Lynn Nottage’s multifaceted play By the Way, Meet Vera Stark — half screwball comedy, half piercing interrogation of Hollywood's treatment of Black actors — was a thrilling challenge to mount virtually. The unique structure of the script, with Act 2 taking the form of an extended talkback (and a recorded video within that talkback) allowed us to create a show that felt enhanced, rather than hindered, by the technical specifications of Zoom. (See below for some of our tricks!) And of course, getting to collaborate with a brilliant team that spanned the United States was a much-needed balm during the isolation of the pandemic.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Nina Goodheart
Producers: Vimbai Ushe and Elle Buellesbach
Stage Manager: Elle Buellesbach
Assistant Director: Aïssa Guindo
Dramaturg: Sophie Hall
Score: Hayden Baker Kline
Additional cinematography: Lukas Cox

CAST

Vera Stark: Vimbai Ushe
Gloria Mitchell: Simone Policano
Leroy Barksdale / Herb Forrester: Kezie Nwachukwu
Lottie McBride / Carmen Levy-Green: Rayo Oyeyemi
Anna Mae Simpkins / Afua Assata Ejobo: Anita Norman
Frederick Slasvick / Brad Donovan: Chris Quazzo
Maximillian von Oster / Peter Rhys-Davies: Will Champion

An interview with Leroy Barksdale.

A little Zoom wizardry meant that when the panelists hit “pause,” the actors would actually freeze.