When Tracy Letts (b. 1965) was 10 years old, his maternal grandfather drowned in suicide, and his grandmother fell into years of prescription narcotic addiction. Letts was born in Oklahoma, where his family settled before the territory became a state. His grandmother was the product of an abusive mother. She got married at age 15 and became a mother by 16. August: Osage County is based on Lett’s family and childhood experiences, but it’s liberally fictionalized. When Letts’s mother read the play, she commented that Letts had been very generous to her mother, which some might find surprising given Violet’s tendency toward irrationality and downright cruelty. Lett’s parents supported the play, and his father, Dennis, even originated the role of Beverly Weston.

Letts, inspired by his father, began his theatre career as an actor. He moved to Chicago at age 20, where he worked with Steppenwolf Theatre. Letts wrote his first play, Killer Joe, a violent dark comedy that premiered in 1993 to great critical acclaim, before transferring to Off-Off-Broadway in 1994 and to London in 1995. His second play, Bug, debuted in London in 1996 and Off-Broadway in 2004, wining the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play.