Everyman Theatre: Race and Representation: “Our greatest accomplishment. Our greatest shame.”

On Saturday, April 26 at 5:00 PM, Everyman Theatre will host a panel discussion on How Women's Voices Changed Our Culture in conjunction with the production of By the Way, Meet Vera Starks by Lynn Nottage. Hosted by radio personality Marc Steiner, panelists will include: Jacqueline Lawton (Dramaturg and Playwright), Dr. Kimberly Moffitt (Professor of American Studies), and Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zoe (Lecturer of Theatre Arts & Associate Artistic Director at Banished? Productions.

It's the height of 1930s Hollywood. Film studios are filled with glitz, glamor, and eager starlets just waiting to be discovered. Enter Vera Stark, a determined and headstrong African-American maid to a white movie star. But it turns out that Vera is an actress, too! When the stars align and both actresses are cast in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with an unexpected and controversial legacy scholars will question for decades to come. Deliciously funny and wildly entertaining, Vera Starkuses today's obsession and fascination with tabloids and celebrity gossip to get to the truth behind this mysterious legend of Hollywood.  

What is the personal cost of being a forerunner - a barrier breaker? Through her storytelling, Lynn Nottage reminds us of those who are marginalized by circumstance, yet fervently trying to assert their presence. Join our next World of the Play panel as we examine the impact of racial stereotypes within the entertainment industry and the effect on our communities and greater culture.

Click here to learn more and here to purchase tickets. 

---

Jacqueline Lawton was named one of the top 30 of the nation's leading black playwrights by Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute. She has received commissions from Active Cultures Theater, Discovery Theater, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of American History, Round House Theatre and Theater J. Ms. Lawton is a member of Arena Stage's Playwright's Arena. 

---

Dr. Kimberly Moffitt holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communications from Howard University. She is a Professor of American Studies at University of Maryland Baltimore County where she focuses her courses on popular culture, intercultural communications and media studies. Her research interests include representations of sports stars and sporting events, hair/body politics, media representations of people of African descent

---

Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zoe is an Associate Artistic Director atbanished? productions, Lecturer of Theatre Arts at Howard University, Series Editor for NoPassport Press's Dreaming the Americas Series, and freelance dramaturg. He has developed new works with such organizations as The Sundance Institute, Kennedy Center, Theatre J, Arena Stage and Center Stage.

---

Everyman Theatre is an intimate Equity theatre with a resident company of artists from the Baltimore/Washington area, dedicated to producing quality plays that are accessible and affordable to everyone. Everyman Theatre is a professional Equity theatre company celebrating the actor, with the resident company of artists from the Baltimore/DC area. Founded in 1990 by Vincent Lancisi, the theatre is dedicated to engaging the audience through a shared experience between actor and audience seeking connection and emotional truth in performance.

---