This was my first show playing the role of Dr. Spivey in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Camarillo Community Theater in Camarillo, CA. In the photograph above Jessica Lynn Verdi as Nurse Ratched can be seen on the border of the left frame and on the edge of the right frame is Patrick Beckstead as Billy Bibbitt. Though not fully formed at the time, my acting signature can be seen in this performance as a man who has a cynicism based on the cards life has dealt him and his disappointment in people, but who is willing to let the exception happen.
What I learned to love from this experience was the process of coming together with creative and talented individuals with a common goal and supporting one another in the endeavor -- like going to war without the ugly side effects. I imagine athletes who are part of a team experience the same camaraderie whether they are climbing a mountain or going through a pro football season. They, too, are events that have possibility of success and failure as part of the equation.
The photograph below is the moment where Dr. Spivey looks into Randall Patrick McMurphy's file for the first time and sees the history of yet another one of life's disappointing human beings staring me in the face. Notice the bandaged wrist of Patrick Beckstead as Billy Bibbitt, evidencing the character's previous suicide attempt. And out of focus in the background you'll see Chris Alton as Chief Bromden. Credit for both photographs goes to Barbara Mazeika.
