Kentwood Players Announces Auditions for BUS STOP 5/22-23

Kentwood Players announces auditions for the classic American play "Bus Stop" by William Inge on Sunday, May 22 from 6pm 9pm and Monday, May 23 from 6pm to 9pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester (LA 90045). If needed, callbacks will be held on Tuesday, May 24. The production will be directed by Max Stormes, produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete and Patricia Butler by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service. Performances will be from July 15 to August 20, 2011 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse.
"Bus Stop" is a comedic drama set in a diner about 30 miles west of Kansas City in early March 1955. A blizzard 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 1am to 5am. Romantic or quasi-romantic relationships ensue as they wait out the storm.  The original Broadway production was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1956 including Best Play.

Cast Breakdown:
Cherie is only nineteen, dressed in sequins and sandals, clearly inappropriate for the weather and circumstances. Her makeup is overdone, with too much lipstick and eyeliner. But Cherie is from the backwoods of Alabama and her idea of style is what she had read in old movie magazines. Southern accent a must.
 
Bo Decker is a young ranch-owner from Montana. He falls head-over-heels for a nightclub singer named Cherie. In fact, he has whisked her onto a bus with the assumption that the young lady will marry him.  But he is really clueless about women having lived on a ranch his whole life.
 
Virgil Blessing is Bo's best friend, a fellow cowboy and father-figure, the wisest and kindest of the bus passengers. Throughout the play, he tries to educate Bo on the ways of women and the "civilized" world outside of Montana.

 

 

Dr. Gerald Lyman is a retired college professor. While at the bus stop cafe, he enjoys reciting poetry, flirting with the teen-age waitress, and steadily increasing his blood-alcohol levels. He is hiding a deep, dark secret.

Will Masters is the tough-but-fair sheriff. Think of Andy Griffith's amiable nature backed up by Chuck Norris' ability to kick butt. That's Will Masters in a nutshell.
 
Carl is the bus driver. Grace is sweet on him and he seems to be interested in her, but only as a sexual tryst when he is in town. He declines to answer questions on his marital status.

Grace is the owner of the little restaurant. She is set in her ways, having gotten used to being alone. She is friendly, but not trusting. Grace doesn't get too attached to people, making the bus stop an ideal setting for her.

Elma Duckworth, the diner's young waitress, is the antithesis of Grace. Elma represents youth and naiveté. She lends a sympathetic ear to the misbegotten characters, especially the old professor.

The director requests that you read the play and be familiar with the characters. There will be cold reading from the script. Please bring your headshot, resume, and appointment calendar with you as the rehearsal schedule will be posted. Advance appointments are not necessary, but please arrive before 8:30pm to audition.

For more information about Kentwood Players including our current production, upcoming auditions, and our Kentwood Kids Children's Theatre Classes, please visit the Kentwood Players website at www.kentwoodplayers.org. And you can also sign up and be a Kentwood Players friend on Facebook and My Space.

To meet the "Bus Stop" production team and learn more about Kentwood Players and what goes on at the Westchester Playhouse, the public is invited to attend our general membership meetings, which are free and held on the third Wednesday of each month at 8pm at the Westchester Playhouse located two blocks west of the San Diego Freeway and two blocks north of Manchester at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045.

 

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