Mariemont Players, Inc. is pleased to announce auditions for AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY by Tracy Letts, directed by Jerry Wiesenhahn and Produced by Kristen Vincenty. Auditions will be held Sunday, September 18th and Monday, September 19th at Mariemont Players, 4101 Walton Creek Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45227.
Synopsis: A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you’ve got a major play that unflinchingly–and uproariously–exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family.
Please sign up for a time slot here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D44AFAB2FA2FE3-august
Audition Requirements: Please bring a headshot and resume. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. You may be requested to stay past your audition time to read with other auditionees.
Callbacks: Callbacks are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, September 20th from 7-10:00pm. More information will be forthcoming following auditions. If you are not called back it does not mean you are not cast. Each auditionee will be individually contacted by the producer before a cast list is posted.
Rehearsal times: Rehearsals will begin on Sunday, January 22nd from 7-9:30pm; Our plan is to rehearse 4 nights a week on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (unless there are cast conflicts) until tech week.
Production Dates: Thursday, March 9th-7:30pm, Friday, March 10th-7:30pm, Saturday, March 11th-7:30pm, Sunday, March 12th-2:00pm, Thursday, March 16th-7:30pm, Friday, March 17th-7:30pm, Saturday, March 18th-7:30pm, Sunday, March 19th-2:00pm, Wednesday, March 22nd-7:30pm, Thursday, March 23rd-7:30pm, Friday, March 24th-7:30pm, Saturday, March 25th-7:30pm, Sunday, March 26th-7:30pm
Character Breakdown: listed ages are stage ages
Beverly Weston: Male, 69 years old
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.
Violet Weston: Female, 65 years old
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.
Barbara Weston: Female, 46 years old
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.
Ivy Weston: Female, 44 years old
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.
Karen Weston: Female, 40 years old
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.
Bill Fordham: Male, 49 years old
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.
Jean Fordham: Female, 14 years old (actor must be 18 or older)
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.
Steve Heidebrecht: Male, 50 years old
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 is inappropriately sexual with Jean throughout the play and supplies her with marijuana.
Mattie Fae Aiken: Female, 57 years old
Violet’s 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.
Charlie Aiken: Male, 60 years old
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.
“Little” Charles Aiken: 37 years old
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.
Sheriff Deon Gilbeau: Supporting, Male, 47 years old
A high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara’s
Johnna Monevata: This role has already been cast; Female of Native American descent; caretaker and housekeeper for Violet.
Due to the sensitive nature of several scenes, we will be employing the use of an intimacy coach in order to ensure the safety and comfort of the actors.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 