It’s late summer, 1973, in Bluff City, Alabama. Four life long friends are fresh out of college, but have some free time before the future claims them. Sandy, Bracken, Lois and Terry are very different individuals, but they haven’t lived long enough for that to affect their friendship. One afternoon as they lounge around Big Bridge at the lake, a mysterious older man named Mose Jordan appears. His talk of a strange world on the “other side” launches Sandy and Bracken off on an adventure, an adventure which Lois and Terry decline to accept. Dirt follows the two pairs, one on a quest across America, searching for meaning, the other content to build a home in Bluff City. But meaning can be elusive, especially if you don’t have roots to grab when life gets slippery. Roots that grow deep in the Dirt.
Dirt is written and composed by Chuck Puckett.
Character Descriptions
Sandy Loomis. Woman, 19-25. Loves adventure, or at least believes that she does. She wants to go somewhere, somehow. And preferably somewhere else. Nevertheless, her roots are definitely in her home soil. She is in love with Bracken.
Bracken Thomas. Man, 19-25. Sandy’s soul mate. A different ilk, though: he’s a thinker, the weird one, who believes that The Answer is Out There Somewhere. Doesn’t have a tie to his roots, and thus no staying power when times get rough.
Lois Mudd. Woman, 19-25. Sandy’s best friend, but of a decidedly different temperament. A stay at home, very country girl. Lois and Sandy were in school together, might have been in the same sorority, certainly roomed together all through college.
Terry Clay. Man, 19-25. Bracken’s best friend, and Lois’ soon to be newlywed husband, although he doesn’t know it. A real nutcase, paranoid about the government and the Illuminati. NRA and hunting and fishing and beer.
Mose Jordan. Man, 40-60. The penultimate mysterious old man who shows up wherever Sandra and Bracken go.
Lissa. Woman, 14-17. Sandy’s eventual daughter, an extremely self-assured tomboy who is fearless and disarming. She has her mother’s deep-rooted security combined with her father’s almost cosmic curiosity.
Terry, Jr. Man, 15-17. Lois and Terry’s son. Much like his father.
Creek Chorus. 4-8 men and women (depending on availability) who become (at need) crowds, friends, perform scene changes, even act as scenery. One of them plays the part of Lissa and one of them plays Terry, Jr.
Scripts and Music
Obtain a perusal copy of the script.
Listen to/look at some of the musical scores.
Look forward to a staged reading of Dirt at Renaissance Theatre in Huntsville, Alabama, September 2008.