Starr Kirkland is a young actress and poet from San Diego, CA. She recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BFA in Theater. Starr has been writing and performing since elementary school. She has been invited to use her spoken word in many mediums; performing at leadership conferences, school events, panels, and national events. She was a guest poet with Street of Dreams, a group that helps at-risk teens through the power of “word art”. She has used her spoken word to combat racism, violence, and bigotry, and to promote tolerance and an awareness of social issues. At the age of 14, Starr got involved in acting and performing with the Teen Connection Theatre Group housed under San Diego Youth and Community Services (SDYCS). She then became the youngest director of the program. Improving human relations is a cornerstone of Teen Connection Theatre, and Starr embraced this mission by writing and performing scenes about gang violence, relationship violence, racism and bigotry, peer pressure, drugs, sex, and tolerance. She has been a voice for homeless and runaway youth on local and national levels, speaking to the San Diego City Council and lobbying on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. She sat on the board of two national groups dedicated to championing the needs of runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth through advocacy, innovation and services. Some of the other programs Starr has worked with include: street outreach with The Storefront, an emergency shelter for youth; and Take Wing Transitional Living Community, a transitional living community specifically designed to break the cycle of homelessness for youth. In 2002, Starr attended the first California workshop at Stanford University for College Summit, a program that helps youth apply to college, as the only junior to ever go through the program. Since that year, Starr has been a mentor, Alumni Leader Coordinator, and Writing Coach nationally with the program. Her freshman year, she participated in The Vagina Monologues as “The Angry Vagina”, and V-Day, the international campaign for ending violence against women. She then went on to direct the show as the youngest director in 2007. Starr was priveledged enough to be recognized for her social efforts in the past years. She won the Gandhi Nonviolence Award for her work in violence prevention in the community with specific emphasis on teen relationship and gang violence. She was then asked to be a presenter by the Tarik Khamisa Foundation and had the chance to meet with Arun Gandhi, a socio-political activist and the fifth grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. While at UCSB, she was granted a scholarship to meet with the Archbishop Desmond Tutu based on her activities in the community. Most recently, Starr's spoken word related achievements include:
Starr is currently living in New York and making her mark in the acting and poetry world. |
| Copyright © 2008 Starr Kirkland.All rights reserved. |
| Starr Kirkland |
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