BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK
– Equity Principal Auditions
Second Stage Theatre Off-Broadway $730/week minimum.
Playwright: Lynn Nottage
Dir: Jo Bonney
Casting: MelCap Casting
1st reh: 3/8/11. Runs 4/5/11 - 5/29/11.
Equity Principal Auditions:
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 Actors' Equity Association Audition Center
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM 165 West 46th Street, 2nd Floor
Lunch from 1 - 2. New York City
Please prepare a brief, contemporary monologue. Please bring a picture & resume, stapled together.
World premiere. 70-year journey into 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 controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come.
Seeking (all roles are available):
Vera Stark:
African American woman; character 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. Actors who can sing are a plus.
Gloria Mitchell:
Caucasian woman; 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. Actors who can sing are a plus.
Leroy Barksdale / Herb Forrester:
Male, African American, 20s-30s. 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 / Carmen Levy-Green:
Female, African American, 20s-30s. Overweight. Attractive. 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:
Female, African American, 20s-30s. 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 the late Vera.
Slasvick / Brad:
Male, Caucasian, 40-60. 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:
Male, Caucasian, 30-45. 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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