Toni Trucks in "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark"

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Toni Trucks in "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark"

Toni Trucks plays the title role in a new play at the Alliance Theatre. The play tells the story of a struggling African-American actress in Hollywood in the 1920s and '30s.

Director Leah Gardiner (from left) works with lead actress Toni Trucks and Genesis Oliver during rehearsals for the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Lead actress Toni Trucks performs a scene for director Leah Gardiner during rehearsals for the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Lead actress Toni Trucks performs a scene with Daniel Triandiflou during rehearsals for the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Lead actress Toni Trucks performs a scene with Daniel Triandiflou during rehearsals for the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Lead actress Toni Trucks performs a scene during rehearsals for the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. Trucks is also a character on the CBS show "Hostages" and was a character in the Twilight saga. She played a vampire. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

****POSSIBLE SECONDARY PHOTO TO GO WITH VISUAL LEDE*****100913 Atlanta: Actress Toni Trucks who is the lead in the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark during an interview with the AJC on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. Trucks is also a character on the CBS show "Hostages" and was a character in the Twilight saga. She played a vampire. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Actress Toni Trucks who is the lead in the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark during an interview with the AJC on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. Trucks is also a character on the CBS show "Hostages" and was a character in the Twilight saga. She played a vampire. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Actress Toni Trucks who is the lead in the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark during an interview with the AJC on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. Trucks is also a character on the CBS show "Hostages" and was a character in the Twilight saga. She played a vampire. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Actress Toni Trucks who is the lead in the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark during an interview with the AJC on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. Trucks is also a character on the CBS show "Hostages" and was a character in the Twilight saga. She played a vampire. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

100913 Atlanta: Actress Toni Trucks who is the lead in the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark during an interview with the AJC on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. The play is about the difficulties faced by African American actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. But Trucks is a testament to both how much has changed in 80+ years, and how much has stayed the same. Trucks is also a character on the CBS show "Hostages" and was a character in the Twilight saga. She played a vampire. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Toni Trucks and Cedric the Entertainer from the "Bride and Prejudice" episode of "The Soul Man" on TVLand

Toni Trucks on the red carpet

Toni Trucks as the character Terri Jones, from the Showtime series "Barbershop"

Toni Trucks as the vampire Mary in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2"

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Director Leah Gardiner (from left) works with lead actress Toni Trucks and Genesis Oliver during rehearsals for the Alliance Theatre's production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, in Atlanta. CURTIS COMPTON /staff CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

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