OPEN CALL AUDITIONS: Family Grief Counselling – August 31, 2026
Ottawa Little Theatre presents
Family Grief Counselling
Written by Brandon Hicks for the One-Act Play Festival
Directed by Lindsey Keene
Production Dates
November 6-8, 2026
Family Grief Counselling is an entry into the Eastern Ontario Drama League’s One-Act Play Festival. The show will be presented once during the festival, taking place this year at Kanata Theatre.
Family Grief Counselling is a one-act play with a shorter rehearsal schedule than most productions. Actors can expect 1-3 rehearsals per week leading up to the festival. Schedule will be discussed further at auditions.
Actors must be available for the duration of the festival.
Open Call Auditions
Auditions will be held on Monday, August 31, 2026 at 6:30 pm for all roles EXCEPT THE GRAVE VISITOR. If you are interested in the Grave Visitor (non-speaking role), please contact me@lindseykeene.com.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to fill out your audition card. Onstage readings will commence at 6:30 pm sharp.
Audition Location:
Ottawa Little Theatre
400 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa
Please use the entrance on 235 Besserer Street.
Synopsis
The Vautours, a recently deceased family of four, linger around their graves in limbo. With the help of a begrudging groundskeeper, they learn that in order to reach their final resting place, they’ll need to have some difficult conversations with each other.
Genre: Dark comedy
Setting: Contemporary (2024), a graveyard.
Character Descriptions
AMANDA (female, 41): Mother, wife. Stoic and direct. A nurse in her earthly life. Was driving the car at the time of the accident. Reckons with her strengths and failures as the family’s glue.
DAVID (male, 42): Father, husband. Middle-management type who was a lacking father figure. Struggles with difficult conversations. Permanently—eternally—lost.
SARAH (female, 17): Alternative, sharp. Went through a lot of phases while earthside. Film buff. Comes to terms with no longer needing approval from her parents.
KEVIN (male, 17): Jock, jovial. “Peaked in high school”. Handsome, popular jock (football player). Grapples with his stereotypical teenage experience.
GROUNDSKEEPER (male, 40s-60s): Gruff, clever, no-nonsense. Blue collar maintenance man with a sixth sense. Counsels the Vautour family into their afterlife.
GRAVE VISITOR (female, 30s-40s): Walk-on role, non-speaking. David’s mistress. Leaves a rose at his headstone.
Audition Sides
Click on the links below to see the scenes used for the audition. Sides will be provided at auditions. You do not need to memorize sides.
[Side 1] Amanda, David, Sarah, Kevin, Groundskeeper
[Side 3] David, Sarah, Kevin, Groundskeeper