Casting Call for "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" Stage Play
The company is holding auditions for the play "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" and seeking actors. Please refer to the provided information for further details. ONLY LOCAL TALENT WILL BE CONSIDERED. About the project: A 70-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong Black maid and budding actress – a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Vera Stark works as a maid to Gloria Mitchell, an aging movie star grasping at her fading career. Rubbing shoulders with studio heads and movie directors, Vera lands a prominent role in a costume epic starring Gloria, but it is Vera’s portrayal of a slave turns that out to be groundbreaking and career-making. However, decades later, scholars and film buffs still argue about Vera’s legacy in Hollywood, and the impact that race had on her controversial career. Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage uses the pace and satire of 1930s movie comedies to take you on a seventy-year journey through Vera’s life and the cultural climate that shaped her Additional info: Production Dates: May 19, 20, 26, 27, 28 and June 2, 3, 2023 WHAT TO PREPARE: There will be readings from the script. Sides will be available online closer to audition dates. Actors will be required to show proof of vaccination and are strongly encouraged to wear a mask when not reading
7 roles
Female Identifying – Character first appears in her 20s, and then later in her 60s; smart, funny, willful; works as an assistant to a famous Hollywood actress, Gloria Mitchell, until she gets her own big break; her subsequent career does not play out as she perhaps anticipated it would; actors who can sing are a plus.
Female Identifying – Character first appears in her 20s, and then later in her 60s; movie star. Vain, melodramatic and self-absorbed; works tirelessly to preserve an air of glamour as she fights to stay relevant in Hollywood; actors who can sing are a plus.
Leroy: Brazen and endearingly pompous. Chauffeur of famed film director Max von Oster, and a love interest for Vera. Herb: Smart, savvy and articulate contemporary filmmaker/musician, fascinated by Vera’s celebrity.
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: Vera’s sassy, sexy and overconfident roommate. Her light 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 Vera.
Slasvick: Well-groomed and wealthy studio executive with less-than-stellar social skills. Brad: Smooth-talking 1970s talk-show host with an appealing, over-the-top personality.
Von Oster: Russian. Highly conceited, famous film director with an inflexible artistic vision. Rhys-Davies: Groovy 1970s rock musician. Actor must have facility with accents.
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