Actress Terri J. Vaughn Opens Lounge

Actress Terri J. Vaughn, known for her roles on "The Steve Harvey Show" and "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," celebrated a private opening of her the Green Room Lounge in Buckhead Thursday evening. A number of celebrities stopped by the quaint shop at 25-D Bennett St. to help her celebrate.

“This is a theatrical lounge and bookstore for everyone,” Vaughn said. “My goal is to provide a supportive and nurturing community for Atlanta-based talent where they can feel a sense of camaraderie that I so deeply fell in love with during my 17 years living in Hollywood, as well as a haven for out-of-town actors to unwind while filming in Atlanta.”

The opening night featured entertainment from Quinn and the Jukebox as well as complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks for guests.

The books in the lounge range from theater to acting and directing to entertainment. Vaughn got the idea and was inspired to open the lounge from teaching acting classes. The actress used to live in Los Angeles, where she first started teaching acting classes. She has lived in Atlanta for the past two years and says she loves it.

Vaughn is very passionate about books. A lot of the material she uses in her acting classes can be found in the lounge, where before her students would have to purchase the materials online.

The Green Room Lounge is the perfect place for people to come to enjoy the arts through acting and music. They can take acting classes, network and hang out with other actors and directors, perform on stage, use WiFi service, all inclusive of what acting is about. This is the place for established as well as new talent alike, along with musicians and seasoned entertainment professionals. 

The lounge has a fully stocked coffee and tea bar along with appetizing pastries and snacks. At the lounge you will find comfortable seating, and drinks.

Vaughn’s business partners include attorney and business manager Shannon Nash and Roger Bobb, former Tyler Perry Studios executive producer and owner of BobbCat Films.

“We’re all excited and we’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, said Nash. “We are all transplants from L.A.”

Vaughn, Nash and Bobb kept thinking about what kind of place in Atlanta could serve the actor and the entertainment community and they could never find anything. Through research and collaboration with each other, the Green Room Lounge came to be.

“My good friend Terri Vaughn came to me and said she had this great idea for a spot/coffee lounge and performance space,” said Bobb. “People could come read poetry, music, or do some work.”

“This is something that Atlanta has never seen before," Bobb added.

Actress and media personality Rashan Ali co-hosted the posh affair. “I love theater,” Ali said. “Terri Vaughn and I were in a movie together.” Ali said that she and Vaughn are really good friends, and she is supporting whatever she does. 

Celebrities who attended the event included actress Jasmine Guy, singer Angie Stone, Lisa Wu Hartwell formerly of "The Atlanta Housewives," R&B group So For Real, radio personalities Frank Ski and Ramona Debreaux, and CBS Atlanta newswoman Jaquitta Williams.

Stone , who is working on a project with Vaughn, said, “I think the Green Room Lounge is hot.  I think it’s relevant and I think it’s fresh."

“This is one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets,” said Williams. “She’s giving people a vehicle to do more of what she’s done; this is the place to do that."

The Green Room Lounge is being compared with the Los Angeles- based Samuel French Theater and Film Bookshop. The official opening of the Green Room Lounge will be Labor Day weekend.

The lounge has also found a way to give back to the community by benefiting two nonprofit organizations: Take Wings Foundation, whose mission is to build the self-esteem of at-risk teens, and Colored My Mind whose mission is to improve the lives of children and adults affected by autism. For more information, visit 25-D Bennett St. or visit @RealGreenRoom on Twitter.