AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY - White Plains Performing Arts Center Non Equity Auditions

AUGUST: Osage County

Written by: Tracy Letts

Equity Performer Auditions in White Plains, NY 
White Plains Performing Arts Center 
11 City Place, 3rd Floor (City Center) 
White Plains NY 10601 
(Right next to the movie theatre. Directions: www.wppac.com)

EQUITY LOA Contract: $309/week 
Non-Union: $130-$200/week + EMC

Producing Artistic Director/Director: JEREMY QUINN

First Rehearsal: 9/17/12. Rehearses M-F from 10am-6pm, Saturdays 9/22 and 9/29 (10-6 pm). 
Runs 10/5-10/14 (3-4 perfs/week)

Equity Performer Auditions (Equity Performers ONLY) by APPOINTMENT: 
Tuesday, September 4, 2012 
10 AM – 6 PM at WPPAC 
Lunch from 1:30 – 2:30 pm

See all appointment-making & preparation instructions below.

OPEN CALL Auditions (Equity and non-Equity) by APPOINTMENT: 
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 
5-10 PM at WPPAC

See all appointment-making & preparation instructions below.

OPEN CALL Auditions (Equity and non-Equity) by APPOINTMENT: 
Thursday, September 6, 2012 
12-6 PM at WPPAC

See all appointment-making & preparation instructions below.

APPOINTMENT-MAKING INSTRUCTIONS: For a 5-minute appointment (9/4, 9/5 or 9/6), e-mailauditions@wppac.com (or call 914-328-1600, Ext. 18 (M-F, 11-5 pm) beginning MONDAY, AUGUST 27 – MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 AT 5:00 PM. E-mail is preferred. Include name, phone #, approximate time you’d like to audition and union status. Equity Members without appointments will be seen throughout the audition day, as time permits. Once you have been given an appointment time, it will be confirmed by email along with very detailed driving and mass transit directions using Metro-North from Grand Central. Please allow at least 48 hours for audition appointment confirmation as we usually get between 300-400 people making appointments.

Please Prepare: a "brief" CONTEMPORARY monologue in the style of the show (comic or seriocomic preferred over anything too “dramatic”) that best represents your “type” and/or role(s) you may be right for in the show. See complete character breakdown below for more information on all roles.

PLEASE BRING PICTURE & RESUME, STAPLED BACK-TO-BACK.

Callbacks: 9/7, 12:00-5:30 PM. Actors will be notified by email if they are expected to return for callbacks. Sides will be sent as an email attachment with callback confirmation. Be EXTREMELY familiar with the play and ready to make strong, intelligent choices if you are called back.

Theatre’s casting note: “All characters should have a Midwestern, homespun, bred-from-the-Plains feel about them.”

Seeking: All roles are open/available; pay for Union AND Non-Union performers (+EMC).

ROLES:

Beverly Weston (60-70) - The father and patriarch of the Weston family. An alcoholic and former poet, his mysterious disappearance one evening and eventually discovered death are the reasons for the family's reunion. The reasons for his alleged suicide are a major plot point that bring some of the family's dark past painfully back into the light. Very literate and intelligent. This actor must have a sly sense of humor and an easygoing and honest air about him.

Violet Weston (55-65) - The mother and matriarch of the Weston family. Suffering from cancer of the mouth, she is addicted to several prescription drugs, mostly depressants and narcotics. After an ugly rant at Beverly's funeral dinner, the family's focus shifts to keeping her clean. 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 benefit. Her humor borders on vulgar. Actress in this role must be comfortable with swearing and smoking and must be physically fit.

Barbara Fordham (mid 40’s) - 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. Tough, funny, smart and in the middle of an emotional roller coaster.

Ivy Weston (mid 40’s) - The middle daughter of the Weston family. The only daughter to stay in Oklahoma, she teaches at the local college, and her calm and patient exterior hides a passionate woman who is gradually growing cynical and resentful. A loner. She is secretly having an affair with her "cousin", Little Charles, and plans to move to New York with him.

Karen Weston (Early 40s) - The youngest daughter in the Weston family. A bit scattered. High energy. 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 even at her father's funeral, and she clearly chooses to lie to herself about her sleezy fiancé rather than face the reality of not getting a happy ending.

Bill Fordham (Late 40’s) - Intellectual and frustrated. Barbara's estranged husband and Jean's father. A college professor, he has left his wife for a younger woman named Cindy, one of his students, but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is slowly running thin.

Jean Fordham (Character is 14-16 but actresses 18+ will be considered, if they look younger) - Bill and Barbara's smart-tongued teenage daughter. She smokes pot and cigarettes, is a vegetarian, loves old movies, and is bitter about her parents' split. More naive than she would like to believe. Though Jean appears to be a “typical” American teenager (awkward, self-absorbed, insecure), she has a fierce intellect and a sharp wit.

Steve Heidebrecht (Mid – late 40’s) - Fading good looks. Used to being an outsider. Very glib. Karen's fiancé. A businessman in Florida, (whose business, it is hinted, centers around the Middle East and may be less than legitimate) and not the "perfect man" that Karen considers him. He eventually attempts to sexually molest Jean after the two smoke pot together. Actor cannot be afraid of playing an unlikable character.

Mattie Fae Aiken (55 – 65) - Blowsy, loud, funny and self-deprecating. Violet's sister, Charlie's wife and Little Charles' mother. Just as jaded as her sister, Mattie Fae constantly belittles her son and antagonizes her husband. Eventually she reveals the major plot point that Beverly, not Charlie, is the real father of Little Charles.

Charlie Aiken (50’s) - Easygoing, patient and honest. Husband of Mattie Fae and the presumed father of Little Charles. Charlie, a genial man, was a lifelong friend of Beverly. He struggles to get Mattie Fae to respect Little Charles.

"Little" Charles Aiken (mid to late 30’s) - Son of Mattie Fae and Beverly - but, like everyone else, he believes Charlie is his father. Unemployed and clumsy, his mother calls him a "screw-up", which may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. At a loss as to how the world around him works. A big lug. He is secretly having an affair with Ivy, who is revealed to actually be his sister.

Johnna Monevata (25-30) - A Native American-Indian woman whom Beverly hires as a live-in housekeeper shortly before he disappears. Violet is prejudiced against 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. Earthy, practical, straightforward. Pretty.

Sheriff Deon Gilbeau (Early - mid 40’s) – Small town cop. A high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara's, who brings the news of Beverly's suicide to the family.

Theatre’s statement: “WPPAC practices non-traditional casting and strongly encourages actors of all ethnicities to audition.”