When I was in high school, I first became acquainted with Shakespeare’s classic tale about good and evil, Othello. You may remember the sad sequence of events graphically described in this poignant tragedy, as to how this military hero and passionate husband, Othello, became a false minister of justice. This proud man was hated by Iago, his fellow soldier and advisor. Iago created a plan to destroy Othello by making him believe his wife, Desdemona, was having an affair with another man.
In keeping with my theme of this series of articles this year, Let There Be Light, allow me to present that famous declaration by Othello as he stood at the bedside of his sleeping wife with candle in his hand, questioning his motives and resolution to take her life.
Yet, she must die, else she betray more men. Put out the light (the candle), and then put out thy light—If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, I can again thy former light restore, should I repent me:– but once put out thy light, thou cunning’st pattern of excelling nature, I know not where is that Promethean heat that thy light relume. When I have plucked the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again, it must needs wither…
Time and time again, ministers of misinformation, whether ill-informed or perhaps ill-intended, have presented unfounded and/or biased information to those who set policy and provide funding in government, to support their belief that the United States agencies’ charged with preserving and supporting the country’s cultural and artistic life, are of insufficient value to be perpetuated.
Recently, when the president’s Blue Print Budget to Make America Great Again came out, the budget proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Institute of Museum and Library services, among others. While wiser heads may have prevailed in keeping these programs from the chopping block at this particular time, only with appropriate information gathering and dissemination of the true impact of the arts will programs that are designed to inspire and educate our youth and population at large, find the sufficient financial means to continue their important work. Allow me to slightly edit and repeat once more that warning that once the light and love of the arts are extinguished, except perhaps by miracle, “…we know not for sure where or when that great Promethean heat can once more, thy former light relume.”
I wish to provide you, my readers, with insights as to the importance of another exceptional, inspirational, and educational theatrical training company within our community. This company, Stars 2000, is another bright light that needs support and funding to be kept shining bright for our youth’s potential benefit. 
Diane Kamrin is the founder and artistic director of Stars 2000, now in its 25th year of providing children with an opportunity to discover a love of theater and entertainment and a path to professionalism. She explained to me that her inspiration for working in theater began as a singer and dancer as a child, and as a theater major in college. Diane says, “I was always a klutz, so my mother decided I should go to dance school at about age four so that I would stop walking into walls. I was also very lucky that my high school in San Francisco had a very good dance program. I sang and danced my way through high school, and then in college at San Francisco State, I with a theater major and a special education minor. While in college I began choreographing shows for local high schools.”
Diane eventually became involved in her children’s Pleasant Hill elementary school, doing musicals with the whole school including kindergarten through fifth grade. She did two shows each year and every student was involved. It was there that she began writing her own shows using themes such as “Broadway today,” “Disney shows,” and ”radio shows,” into which she would incorporate popular music, whatever music fit the theme of the show she was writing.
Diane went on to work with junior high school students and found that this group of students is perhaps the most interesting and challenging, in that, from the time you cast students for a particular show in September, to the time the show is actually put together in March, many of the boys voices have changed pitch and they can’t even sing the roles they were cast for. Diane had started working with a program fostered by the Mount Diablo school district called the Fine Arts Summer School, but when prop 13 became effective, that program was abolished by the school district. Now, in addition to the elementary school programs, she is working with her own production company,
Stars 2000, which began in 1992 as a non-profit production company designed specifically for teens and young adults. “We do have a lot of children who want to participate, but have tough lives at home because, unfortunately, they have parents who do not want their children in the arts, especially boys. We’ve even discovered that children who really wanted to be a part of being in the shows have told their parents that they were at work, while they were rehearsing in a show. Fortunately, after these parents have actually seen their children participate in these programs, and seeing the joy and camaraderie they’ve experienced in these shows, they have subsequently changed their minds about the value of their children’s participation in this form of the arts.” 
The national theatrical community has indeed been blessed by the talents of Diane’s students. For example, Broadway actress, Alysha Umphress, was nominated for a Tony award last year for her role as brassy cabbie Hildy in the Broadway production of On The Town. Ben Bogan, who had worked with Stars 2000 for many years, was just recently cast as a stand-in or understudy for Frankie Valli in the Jersey Boys touring company. The major point Diane wants to make here is not that she and her staff are just exited for the children who become professional performers in theater, but also that they are on the path to becoming professionals in whatever field of endeavor becomes their passion. For example, Diane’s own children were theatrical performers while youngsters and are still involved in the arts as adults. Now as professionals outside of the arts, Diane’s daughter is a lawyer in managed healthcare here in California and her son is a professor at MIT.
In mid-January of this year, I had the good fortune to attend her Stars 2000 production of the Cole Porter’s upbeat, colorful, and comedic musical, Anything Goes, which was presented in Walnut Creek’s Las Lomas high school theater. I was quite frankly blown away by the high quality show that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially the excellent choreography as directed by choreographer Sheri Stockdale. The show even had a nine- piece orchestra under the direction of Kamrin herself. One must ask, how often does a community musical consisting of high school aged students actually have a full orchestra to work with?
All of this good work of course entails a small family investment for each child who auditions for the next show and is cast in that production. The typical cost runs approximately $430 tuition per child for each show and there are two shows a year. The next auditions are scheduled towards the 21st of March with the upbeat musical story of self-discovery, Legally Blond, which will begin in the middle of June.
There are always tuition scholarships available to those who cannot afford the tuition fees, but want and deserve to be in the show. I invite you to call Diane Kamrin at (925) 944-0900 or email her at dkstars2000@yahoo.com and visit the organization’s website at www.stars2000.org for more information.
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