Bus Stop
Written by William Inge
Directed by Tim DeBaun

Audition Dates/Times:

Sunday, May 5th from 2pm-5pm

Tuesday, May 7th from 7pm-10pm

Please call Theatre Downtown (407) 841-0083 to schedule an appointment.

You will be asked to read from the script for the audition. All roles are available.

Please bring 2 Headshots with resume.

Rehearsals will begin after June 1st

Production dates are July 12 thru August 3
(Possible extension thru August 10)

All roles are available. Roles are non paying.

Needed are: 3 Women-5 Men

Overview
Bus Stop is a drama, with romantic and comedic elements. It is set in a diner in rural Kansas in early March 1955, about 25 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri. A freak snowstorm has halted the progress of the bus, and the eight characters (five from 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.

Cast of Characters:

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 (16 to 18). She is Grace's waitress.

Will Masters — The local sheriff (35 to 60). 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 (35 to 45) 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 (25 to 30) 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 (25 to 30) 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 — An older (40 to 60), 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 (30 to 45), who has an ongoing "just passing through" relationship with Grace. As referenced repeatedly, this is purely sexual in nature. He even attempts to touch Grace with his erection, which she considered flattering.