Caymanian actress Grace Gealey, whose website describes her as a small-island girl with big dreams, makes her New York debut in the world premier of the off-Broadway production of Venus Flytrap: A Femme Noir Mystery on 4 November.
The 26-year-old actress welcomes the opportunity to stretch herself artistically by portraying several characters in a play set in 1940s Harlem.
The play, written by the Edgar-nominated director Anthony Dodge, explores how much – and how little – things have changed when it comes to embracing those classed as different, and unflinchingly explores topics such as self-identity, religion and sexual orientation in a way that’s designed to have audiences questioning their belief systems and
how they treat others they consider to be different.
“I am lucky to be playing multiple characters that have different outlooks on what the world is and should be,” said the actress. “The common link that unites all of the play’s characters is the desire to live their lives freely and openly. It is clear that they have accepted society for what it is, but will society return the favour?”
Bodden Town roots
Gealey, whose grandparents were the well-known Bodden Towners Harry and Theoline McCoy, is the daughter of their eldest child, Cheryl McCoy-Gealey.
Bitten by the acting bug at age five, the actress said she was “always involved and immersed in some form of the arts, whether it was dancing, singing or acting.”
She performed annually at the National Cultural Foundation’s Festival of the Arts, beginning while she attended Bodden Town Primary (now named after her late grandmother) and continued throughout her time at George Hicks and John Gray high schools.
Key role models and influences during that time were the painter and drama teacher Nasaria Suckoo-Cholette and the Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s Henry Muttoo.
Making her mark
Gealey’s theatre arts degree from the University of South Florida and her master’s in acting from the University of California solidified her decision to be an actor. As a jobbing actress — attending classes, auditions, call backs, rehearsals and performances in California — she only recently moved to New York to try for “meatier and more challenging roles.”
Her roles in Venus Flytrap certainly seem to fit the bill.
She is working alongside A-grade talent like Xanthe Elbrick, the Tony-nominated British actress, who plays gumshoe Butch Diamond, and Marcia Milgrom Dodge, the Tony-nominated, multi-award winning director.
Off stage, she enjoys frequenting some of the Big Apple’s many jazz lounges and catching up with family on email and Skype.
Despite putting in 12-hour days, Gealey has warmed to life in the metropolis, describing the city as “an excellent playground of exploration and opportunity.
“I love the freedom and diversity in New York; theatre and the arts live fantastically here.”
Aside from her on-stage career, Gealey auditions for short films and commercials, thanks to her agents.
When the actress makes her annual visit to Cayman to visit her mother and visit with family, she looks forward to home-grown favourites like steamed fish, crab, oxtail and Cayman stew beef.
“My sister and I always have to get a Tastee patty and Kola Champagne too,” showing that you can take the girl off the island, but you can’t always take the island out of the girl.
Actress Grace Gealey appears in Venus Flytrap from 4 to 14 November at the Workshop Theater, 312 West 36th Street. For details and ticket information, call in the US: 1-212-460-5475.
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