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COLOR PRINTING PROVIDED BY RIVERRUN PRESS; ART DIRECTION BY JANET GOVER; GRAPHIC DESIGN BY TAMARA DIAMOND

THE KALAMAZOO CIVIC THEATRE

329 South Park Street | Kalamazoo | Michigan | 49007

APRIL 21ST - APRIL 30THTHE CARVER CENTER STUDIO • COMEDY

SENIOR CLASS READER’S THEATRE

A dining room is the heart of any home wheremeals are shared and stories are told. Join us forthis glimpse into the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the familyassembles daily for breakfast, dinner and specialoccasions. A humorous and compassionate seriesof overlapping vignettes introduces a new set ofpeople and events in each scene – some touching,some funny, some contrite, but all interwovenaround the significance and timelessness of thedining room table and exploring the vibrant relationships of family life.

For TICKETS Call269-343-1313

or visit www.KazooCivic.com

2016-2017 Senior Class Reader’s Theatre Season Presenter:

By A.R. Gurney

TICKETSON SALE APRIL 10th

BOX OFFICE: 269-343-1313 BUSINESS OFFICE: 269-343-2280 WEB: www.KazooCivic.com FOLLOW US ON:

APRIL 2017Kalamazoo’s Community Theatre

t’s 1933, and every aspiring actress in Hollywood wants the lead role in the upcoming antebellum

epic “The Belle of New Orleans.” Long suffering African-American maid Vera Stark is enlisted to help wine anddine some Hollywood bigshots to make sure her boss,fading starlet Gloria Mitchell, wins the lead role.Meanwhile Vera and two of her friends are determined towin their own roles in the epic, even though Vera onceswore she would never put on a head rag to play a slave,even one of those rare roles for “a slave with lines!”

Hilarious and poignant, the play by Lynn Nottagepaints a revealing picture of the early days in Hollywoodthat shaped Vera as a mysterious screen queen and inanother time and place, who she might have been.

Fast forward to the 1970’s in the second act, whereboth actresses meet again on a talk show to discuss thedecisions they made throughout their careers, and pickat the scars they inflicted on each other forty years prior.The decisions they made years earlier affected not onlytheir careers, but also their fame, their futures and thestory behind the cameras no one ever really knew.

Drawing upon the screwball films of the 1930’s, Bythe Way, Meet Vera Stark is a funny and irreverent lookat racial stereotypes in Hollywood, but one begins towonder, what progress has been made? MarissaHarrington, who plays Vera Stark, believes this is a verycomplicated issue. “Show business in general has historically been very segregated and people of colorwere “allowed” to be represented. Unfortunately, in

these situations it was not our own people writing ourstories. Characters were written based on stereotypesand prejudices. So, this is what you saw represented.Mammies, drug dealers, maids, pimps, gangsters, youname it. Black people have not had the luxury of havingthe artistic flexibility of other races. Do I think thatprogress has been made? Absolutely. Do I think we havea long way to go? Of course. I will think that we’veachieved progress when more people of color are represented more frequently on screen and stage, withdiverse characters - not just the roles for black people.”

Director Emily Campbell Berezowsky faces a uniquechallenge tackling this piece where the action spans 70years. She feels that since storytelling in theatre isbound only by the audience’s imagination, if a clear orderof information is created, then the audience will travelback and forth in time with the production. She recentlysaid, “Age is a funny thing. People often say they stillfeel twenty-five inside, even though they might be threetimes that in physical age. I appreciate that in By theWay, Meet Vera Stark, we experience Vera, Gloria andLeroy in two distinct eras of their lives, but really thecharacters in these scenes operate, manipulate, and perform at 63 much as they did at 28. I don’t need to seethem ‘old’ to understand that they have lived complicatedlives over the course of the intermission! That is mydelight in this play.”

Don’t miss your chance to ‘meet Vera Stark’ in herquest for fame in this Kalamazoo area premiere.

PERFORMANCE DATES:

By Lynn Nottage

BY THE WAY,MEET VERA STARKPRODUCTION TEAM:Director: Emily Campbell BerezowskyScenic Designer: Katie TulinCostume/Hair/Makeup Designer: Rebecca SchaferLighting/Sound Designer: AnnMarie MillerProperties Master: Stacy BartellTechnical Director: Phillip A. MillerStage Manager: Kelsey Dunne

CAST:Vera Stark: Marissa HarringtonGloria Mitchell: Stefani BishopLeroy Barksdale/Herb Forrester: Brandon NewsonLottie McBride/Carmen Levy-Green:

Charlotte A. Thomas * +

Anna Mae Simpkins/Afua Assata Ejobo: Erika Rasmussen * +

Mr. Slasvick/Brad Donovan: Guy Hauke *

Maxmillian Von Oster/Peter Rhys-Davies: Lars J. Loofboro +

CREW:Assistant Stage Manager/Playback Operator:

Dusti MortonAssistant Stage Manager/Floor Manager:

Chandra HossLight Board Operator: Eric Bliar SherfieldSound Board Operator: Jan WatsonFloor Crew: Sierra Hoss, Graham Lape-Shoub,

Sarah Mount, Reed Shilts, RJ Soule

* Denotes Civic Debutv Denotes First-time Crew Member+ Denotes Academy of Theatre Arts Student

ASL Interpreted performance

Friday April 7th 7:30pmSaturday April 8th 7:30pmSunday April 9th 2:00pmFriday April 14th 7:30pmSaturday April 15th 7:30pmFriday April 21st 7:30pmSaturday April 22nd 7:30pmSunday April 23rd 2:00pm

IAre You Ready to Meet Vera Stark?

PICTURED ABOVE (LEFT TO RIGHT):Stefani Bishop as Gloria Mitchell and Marissa Harrington

as Vera Stark in By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.

2016-2017 Civic Main Season Presenter:

h

UPCOMING AT A GLANCE

‘SISTER ACT’ IN REHEARSAL ‘BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK’PHOTO SHOOT

The Dining Room (SCRT) & Sister ActTICKETS GO ON SALEApril 10 at 10:00am

here is always lots going on at the Civic Theatre, but springtime is especially busy.

The southwest Michigan premiere of By the Way,Meet Vera Stark is playing in the Parish Theatrethrough April 23. You won’t want tomiss this funny and irreverent look atracial stereotypes in Hollywood thatis sure to be a conversation starter!

We are also in rehearsal for ourfinal shows this season: the SeniorClass Reader’s Theatre production ofThe Dining Room, Civic YouthTheatre’s The Borrowers, and theCivic’s retired Managing DirectorJames C. Carver has returned todirect our uplifting and joyful closingmusical Sister Act.

Spring also finds us preparing forour next season. Meetings with ourproduction designers are alreadyunderway as they conceptualize andstart designing our next season.Marketing materials are being created to keep everyone informed on what’s coming up, and the boxoffice is preparing to start selling season tickets forour 89th season beginning May 1st!

At the Academy of Theatre Arts, we are alsopreparing for another fun and exciting summer.There are classes for any age – from 3-103! Ourclasses for 3-5 year olds are always popular and

there are two classes to choose fromthis summer. Students ages 6-15can choose from classes whichfocus on ensemble building, sceneand voice work, movement, andeven classes for technical theatre.(FYI - we are also offering a specialdance class - For Boys Only: Billy’sBasics, to help boys 9-15 get readyto audition for our May 2018 seasoncloser, Billy Elliot!) There are twoSummer Day Camps scheduled for students ages 9-18. And – by popular demand – adults can get alittle exercise and have fun at thesame time in our Tap Dance series.

Whether you are young or justyoung at heart, the Academy offers a

lifetime of learning. The summer session catalog isnow available. If you haven’t received a printed copy,stop by the Civic to pick one up or call the businessoffice and we can put one in the mail for you. Or ifyou find it more convenient, you may also visit our

website at KazooCivic.com and click on the Educationtab to view and register for any of our summer classesor camps online. Financial aid is available for all agesand each of the classes and camp sessions.

See you at the theatre!

Stephen CarverExecutive Director

Spring Has Sprung at the Civic!T

Stephen CarverExecutive Director

ACADEMY OF THEATRE ARTS ‘BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK’MOVIE SHOOT AT HENDERSON CASTLE

‘DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR.’ PHOTO SHOOT

By The Way, Meet Vera StarkOPENS

April 7 at 7:30pm

The Dining Room (SCRT)OPENS

April 21 at 2:00pm

The New Mel Brooks MusicalYoung Frankenstein

Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Ken Ludwig’sBaskerville:

A Sherlock Holmes MysteryRock of Ages Calendar Girls

Red Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods

Billy Elliot the Musical

CIV IC SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Civic Youth Theatre)

Macbeth

CIV IC YOUTH THEATRE

Seussical Jr.Harriet the Spy

SENIOR CLASS READER’S THEATRE

Sounds of the 60’s The Good Doctor

CARVER CENTER STUDIO SERIES

Radiation: A Month of Sun-Days

No Way Out

The Borrowe TICKETS GO O April 24 at 1

TICKETS ON SALE APRIL 10th

May 5 – May 21

Book by Cheri & Bill Steinkeller & Douglas Carter Beane,Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Glenn Slater

‘Sister Act’Production Sponsors:

2016-2017 Civic Main Season

Presenter:Season Subscriptionsgo on sale May 1st!

Presenting Our 89th Season

THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM • MUSICAL

‘DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR.’BEHIND THE SCENES

RK’

‘DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR.’BEHIND THE SCENES

‘BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK’IN REHEARSAL

Inside the CivicFREE AUDITION WORKSHOPS

May 6 (1:00pm-4:30pm)

Young FrankensteinAUDITIONS

May 21 & 22 at 7:00pm

AUDITION DATESSunday, May 21st at 7:00pmMonday, March 22nd at 7:00pm

LOCATIONThe Carver Center - 426 S Park St.(Those auditioning are encouraged to arrive thirty minutes prior to audition time.)

PERFORMANCESSeptember 22nd – October 8th, 2017

AUDITION PREPFREE Inside the Civic WorkshopSaturday, May 6th, 2017

For detailed production, audition and workshop information or to register online visit www.KazooCivic.com

UPCOMING AUDITION & AUDITION PREP

PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPThe New Mel Brooks MusicalYoung Frankenstein Audition WorkshopTime: 1:00pm-4:30pmTeaching Artists: TBAFor Ages: Adults 16+Join the creative team of professional artists andget ready for the madcap musical adaptation of Mel Brooks’ musical comedy YoungFrankenstein. You’ll have the opportunity towork on comedic acting, learn choreography(including tap), and sing your 16-32 measureaudition piece. This FREE audition workshop isspecifically designed to help you feel confidentand prepared for ‘Puttin’ On the Ritz’ in thewacky world of Transylvania! Make sure youbring your sheet music to the workshop!

QUESTIONS?Call Nicki Poer, Director of Education &Outreach at 269-343-2280 X1113 or email Education@KazooCivic.com.

ADVANCEREGISTRATION IS

REQUIRED

ADVANCEREGISTRATION IS

REQUIRED

‘SISTER ACT’ IN REHEARSAL

Sister ActOPENS

May 5 at 7:30pm

The Borrowers (CYT)OPENS

May 19 at 7:30pm

rowers (CYT) GO ON SALE

at 10:00am

To register for classes and workshopsonline you will need to create an accounton our website (if you don’t already haveone). Please do not create more than oneaccount! Once you have an account withus, you can use it for Academy classes,production tickets or even to purchase or redeem gift certificates. When youraccount is created, please save yourlogin information where you can find itwhen you are ready to use it again.

Saturday, May 6thFREE AUDITION WORKSHOPS

at The Carver Center

Register online at kazoocivic.com/inside-the-civic

‘BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK’MOVIE SHOOT AT HENDERSON CASTLE

Summer 2017 Academy Registration is going on NOW!DON’T WAIT! Stop by to pick up a catalog or register online today!

Enroll online at www.KazooCivic.comIf you experience any difficulty registering, please contact

Nicki Poer, Director of Education & Outreach at 269-343-2280 x1113 or email Education@KazooCivic.com

REGISTER TODAY for 2017 Summer Classes and Camps!

OPEN HOUSEJune 10th • Noon-2pm