The Dayton Playhouse will be holding auditions for Bus Stop on Monday, January 30 and Tuesday, January 31. The play will run at the Dayton Playhouse Mar 16 – 25, 2012. Auditions will begin at 7:00 p.m. both nights and will consist of cold readings from the script. Some scripts are available for perusal in advance by contacting the director.
Bus Stop is a 1955 play by William Inge (the 1956 movie is only loosely based upon the original play). The action of the play takes place in a diner about 30 miles west ofKansas City in early March 1955. A freak snowstorm has halted the progress of the bus, and the eight characters (five on the bus) have a weather-enforced layover in the diner from approximately 1 to 5 a.m. Romantic, or quasi-romantic, relationships ensue between Grace and Carl, Professor Lyman and Elma, and Cherie and Bo. Virgil and Will are the older authority figures outside the relationships.
Character Descriptions:
Grace Hoylard Owner of the diner, a “grass widow”. She is fortyish, and pretty in a fading, hard-bitten way. She has a passionate side to her nature, loving a good fight and the attentions of a good man.
Elma Duckworth An intelligent, but naive and impressionable high school girl. She is Grace’s waitress.
Will Masters The local sheriff. Tough as nails and brusque in manner, but goodhearted and a staunch Christian, described as a “deacon of his church”. A highly “moral” man in the general sense of the word.
Dr. Gerald Lyman A college philosophy professor who is articulate and charming but cannot hold a position, partially due to his resistance to any kind of authority, and partially due to his unfortunate taste for young women. He also has an obvious drinking problem.
Cherie A pretty young woman who comes from a difficult “hill folk” background, and has left her innocence far behind. She is an aspiring nightclub singer, but has never worked in any establishment above the level of “cheap dive”.
Bo Decker A brash young cowboy with boorish manners that hide a naivete almost as profound as Elma’s. He has convinced himself that Cherie will be his bride, though Cherie wants nothing to do with him.
Virgil Blessing (would be nice if actor also played the guitar) An older, wiser cowboy who has become a father figure to Bo (who was orphaned at the age of ten) as well as Bo’s head ranch hand.
Carl The bus driver, who has an ongoing “just passing through” relationship with Grace. As referenced repeatedly, this is purely sexual in nature.
The Dayton Playhouse is located at 1301 East Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH45414. For questions about the play, contact Matthew Smith at 937- 270-2794.. For information about the Dayton Playhouse, visit www.daytonplayhouse.org , or call the Dayton Playhouse at 937-424-8477.
The Dayton Playhouse is a community theatre providing outstanding theatrical productions toMiamiValleyaudiences of all ages for more than fifty years. The Playhouse is nationally recognized for FutureFest, a festival of new plays.
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