Casting Performers for "August: Osage County" Play
Seeking actors for the "August: Osage County" play. Please see the details below. ONLY LOCAL TALENT WILL BE ACCEPTED. About the project: “The Westons of Oklahoma are one of the most messed-up families to ever bicker and barb their way onto a stage. Their history is riddled with abuse, addiction and more secrets than the CIA. Like their guns, they keep their acidic tongues locked and loaded at all times. “At the center of this modern Dust Bowl is the poisonous pill-popping matriarch, Violet. She has cancer of the mouth — medically and metaphorically. Violet has no switch to prevent her from blurting the most vicious things that come to her mind. She pops out furious epithets — most aimed at her own adult daughters — as quickly as she pops in pills. Her spawn all bear varying degrees of inherited burns they will surely pass on to their own children. “When the patriarch disappears, you fully understand why he might have committed suicide. “The Westons are a lot of things, but they certainly aren’t portrayed here as redneck hicks who’ve never read a book. The missing patriarch is a college professor and writer based partly on Letts’ own father. “The Westons have been compared to the Lomans of Death of a Salesman and the Tyrones of Long Day’s Journey Into Night — though the Westons are far funnier.” Additional info: Performances: Oct. 18-26, 2024 Auditions will consist of improvised scenes and readings from the script. For your convenience, the directors have provided audition sides for each character. Please note that you are not required to memorize the lines and may use the sides during your audition. Printed copies will be available at the audition. Please see the attachment for details. If you are interested please apply.
25 roles
THE WESTON FAMILY.
THE WESTON FAMILY. Bev's wife
THE WESTON FAMILY. Bev and Violet's daughter
THE WESTON FAMILY. Her husband
THE WESTON FAMILY. Their teenage daughter
THE WESTON FAMILY. Bev and Violet's daughter
THE WESTON FAMILY. Bev and Violet's daughter
THE WESTON FAMILY. Violer's sister
THE WESTON FAMILY. Marcie Fay's husband
THE WESTON FAMILY. Housekeeper
THE WESTON FAMILY. Karen's fiancé
THE WESTON FAMILY.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. Painfully honest, critical and accustomed to manipulating those around her. The matriarch of the Weston family. Undergoing treatment for oral cancer, she is addicted to several prescription drugs, mostly depressants and narcotics. Despite her drug-induced episodes, she is sharp-tongued and shrewd in a way that can border on verbally abusive; she is aware of the family’s many secrets and not hesitant to reveal them for her own benefit.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. Violet’s younger sister, Charlie’s wife and Little Charles’ mother, age 57. Just as jaded as her sister, Mattie Fae constantly belittles her son and antagonizes her husband, but is accommodating and fiercely loyal to Violet.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. The oldest daughter of the Weston Family, mother of Jean and wife of Bill, though they are currently separated. She is a college professor in Boulder, Colorado. She wants to save her marriage, but has the intense need to control everything around her as it falls apart. A fierce presence.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. The middle daughter of the Weston family and the only daughter to stay in Oklahoma. She works as a librarian at the local college. A typical middle child, often overlooked or dismissed, her calm and patient exterior hides a passionate woman who is gradually growing cynical.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. The youngest daughter in the Weston family. A critically self-consumed dreamer with stars in her eyes. She is newly engaged to Steve, whom she considers “the perfect man”, and lives with him in Florida, planning to marry him soon. Karen can talk of little else but her own happiness, and she clearly chooses to lie to herself about her situation rather than face the reality of not having her happily ever after.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. Caretaker and housekeeper for Violet. Caring, dependable, and efficient. Indigenous descent.
Ensemble. FEMALE IDENTIFYING. Playable Age 14-18 Smart tongued daughter of Barbara and Bill; artsy, intelligent and a little bit brooding. She smokes cigarettes and pot, is a vegetarian, loves old movies, and is bitter about her parents’ split. Willing to do just about anything to defy and punish her parents.
Ensemble. MALE IDENTIFYING. The patriarch of the Weston family. An alcoholic and once-prestigious poet whose career has faded. Weathered and beaten a bit by life, he still maintains a touch of his gentility. His mysterious disappearance one evening is the reason for the family’s reunion.
Ensemble. MALE IDENTIFYING. Husband of Mattie Fay and the father of Little Charles. Charlie is a genial man, and was a lifelong and loyal friend of Beverly. He struggles to get Mattie Fae to respect their son. Not one to get too entangled in drama, he seems content with how things are. A gentle man, he often seems to struggle with dealing with his family amidst the strong personalities of his wife and the other women.
Ensemble. MALE IDENTIFYING. The son of Mattie Fay and Charlie; awkward and unemployed, he is often the victim of his mother’s scorn and derision for his shortcomings, which then become self-fulfilling prophecies. He is sensitive and sweet at his core.
Ensemble. MALE IDENTIFYING. Barbara’s estranged husband and Jean’s father, a college professor, he’s left Barbara for one of his students, but wants to be there for his family during this crisis. His marriage is disintegrating, and his patience is slowly running thin.
Ensemble. MALE IDENTIFYING. A businessman in Florida (whose business may be less than legitimate). While he is handsome, charming and a smooth talker, he is not the “perfect man” that Karen considers him. He forges an inappropriate connection with Jean throughout the play and supplies her with marijuana.
Ensemble. MALE IDENTIFYING. A high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara’s. Local sheriff and knows (most) everything about everybody.
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