Actress Joy Vandervort-Cobb
words: Rachel McDermott | images: David Mandel
Joy Vandervort-Cobb knew from the beginning that she wanted to be an actress.
It was her first play in fourth grade as Heidi that set her path to the stage. This Newburgh, NY native is known around Charleston for her performances as a member of PURE Theatre’s Core Ensemble, as an Associate Professor of African American Theatre and Performance at the College of Charleston, and for her ability to make other people laugh.
Vandervort-Cobb landed in Charleston after meeting her husband on the Sophisticated Lady tour around 1987. She attempted to commute and continue touring after she and her husband started their family, but after her second child she realized the nanny was making more money than they were and decided to settle down full time in Charleston. Vandervort-Cobb looked to the College of Charleston for a visiting artist position and instead took an associate professor position. Teaching is a rewarding experience for her; she enjoys watching the light bulb moments of her students and guiding them along the journey to do what they thought was impossible.
Laurens Wilson and Joy Vandervort-Cobb in “The Birds”
Speaking of conquering the impossible, lets talk about No Child, her most challenging performance to date. This one-woman show written by Nilaja Sun has sixteen characters, each with distinctly different personas and voices. Vandervort-Cobb feared that the audience may not be able to distinguish the characters as she jumped from one to the next, so she worked doubly hard to define every voice and be consistent. She had fallen in love with each of the characters, and was deeply committed to accurately portraying the playwright’s vision.
In preparation for No Child, Vandervort-Cobb and her PURE colleagues went to a local high school to stage readings of plays written by the students. She studied the students’ mannerisms and listened to their tone, in a similar environment to the one depicted in the play. With this new inspiration and confidence, and the help of director Sharon Graci, Vandervort-Cobb’s performance was widely talked about for its humor and for its deeper meaning—that these students crave a purpose and value other than being the worst kids in school.
Vandervort-Cobb in “Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike”
Although her dream role was always to whip beasts to death as Katherine in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, she has decided that she is too old for the part. Lucky for us, she plans to continue doing meaningful, challenging works that move the audience and make them feel something. When she’s not laughing on stage, Vandervort-Cobb enjoys ‘getting her workout on’ by laughing with her family, friends, and especially her granddaughter.
Vandervort-Cobb collects African masks and sculptures that have been gifted to her by friends and family over the years.
Her grandmother laughed at everything Lucille Ball did, which served as Vandervort-Cobb’s inspiration, because she wanted her grandmother to think she was just as funny.
PURE Theatre
Core Ensemble Member
puretheatre.org
Vandervort-Cobb in “The Mountaintop”
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