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By The Way, Meet Vera Stark

SYNOPSIS

In a new comedy from the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright of Ruined, Lynn Nottage draws upon the screwball films of the 1930s to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is a seventy-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come. (Synopsis provided by Dramatists)

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN

Please note that all roles except Vera and Gloria are double cast

VERA STARK

(African American) – appears in her 20s, and then again in her 60s; beautiful, smart, funny and willful; works as an assistant to the famed actress of the moment, Gloria Mitchell, until she gets her own big break; her subsequent career does not play out as she perhaps anticipated it would.

GLORIA MITCHELL

(Caucasian) – character appears in her 20s, and then again in her 60s. Movie star. Vain, melodramatic and self-absorbed (though not without irony at her own occasional absurdities). Works tirelessly to preserve an air of glamour as she fights to stay afloat in Hollywood.

LEROY BARKSDALE / HERB FORRESTER

(African American)
Leroy: Brazen and endearingly pompous. Chauffeur of famed film director Max von Oster;a love interest for Vera.
Herb: Smart, savvy and articulate contemporary filmmaker/musician, fascinated by Vera’s celebrity.

 

LOTTIE / CARMEN LEVY-GREEN

(African American)

Lottie: Vera’s cynical and witty roommate, also an actress.

Carmen: Respected, intelligent college professor with strong views on what happened to Vera in later years

 

ANNA MAE / AFUA ASSATA EJOBO

(African American)
Anna Mae: Vera’s sassy, sexy and overconfident roommate. Her complexion allows her to pass as a Latina to score a big role. Nothing is beneath her.
Afua: Modern-day poet, journalist and performer with her own staunch opinions on the late Vera.

 

SLASVICK / BRAD

(Caucasian)
Slasvick: Attractive, well-groomed and wealthy studio executive with less-than-stellar social skills.

 

Brad: Smooth-talking 1970s talk-show host with an appealing (if over-the-top) personality.

 

MAXIMILLIAN VON OSTER / PETER RHYS-DAVIES

(Caucasian)

Von Oster: Russian. Highly conceited, famous film director with an inflexible artistic vision.
Rhys-Davies: Groovy 1970s rock musician.

 

AUDITION INFO

Actors need to be prepared for a cold-reading from the script and should have a basic knowledge of the play.
***Women may be asked to sing during callbacks; anything along the lines of Happy Birthday, Amazing Grace, or The Star Spangled Banner is fine, some characters sing in the play and this gives a chance to place your voice.

FIRST REHEARSAL

To Be Announced

Return to Spring 2015 Audition Posts