About Starshine Stanfield
A theatre professional with experience in all aspects of theatre - from throwing chickens through trapdoors to leading community and youth programs - my heart and soul will always be with community theatre, theatre education, and youth programming.
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Kent State University and more than 30 years of experience in various aspects of theatre.
I grew up in a tiny farm town in Ohio, attending a high school with no theatre department. Every year, the English department put on a couple of plays. There were no acting classes, no tech classes, and little student involvement beyond acting. As far as my high school was concerned, you were either an actor, or a grunt. Not being handy with tools, I attempted to take to the stage. Even with little exposure and no training, I knew theatre was where I needed to be, and I was given the impression acting was all there was to theatre. But there was a hierarchy to casting that I didn't understand at the time, and I struggled to grasp my place in theatre.
And yet, when it came time to choose a major in college, I chose theatre without a second thought. It's not something I can explain, given my limited exposure to the art. If there is such thing as fate, then it's the best explanation for my continued compulsion to be part of theatre. Again, knowing little about theatre, I went in as an acting major. I quickly discovered that I did not have a love for acting, but I still couldn't shake my need to be a part of theatre. One professor told me I needed to change majors, since I didn't love acting. Undeterred, I registered for a directing class, almost on a whim. The professor tried to discourage me from taking the class, indicating that it would be too advanced for me, but I persisted. I finished the course with an A and a clear understanding of where I belonged in theatre. I was a director. And that school was not for me.
I eventually landed at Kent State University, and was finally exposed to the whole of art that is theatre. No aspect of theatre was ignored, and I, late to the game, was a little overwhelmed at the sheer volume of knowledge I was lacking in theatre. I had two years to figure out what most of my classmates had been learning since their first year of high school. Even that handicap could not deter me from pursuing my dream of being a director.
With all the twists and unexpected turns that life throws at us, I completed my degree and spent the next decades pursuing theatre opportunities whenever I could, whether volunteer or professional. I have been director, educator, artistic director, podcaster, stage manager, stage crew, lighting designer, sound designer, ticket taker, and whatever else the art asks of me. And so I will continue.
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Kent State University and more than 30 years of experience in various aspects of theatre.
I grew up in a tiny farm town in Ohio, attending a high school with no theatre department. Every year, the English department put on a couple of plays. There were no acting classes, no tech classes, and little student involvement beyond acting. As far as my high school was concerned, you were either an actor, or a grunt. Not being handy with tools, I attempted to take to the stage. Even with little exposure and no training, I knew theatre was where I needed to be, and I was given the impression acting was all there was to theatre. But there was a hierarchy to casting that I didn't understand at the time, and I struggled to grasp my place in theatre.
And yet, when it came time to choose a major in college, I chose theatre without a second thought. It's not something I can explain, given my limited exposure to the art. If there is such thing as fate, then it's the best explanation for my continued compulsion to be part of theatre. Again, knowing little about theatre, I went in as an acting major. I quickly discovered that I did not have a love for acting, but I still couldn't shake my need to be a part of theatre. One professor told me I needed to change majors, since I didn't love acting. Undeterred, I registered for a directing class, almost on a whim. The professor tried to discourage me from taking the class, indicating that it would be too advanced for me, but I persisted. I finished the course with an A and a clear understanding of where I belonged in theatre. I was a director. And that school was not for me.
I eventually landed at Kent State University, and was finally exposed to the whole of art that is theatre. No aspect of theatre was ignored, and I, late to the game, was a little overwhelmed at the sheer volume of knowledge I was lacking in theatre. I had two years to figure out what most of my classmates had been learning since their first year of high school. Even that handicap could not deter me from pursuing my dream of being a director.
With all the twists and unexpected turns that life throws at us, I completed my degree and spent the next decades pursuing theatre opportunities whenever I could, whether volunteer or professional. I have been director, educator, artistic director, podcaster, stage manager, stage crew, lighting designer, sound designer, ticket taker, and whatever else the art asks of me. And so I will continue.