{"id":83745,"date":"2023-02-21T11:36:12","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T11:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=83745"},"modified":"2023-02-24T19:38:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T19:38:42","slug":"uri-theatre-takes-irreverent-look-at-racial-stereotypes-in-hollywood-with-by-the-way-meet-vera-stark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2023\/02\/uri-theatre-takes-irreverent-look-at-racial-stereotypes-in-hollywood-with-by-the-way-meet-vera-stark\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre takes irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood with \u2018By the Way, Meet Vera Stark\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Feb. 21, 2023 \u2013 Hollywood\u2019s golden age wasn\u2019t so golden if you were an aspiring Black actor. Just ask Vera Stark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you check out the 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre Department\u2019s spring semester opener, you\u2019ll meet Vera Stark, a Black maid working for a white Hollywood star, Gloria Mitchell, known as \u201cAmerica\u2019s little sweetie-pie.\u201d Vera dreams of her own career in the pictures as she runs lines with Gloria. But it\u2019s 1930s Hollywood and being a Black actor means \u2013 if you can land an audition \u2013 accepting roles as slaves, maids and mammies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"oembed oembed-youtu-be\" style=\"\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/4PmvTfYpMnc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"By The Way, Meet Vera Stark 2023\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4PmvTfYpMnc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lynn Nottage\u2019s 2011 play, \u201cBy the Way, Meet Vera Stark,\u201d which opens Saturday, Feb. 25, in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Robert E. Will Theatre for a seven-show run, tells the story of Stark in the style of a 1930s screwball comedy as it takes a satirical look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with her boss Gloria, Vera \u2013 and her roommates Lottie McBride and Anna Mae Simpkins \u2013 land a part in an Antebellum epic, \u201cThe Belle of New Orleans.\u201d For Vera, the role of devoted servant to Gloria\u2019s character in the film colors her whole career, with critics debating her legacy decades later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-708x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83749\" width=\"348\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-708x1024.jpg 708w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-768x1111.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-1062x1536.jpg 1062w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-364x526.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-500x723.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-1000x1446.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2-1280x1851.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2023\/02\/Vera-Stark-photo2.jpg 1383w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 348px) 100vw, 348px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Nottage, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, researched Black actresses of the era and based the role of Vera on Theresa Harris, who played maids and servants opposite white stars for decades. Visiting director Don Mays says Nottage gives a full view of how Black actors and the roles that were available to them were looked upon inside and outside Hollywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVera\u2019s decision to take on the role is based on the only thing that was available to Black actors at the time, and Lynn Nottage does a great job of satirizing those choices,\u201d said Mays, a member of Providence\u2019s Wilbury Theatre Group. \u201cAt one point, Vera says, \u2018I\u2019m gonna get to play a slave \u2026 <em>with lines<\/em>,\u2019 as opposed to just being background fodder. To have a role, even one as a slave, was big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut then there&#8217;s the pushback from people who ask why must we do these roles? We\u2019re not doing ourselves any favors by taking on these roles and creating false images of who we are as a people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kafui Glover \u201923, who plays Vera Stark, says she wanted to be in the play from the first time she read it because it\u2019s very funny and because of its powerful story. She also wants to honor Black actresses who\u2019ve worked hard to prove themselves in an unforgiving occupation, and hopes she inspires others.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have learned so much about the historical side of this play,\u201d said Glover, a theater major in acting from Providence. \u201cI\u2019ve learned what determination and endurance look and sound like. The obstacles in these time periods did not slow anyone down, especially Vera. I think this story is like nothing we have seen at 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre in a long time.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sabrina Youn \u201924, plays Lottie and Carmen Levy-Green, who appears in act two as an expert debating Vera\u2019s legacy 70 years after the making of \u201cThe Belle of New Orleans.\u201d Youn says Lottie is honest and hilarious, but even when she is not acting in stereotypical roles, her character is one. But Carmen, a well-established scholar, represents what Black women can be.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Youn says the play stands out because the characters are specifically written for Black actors. \u201cBecause most popular plays weren\u2019t written for people of color, it is very rare when I get the opportunity to actually see myself playing certain roles,\u201d said Youn, a theater major in acting from Central Falls. \u201cThe name of the play, \u2018By the Way, Meet Vera Stark,\u2019 is a message in itself because there were many actresses who mirrored the life of Vera, but are simply just forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>EJ Caraveo \u201924, of Tiverton, plays Gloria, who seems the stereotypical 1930s actress but has a lot more going on under the surface, Caraveo says. \u201cThe play is so wonderfully done,\u201d said Caraveo. \u201cNottage has created such a creatively crafted piece of theater that is not only fun, but immensely important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fast-paced play spans 70 years, starting with Vera\u2019s first steps toward stardom in the 1930s. In the second act, her career and life are dissected through a 1973 talk show and a 2003 colloquium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Staging a play with such a time span has tested cast and crew, Mays says. The set, designed by alumna Renee Surprenant-Fitzgerald, serves as the stylish, Art Deco apartment of Gloria and the flat for Vera, Anna Mae and Lottie, while switching in act two to spaces for the colloquium and talk show. Costume designer Jaimy Escobedo, a theater alumnus, has designed outfits for four distinct eras \u2013 including costumes for a film clip of \u201cThe Belle of New Orleans\u201d shot for the play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the seven actors \u2013 all from Rhode Island \u2013 have had to create characters that fit into each era. Glover and Caraveo go from 1930s Hollywood starlets gliding and talking with a lilt to aged actors with gravelly smokers\u2019 voices, Mays says. The rest of the cast each play two roles, each distinctive from the other.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve learned how to move as someone who lived in the 1930s and 1970s,\u201d said Caraveo, a theater major in acting and costume design. \u201cThe way people talk and walk in these eras are so vastly different than modern day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A key member of the team that has helped cast and crew faithfully recreate drastically different time periods has been David Weber, the play\u2019s dramaturg. Weber\u2019s work has included creating an annotated script explaining references and terms that might be outdated and confusing, and providing information on real-life people that could help the actors create their characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWorking on the play has been so fun,\u201d said Weber \u201924, a physics and theater major from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. \u201cThere are so many different time periods that the play visits. I\u2019m walking away from this production with so many historical facts and an in-depth knowledge of early Hollywood, especially the African American actresses who have been overlooked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pardon our appearance: <\/strong>The Fine Arts Center, home of the Will Theatre, is undergoing construction, so patrons must use the theater entrance in the back of the building, accessed from the parking lot on Bills Road. Look for the marked entrance to the right of the fenced off construction area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cBy the Way, Meet Vera Stark\u201d<\/strong> runs Feb. 25 and March 1-4 at 7:30 p.m. and on Feb. 26 and March 5 at 2 p.m. in Will Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston Campus. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $15 for senior citizens and 溏心vlog免费B站 students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/app.arts-people.com\/index.php?preseason=uri\">online<\/a> or by calling (401) 874-5843. For more information on tickets and the University\u2019s COVID-19 policy, go to the ticket <a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/theatre\/buy-tickets\/\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cBy the Way, Meet Vera Stark\u201d cast:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Character, Actor, Hometown<\/em><br>Vera Stark, Kafui Glover, Providence<br>Gloria Mitchell, EJ Caraveo, Tiverton<br>Lotte McBride\/Carmen Levy-Green, Sabrina Youn, Central Falls<br>Anna Mae Simpkins\/Afua Assata Ejobo, Ayrin Ramirez Peguero, Providence<br>Leroy Barksdale\/Herb Forrester, David Santana, Providence<br>Fredrick Slasvick\/Brad Donovan, Matt Perrotta, Cranston<br>Maxmillian Von Oster\/Peter Rhys-Davies, Liam Roberts, Warwick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Feb. 21, 2023 \u2013 Hollywood\u2019s golden age wasn\u2019t so golden if you were an aspiring Black actor. Just ask Vera Stark. If you check out the 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre Department\u2019s spring semester opener, you\u2019ll meet Vera Stark, a Black maid working for a white Hollywood star, Gloria Mitchell, known as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":83746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83745"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83876,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83745\/revisions\/83876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}