In the Spotlife: Sean Scrutchins of 'Bus Stop'

Sean Scrutchins Arvada Center 'Bus Stop.' M. Gale Photography
Sean Scrutchins in the Arvada Center ‘Bus Stop.’ M. Gale Photography.

(The DCPA NewsCenter regularly profiles actors performing in theatre productions throughout the state of Colorado.)

MEET SEAN SCRUTCHINS

Sean Scrutchins, who plays Bo Decker in the Arvada Center’s ‘Bus Stop,’ is a DCPA Teaching Artist who won the 2012 Henry Award for Best Actor (‘9 Circles’) and the 2014 Henry Award for Best Ensemble (‘The Whipping Man‘), both at Curious Theatre. 

  • Hometown: Shawnee, Okla.
  • Home now: Denver
  • High School: Shawnee High School
  • Sean Scrutchins Quote College: BFA from the University of Central Oklahoma and MFA from the University of Southern Mississippi
  • What have you done for us lately? I played Damis in the Arvada Center’s Tartuffe
  • What’s next? I will be playing Guildenstern this summer in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival‘s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (opening July 21)
  • What is Bus Stop all about? The setting is 1955 Kansas, where a blizzard has stranded a bus of passengers in a small Kansas town diner. Stuck inside, people are forced to deal with each other and themselves. Everyone has something to learn and share about how to live and love one another.
  • Tell us about the challenge of playing Bo Decker: Bo is a young cowboy inexperienced with women. He’s spent all his life on a ranch and now has fallen in love with a nightclub singer named Cherie. The character has a challenging journey as overnight he transforms from an inexperienced bucking bronco with no clue how to behave around women into a mature and humbled young man. This transformative journey, mixed with a strong Montana accent – and some really tight Wrangler jeans – makes Bo a very challenging feat.
  • What do you love most about this theatre community? I love this city! I’m from small-town Oklahoma. I lived in a small town in the Deep South for four years and spent several summers along the East Coast. Nothing compares to the Mile High City. It’s a mecca of culture for this part of the country. Anything from art, food, craft beer, outdoors and innovation is at my fingertips. Anyone who lives here and isn’t appreciative of its beauty and intrigue should try living where I’ve lived for a while.Devon James Full Code Michael Ensminger
  • What’s one thing most people don’t know about you? My career as an actor was decided on a coin flip. While looking at colleges, I was either going to pursue my passion for theatre or my passion of the outdoors as a National Park Ranger. I am not exaggerating. The day before enrolling in either the University of Central Oklahoma for theatre or Eastern Oklahoma State for Ranger School, I flipped a coin. It landed heads, and that gave me the amazing life I have today. I am doing theatre in a wonderful community with my talented my wife, Devon, and adorable 2-year-old son, Liam. I’m thankful for how it turned out (but I still fantasize sometimes about wearing that green-and-khaki ranger uniform).

    (Pictured above: Sean Scrutchins’ wife, Devon James, recently appeared in the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s world-premiere play Full Code.’ Photo by Michael Ensminger.)

  • Sean Scrutchins Arvada Center 'Bus Stop.' M. Gale PhotographyWhat’s one thing you want to get off your chest? I think this country needs to have a Bus Stop-ian scenario, where everyone is forced to deal with one another stuck inside. Unable to move forward or back, we must face each other. Listen to each other. Learn from each other. We’re all on the same bus headed to the same destination, so why not unify and fight for each other? It’s easy to distance ourselves from others when they aren’t sitting across the table from you. The true challenge we face as a citizenry, if we’re ever going to move forward, is to seek understanding and to empathize. 

  • Arvada Center‘s Bus Stop: Ticket information

    • Written by William Inge
    • Directed by Allison Watrous
    • Feb. 24-April 15
    • In the black-box theatre
    • Performances:

    7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays
    1 p.m. Wednesdays
    2 p.m. Sundays
    Also 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29

    • 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.
    • Tickets $45
    • Info: 720-898-7200 or the arvada center’s home page

    (Photo at right: Sean Scrutchins and Emily Van Fleet in the Arvada Center ‘Bus Stop.’ M. Gale Photography.)

    Cast list:


    • Emily Van Fleet as Cherie)
    • Sean Scrutchins as Bo
    • Kate Gleason as Grace
    • Sam Gregory as Dr. Lyman
    • Geoffrey Kent as Will
    • Michael Morgan as Virgil
    • Jenna Moll Reyes as Elma
    • Josh Robinson as Carl

    Sean Scrutchins in Arvada Center's 'Tartuffe.' M Gale Photography
    Sean Scrutchins as Damis in the Arvada Center’s recent production of ‘Tartuffe.’ M. Gale Photography.

    More ‘In the Spotlife’ profiles:
    Meet Lauren Bahlman of Wide-Eyed West’s theMumblings
    Meet Mark Collins of And Toto Too’s Lost Creatures
    Meet Carley Cornelius of Colorado Springs TheatreWorks’ Constellations
    Meet Emily Paton Davies of Miners Alley Playhouse’s God of Carnage
    Meet Sam Gregory of the Arvada Center’s Tartuffe

    Meet John Hauser of Curious Theatre’s Hand to God
    Meet Jim Hunt of Buntport’s The Zeus Probem
    Meet Jeff Jesmer of Spotlight Theatre’sThe Crucible
    Meet Wayne Kennedy of BDT Stage’s Mid-Life 2
    Meet Seth Maisel of Town Hall Arts Center’s The Firestorm
    Meet Tim McCracken of Local Theatre’s The Firestorm
    Meet Angela Mendez of Beauty and the Beast
    Meet Joelle Montoya of Su Teatro’s El Sol Que Tu Eres
    Meet Anne Oberbroeckling of Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s Ripcord
    Meet Jessica Robblee of Buntport Theatre for All Ages’ Siren Song: A Pirate Odyssey
    Meet Cory Sapienza of Miners Alley Playhouse’s Hir
    Meet Jane Shirley of Santa’s Big Red Sack
    Meet Petra Ulyrich of Germinal Stage-Denver’s Johnny Got His Gun
    Meet Megan Van De Hey of the Arvada Center’s Sister Act
    Meet Sharon Kay White of the Arvada Center’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas





    More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

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