Director: David Veatch
AUDITION NOTICE
August Osage County
By Tracy Letts
Presented by Ankeny Community Theatre
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, August 7-16, 2026. A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring 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. Add in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you’ve got a show that unflinchingly—and uproariously—exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family.
Show Dates
August 7-16 2026
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 7:30pm
Sunday 2:00pm
Rated R
Audition Dates
Accepting video auditions from April 2- April 21.
Video details: Submit 2 videos, each between 90-120 seconds. Monologues DO NOT need to be memorized: focus on telling the story & holding the monologue instead of memorization.
* One video will feature a monologue from August Osage County ; this can be one with a Southern accent or not, your preference.
*Second video is a monologue from a contemporary show such as: Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing, How I Learned to Drive or Indecent by Paula Vogel, Picnic by William Inge, Clean House by Sarah Rhul, or Appropriate by Brandon Jacobs or any show of your choosing.
Note On Accents: please audition with a monologue from the play with a Southern Accent, specifically from the Oklahoma region. The decision on if the play will use accents is still being determined, but we would like to see your best accent!
****If you have any conflicts during Tech week and/or performances, we will not be able to offer you a role in this production****
Important dates:
Rehearsals begin approximately June 15
Tech Week Aug 1-Aug 6
Shows Aug 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 at 7:30 pm and Aug 9 & 16 at 2 pm. Strike after Aug 16 show (all cast/crew required)
Audition submission will be accepted from April 2-21, 2026. Please fill out the audition form found at this link below:
ALL AUDITION INFORMATION MUST BE UPLOADED NO LATER THAN April 21s AT MIDNIGHT. NO LATE AUDITIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED
CAUTION Note For All Auditioning: This play requires many characters fight and kiss. Throughout the process we will be choreographing the fighting, and all kissing will be coordinated intimacy, this work will be done with each performers comfort and safety at the forefront.
Character descriptions:
Beverly Weston (age: 60-70’s; male): is the patriarch of the Weston family, a semi-famous poet and alcoholic and given to bouts of bemused melancholy. After hiring Johnna to be his housekeeper, Beverly disappears mysteriously early in the play, which inaugurates the family’s coming together.
Violet Weston (age: 60-70’s; female): 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; she is aware of the family’s many secrets and not hesitant to reveal them for her own amusement.
Barbara Fordham (age: 40-50’s; female): is Beverly and Violet’s oldest daughter who lives in Boulder, Colorado with her daughter Jean. She is separated from her husband Bill who is having an affair with one of his students. She may have more in common with her mother than she would like to admit. She is witty and sardonic, but very controlling and angry.
Bill Fordham (age: 40-50’s; male): is Barbara’s husband, a university professor who is sleeping with one of his students. He doesn’t live with Barb and Jean, but when he hears Beverly is missing he agrees to journey to Oklahoma to be with his family and present a united front.
Jean Fordham (age: character is mid-teens, but actor MUST be 18 years or older): is Barbara and Bill’s 14-year-old daughter. She smokes cigarettes and pot, is a vegetarian, loves old movies, and is confused and angry about her parents’ split. Smokes cigarettes and pot, verbally abusive towards her parents. Receives romantic attention from Steve. The person cast in this role will play a teenager. We are looking for performs who are 18+ for this role.
Ivy Weston (age: 40’s; female): is the middle child of the Weston sisters, works as a librarian at the local college and is in love with her first cousin Little Charles. Ivy is the sibling who has remained to take care of her parents and she resents Barbara and Karen for leaving her behind. She is determined to escape to New York with Little Charles.
Karen Weston (age: 40’s; female):is the youngest of the Weston daughters. She is insecure and self-centered. She brings Steve, her fiancé, to the family home as they gather to deal with Beverly’s disappearance.
Mattie Fay Aiken (age: 50-60’s; female):is Violet’s sister. She is opinionated and combative, and is especially hard on her son Little Charles whom she considers to be unambitious, unmotivated, and a general disappointment.
Charlie Aiken (age: 60’s; male):is Mattie Fae’s husband, a genial man, was a lifelong friend of Beverly. He struggles to get Mattie Fae to respect their son Little Charles.
Little Charles Aiken (age: 30’s; male):Son of Mattie Fae and Beverly, 37 years old. He is unemployed and socially awkward, and has been worn down by his mother’s unrelenting chastisement.
Johnna Monevata (age: 20’s) Ethnicity: Indigenous. We are particularly encouraging applications from Indigenous actors for this role, as it is crucial for the character’s authenticity and cultural representation. Johnna is the caretaker that Beverly hires early in the play. She is a Cheyenne woman whom Beverly hires as a live-in housekeeper shortly before he disappears. Violet is suspicious of her, but she wins over the other family members with her cooking skills, hard work, and empathy. Johnna is the silent witness to much of the mayhem in the house.
Steve Heidebrecht (age: 50’s; male): Karen’s fiancé, age 50. A businessman from Florida whose business may be less than legitimate, and whom Karen considers to be the perfect man. He is inappropriately sexual with Jean throughout the play, smokes pot with her, and attempts to sexually assault her. This character makes sexual advances to Jean. Jean will be played by an actress aged 18+.
Sheriff Deon Gilbeau (age: 40’s; male): A high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara’s, age 47, who brings news of Beverly to the family.