards predicting the deaths of carnival guests caused his owners to set him permanently in Family Fun Mode. This had dire consequences. Male, Female or Nonbinary Identifying. Will be in a small box, seated onstage the entire show. Catchphrase: “Your lucky number is seven. You will soar to great heights. Be sure to ride the cyclone.” (Non-singer, Non-dancer)
• 
Ocean O’Connell-Rosenberg: The “most successful girl in town.” President of both the St. Cassian High School student council and chamber choir, Ocean is a brilliant go-getter (or chronic over-achiever if you ask her peers) who strives for excellence in everything she does. Female Identifying. Catchphrase: “Democracy rocks!” (Soprano, dancer)
• 
Noel Gruber: The “most romantic boy in town.” The only gay guy in all of Uranium, Noel yearns to leave his boring job at Taco Bell and the drab world of Saskatchewan behind for a life of glamour and extravagance. Male or Nonbinary Identifying. Catchphrase: Being the only gay man in a small rural high school is like having a laptop in the stone age. I mean sure, you can have one, but there’s nowhere to plug it in.” (Tenor, Dancer)
• 
Mischa Bachinski: The “angriest boy in town.” A teenager recently adopted form Ukraine by parents who thought they were getting a toddler, Mischa maintains a strained relationship with his new family and reputation for angry outbursts. Male Identifying. Catchphrase: “my gangsta persona is just armor to conceal that I am a naked child wandering through the wilderness, holding in my hands my wounded fragile heart.” (Baritone/Bass, Dancer)
• 
Ricky Potts: The “most imaginative boy in town.” Suffering from childhood trauma and a self imposed mute, Ricky copes by maintaining a vivid inner life of fantasy and self-expression. Male, Female, or Nonbinary Identifying. Catchphrase: “Level up!” (Baritone, Dancer)
• 
Jane Doe: A mysterious, emotionless, deeply creepy headless girl who appears beside the Choir in limbo. Must wear a disturbing make up and might wear black contacts. Female Identifying. Catchphrase: “When the lioness has children, she stops making love to the lion. The lion gets jealous, sometimes so jealous he eats the children. You’d think this would upset the lioness; far from it. They make love again like the children never existed. I find that idea terrifying.” (Soprano, Dancer)
• 
Constance Blackwood: The “nicest girl in town,” Constance is a kind, considerate girl whose genuine affection for her hometown puts her at odds with her peers. Female Identifying. Catchphrase: “Sorry!” (Alto, Dancer)
• 
Virgil: A giant rat who plays the bass. Must wear a mask. Will also double as a pit singer.
• 
Talia: Mischa’s girlfriend. Female Identifying. Will also double as a pit singer.
• 
Pit Singers: Will sing offstage and on stage during black outs. 2 male identifying and two female identifying. One pit singer will double as the understudy for Ocean/Constance/Jane Doe. One pit singer will double as the understudy for Noel/Mischa/Ricky.

Content Disclosure

All actors must be comfortable witnessing or performing this content.

• This play discusses and depicts death, self harm, suicide, depression, tragic accidents, and trauma.
• This play discusses and depicts sexually explicit content and physical displays of affection including: simulated sex acts, kissing, hugging, and handholding.
• This play discusses and depicts drug use/abuse, alcoholism, underage drinking, smoking.
• This play contains explicit language, profanity, and derogatory language.
• This play discusses and depicts racism, violence, crime, assault, murder, prostitution, theft, and class identifications.
• This play discusses and depicts religion, occult practices, resurrection and life after death.
• One character pushes and punches another character.
• As ensemble members, all actors (except Karnak, Virgil, and the Pit Singers) in this play will engage in robust choreography and physical expression. All actors (except Karnak) will have very active onstage and offstage roles.

Character Actions Disclosure

Ocean

Hugs Constance, holds hands w/Constance, pushes Constance, puts arm around Constance’s shoulders, sits on Noel/Mischa/Ricky’s shoulders, gets lifted off a table by Ricky, Noel puts his arm around Ocean, almost gets kissed by Mischa (he grabs her face), dances provocatively, partner dances with Ricky, gets “turned on” by Ricky, has face caressed by Ricky, Rubs her body on Ricky, simulates sex onstage, straddles Ricky, punches Constance in the breast, holds hands and embraces all cast members.

Noel

Holds Ocean on his shoulders, bottom of a human pyramid (Jane/Ocean kneels on his back), strips his clothes off onstage into lingerie, stockings and heels, slaps Mischa in the face, makes out (kissing and groping) onstage with Mischa, is embraced by Mischa from behind, rubs his body on Mischa, gets butt slapped by Mischa, spreads his legs seductively, puts his arm around Ocean, dances provocatively, partner dances with Constance, has a “fake” erection on onstage, rubs his body on Ricky, simulates sex onstage, holds hands with and embraces all cast members.

Mischa

Grabs his own crotch, holds Ocean on his shoulders, bottom of a human pyramid (Jane/Ocean kneels on his back), gets slapped in the face by Noel, makes out (kissing and groping) onstage with Noel, embraces Noel from behind, Noel rubs his body on Mischa, slaps Noel on the butt, kisses Constance on the cheek, almost kisses Ocean (he grabs her face), rips his shirt open onstage (bare chested), dances provocatively, Constance shakes her butt in Mischa’s face, Mischa slaps Constance’s butt, embraces and kisses Talia, puts his arm around Ricky, has a “fake” erection on onstage, rubs his body on Ricky, simulates sex onstage, holds hands with and embraces all cast members.

Ricky

Holds Ocean on his shoulders, bottom of a human pyramid (Jane/Ocean kneels on his back), lifts Ocean off a table, dances provocatively, partner dances with Ocean, Mischa puts his arm around him, caresses Ocean’s face, simulates sex onstage, gets straddled by Ocean, holds hands with and embraces all cast members.

Constance

Hugs Ocean, Holds hands with Ocean, gets pushed by Ocean, Ocean puts her arm around Constance’s shoulders, kneels on Mischa/Noel/Ricky’s shoulders in a human pyramid, gets kissed on the cheek by Mischa, dances provocatively, shakes her butt in Mischa’s face, gets butt slapped by Mischa, partner dances with Noel, simulates an orgasm onstage, rubs her body on Ricky, simulates sex onstage, gets punched in the breast by Ocean, holds hands with and embraces all cast members.

Jane

Kneels on Mischa/Noel/Ricky’s shoulders in a human pyramid, dances provocatively, lifts her skirt up onstage, rubs her body on Ricky, simulates sex onstage.

Talia

Embraces and kisses Mischa.

Audition Form

Questions on this form include opportunities to share information about your identity, including gender, race and cultural background. Your answers help WWU prioritize authentic, appropriate casting as called for in each script. Please share only what you feel comfortable sharing.

Our department is committed to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices in all areas, including casting. Our goal is to create a casting process that is welcoming, absent of intimidation, and serves those auditioning as well as the creative team in the full exploration of the material in an environment of mutual trust.

In reference to the character descriptions below – these are descriptions of the characters as identified in the script and in collaboration with the creative team. They are not meant to be exhaustive of who should play these roles and we seek to cast expansively and intentionally. We are striving to make our production and audition practices inclusive of performers of all races, ethnicities, national origins, gender expressions, body types, and abilities. We also recognize that these characters are written on the binary (use he/him or she/her pronouns) and we invite gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to submit for any roles they identify with.  We also welcome performers of all abilities and are prepared to provide any reasonable accommodations and resources needed in order to cast performers with disabilities.  (Thanks to the Actors Theatre of Louisville for their language and inspiration in this statement)
Some questions on this form involve disclosing what you are comfortable with as a performer.  Show specific questions are below and you will also be given a longer, more detailed disclosure form to fill out the morning of auditions. You will be asked to return this form by the end of Audition Day.

Additionally, there are some resources made available here to inform you of Western Washington University’s procedures and protocols for moments of intimacy in our productions.

Audition Resources

Below are links to very useful Word documents which are resources to inform you of Western Washington University’s procedures and protocols for moments of intimacy in our productions.

• Production incident report
• WWU Actor Consent Form
• WWU Audition Disclosure Form
• WWU Intimacy and Instructional Touch Policy
• WWU Intimacy Protocols