Audition: Bus Stop by William Inge – Village Players
Audition: Bus Stop by William Inge – Village Players
May 15, 2025 | TRL ARTS
BUS STOP by William Inge
Directed by Larry Westlake
Producers: Heather Lacey & Julie Rush
ON STAGE: September 12 – October 4, 2025
(Non-union, non-paying. We are unable to cast equity or ACTRA members.)
AUDITIONS and CALLBACKS will be held in person at the VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE, 2190E Bloor St. West (around the corner from Runnymede subway station) at the following dates and times:
- Monday, June 9: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
- Wednesday, June 11: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
- Saturday, June 14: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
- CALLBACKS to be determined, if required.
REHEARSALS & PERFORMANCES will be held at the Village Playhouse. As it is summer, our rehearsal schedule is as follows (evenings except afternoons on Sundays):
Actors must also be available for all of Tech Sunday, September 7; for the Tech Week evenings of Monday through Thursday, September 8 to 11; and for all performances:
- Friday, September 12 – Saturday (matinée), September 13
- Wednesday, September 17 – Sunday (matinée), September 21
- Thursday, September 25 – Sunday (matinée), September 28
- Thursday, October 2 – Saturday, October 4
Actors are also expected to stay for a short wine & cheese reception with the patrons after Opening Night (Friday, September 12) and the short audience Talkback after the show on Thursday, October 2.
THE PLAY: Bus Stop is a 1955 play by American playwright William Inge, author of Picnic and Come Back, Little Sheba.
THE STORY: In a severe snow storm, a bus is stranded overnight at a diner 25m outside of Kansas City. Five passengers are forced to stay overnight, and as the passengers start to get to know each other and the locals, sparks may start flying.
CHARACTERS: Character ages are approximate, and all ethnicities are welcome.
Grace Hoylard (40ish) – Owner of the diner. She is 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 (17) – An intelligent, but naive and impressionable high school girl working as a waitress at the diner.
Will Masters (50ish) – The local sheriff. Brusque in manner, but goodhearted and described as a “deacon of his church”.
Dr. Gerald Lyman (50 to 60ish) – A college philosophy professor who is articulate and charming but cannot hold a position partially due to his taste for young women and a drinking problem.
Cherie (early 20s) – A pretty young woman who comes from a difficult “hill folk” background. She is an aspiring nightclub singer, but has never worked above the level of “cheap dive”. (Please, no Marilyn Monroe impersonators.)
Bo Decker (early 20s) – A brash young cowboy with boorish manners that hide a naivete almost as profound as Elma’s. He believes that Cherie will be his bride, although she wants nothing to do with him.
Virgil Blessing (40ish) – An older, wiser cowboy who has become a father figure to Bo and serves as his head ranch hand. (Should be able to play guitar, or willing to learn a few chords.)
Carl (40ish) – The bus driver, who has an ongoing “just passing through” relationship with Grace that is purely friends with benefits.
PREPARATION:
- Auditionees must read the play (reading copy can be provided on request, hardcopy script also available from the Toronto Public Library):
- Please prepare a 1 minute monologue with no accents.
- There will also be a cold read from the play, where accents can be used.
TO BOOK AN AUDITION: Please email a copy of your headshot and resume to villageplayersauditions@gmail.com with your preferred date, time, interested role(s), and contact information. Once we receive and confirm your details, we will give you a day and time for your audition and provide access to a script if requested.
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