PUHI — Kaua‘i Community Players will be holding auditions for “August: Osage County” at 7 p.m. today and 3 p.m. Saturday at the Puhi Theatrical Warehouse. Written by Tracy Letts, this award-winning drama will be presented as a stage reading. “August”
PUHI — Kaua‘i Community Players will be holding auditions for “August: Osage County” at 7 p.m. today and 3 p.m. Saturday at the Puhi Theatrical Warehouse.
Written by Tracy Letts, this award-winning drama will be presented as a stage reading. “August” had its world premiere at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2007. At the time, the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones wrote: “Letts has penned a major, not-to-be-missed new American work that eulogizes the perversely nurturing dysfunction of family life on the Plains.”
“‘August’ is an absorbing story. As it moves along, it becomes greater in its power,” said Arnold Meister, who will direct the Kaua‘i Community Players production.
“It follows a strong family through a major crisis which reaches great emotional heights by the end of the play, yet at the same time has very many humorous moments. Everyone will find bits of his own family in this story,” he said.
Meister, who has directed works of Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams, considers “August” to be a script of that caliber. The play has won multiple awards, including the Drama Desk Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Pulitzer Prize and five Tony Awards.
The dense plot centers on a dysfunctional Oklahoma clan living in the rural county of Osage. When Violet Weston’s husband of more than 30 years mysteriously disappears, the family comes together to comfort their mother and get to the bottom of their father’s disappearance.
For Meister, the play has a special connection. In 2010, he visited New York City to see a friend, actress Estelle Parsons, perform the lead in “August.”
“A former theater student, Ethan Shell, who was living in New York City at the time, told me he had seen the play and that it was so astounding that it made him change his interest in theater from musical comedy to drama,” Meister said.
“In the acting, in the writing, in the language, in the power. Estelle got a standing ovation on her curtain call. I consider her performance a major highlight in my theater-going experience,” he said.
In the KCP stage production, actors will use scripts, but will act on a set, be costumed and “know their roles well,” Meister said.
The play calls for actors ages 35 to 65 with the exception of one teenage female. Previous theater experience is not necessary, but projection, the ability to move well and a sense of drama is helpful.
Rehearsal dates are tentatively set for Jan. 16 through Jan. 27.
The Puhi Theatrical Warehouse is located at 4411 E. Kikowaena St. in Puhi, located behind Kaua‘i Harley Davidson.
Performances begin Jan. 27 and will run Friday through Sunday for two weekends with the possibility of a third. Visit www.kauaicommunityplayers.org for more information or call 742-1338.
• Andrea Frainier, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or afrainier@ thegardenisland.com.
