By Clayton Stairs
cstairs@gtowntimes.com
Singing, dancing, playing instruments and acting are all part of the exciting, fun-filled and artistic environment of the Starshine performance training course.
Offering this class -- which has become like a family to many of its participants -- at Coastal Carolina University's Waccamaw Higher Education Center (CCU-Waccamaw) in Litchfield year-round, founder and instructor Joellen Langley has decided to open it to anyone age 13 and up this summer.
This eight-week "Starshine Camp" is just one of the many courses offered as part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program at CCU-Waccamaw beginning in June. The Starshine Camp will be offered from June 19 to August 7 on Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuition is $100.
"Starshine is an excellent class to sharpen your performance skills or just to experience the performing arts and find out what really turns you on," Langley said. "Musicians jam together, singers sing together and entertainers of all ages and talents create exciting performance programs while having a blast."
Carla Fraser of Murrells Inlet, who joined Starshine with her two daughters, Lauren, 14, and Danielle, 18, urges anyone who is interested in performing to take this course to improve skills and confidence. She would especially like to see more parents join with their children.
"We decided to do something that the three of us could do together so we could have a lot of fun and share our experiences," Fraser said. "I hope what my daughters and I are doing is an inspiration to others because in today's world kids are always going one way and the parents are going another. Sometimes there is not a lot of interaction between them."
She says that all three of them love music and theater and they are having "so much fun." In a recent performance, they had the chance to sing and dance together in several numbers on stage in front of an audience.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Starshine, she says, is how members of this group, which represent all age brackets from teens to 80s, mesh.
"I have never seen anything like it," Fraser said. "The older people are supportive of the young people and in return the younger people bring a lot of energy. Then, the older people feed on the energy of the young people."
She also points out that it is not necessary to be an experienced performer to join Starshine.
"My daughters and I have no experience what-so-ever getting up and singing in front of people," Fraser said. "If you sound bad at first, by the time you learn and work with the other members, you sound pretty good. It also does a lot for your confidence anytime you have to get up in front of people."
Joanna MacCutcheon, 15, who is a freshman at Lowcountry Day School, is also a new member of Starshine. Influenced by her two older brothers -- Michael, a musician and recent graduate of Colorado University in Boulder, Colo., and Steven, a singer and composer who is a member of Starshine -- she joined the group this spring.
"When I found out I could actually join Starshine, I was right on it," MacCutcheon said. "It is a really cool experience. I never really had a passion for music and I had a lot of stage fright, but now I love performing and I'm already over my stage fright."
She agrees with Fraser that Starshine brings people of all ages together for a common purpose.
"Being part of this group has given me the opportunity to meet some great people," MacCutcheon said. "I am just as good friends with people who are in their 50s, 60s and 70s as I am with people my own age in the class."
Variety of courses
Linda Ketron, director of the OLLI program at CCU Waccamaw, invites everyone to view the listing on their Web site or in their brochure for the wide variety of classes to be held at CCU Waccamaw this summer. From book clubs and computer classes to art, history and choral workshops, there is certainly something that will interest anybody who enjoys learning, she says.
"CCU Waccamaw offers a wonderful summer program for people of all ages," Ketron said.
Alex Russell and Susana Gabbi-Russell, who are husband and wife, will teach two of the CCU Waccamaw classes during the summer. Russell will teach a four-week class on the History of Latin America from June 4 to 25 on Wednesdays from 1 to 2:30 p.m.; and Gabbi-Russell will teach a four week course about the 60s and 70s in Latin-American Film from June 3 to 24 on Tuesdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Tuition is $45 for each course.
"We try to teach our students that Latin American countries are all quite different," said Gabbi-Russell. "Today's countries -- like Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Equador -- are not what they watch on television, but completely different types of people."
Another course, titled Vocal Beauty Boot Camp, is a workshop for people who are pursuing a career in music or entering a voice program in college. It will be held for five days, June 16 to 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuition is $100.
Instructor Patti Yvonne Edwards is an opera singer who has performed in many different parts of the world. She says she enjoys teaching this vocal workshop, which is called boot camp "because it is first thing in the morning, everyone is expected to be on time and there are a lot of drills to teach posture and breathing needed for singing."
"Participants can expect a pretty tough workout for a week, but at the end of it, they will definitely show progress," Edwards says. "It is really a good program that teaches camaraderie as well as technical abilities."
Art History: Cave Drawings to the 20th Century is yet another interesting class offered this summer at the center. Taught by Kitty Gundling, a former art teacher at Pawleys Island Christian Academy in Pawleys Island, this eight-week course will be held on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon from June 9 to July 22. Tuition is $50.
"We will start at the beginning, and continue to the present time," Gundling said. "We will discuss how each era fit into the whole, and how each period before effected artists coming after them."
She says it is enlightening to start with cave art and look at art of the present, especially how artists influenced each other.
"Images that were portrayed inside caves were used for communication, to tell each other, for example, what happened on a hunting trip," Gundling said. "1000 years later, you can tell that a drawing is of cattle and the image of the body has become much more realistic. You can see the progression through time."
Those who enjoy art and are interested in history will love this course, she says.
"I think this course will be an experience for art history buffs because it gives you a chronological idea of when things happened in history, as they pertain to art," Gundling said. "It will be enjoyable and we won't have tests."
For a complete listing of courses and tuition prices, visit www.coastal.edu/olli/waccamaw or call CCU Waccamaw at 349-4030. The center is located at 160 Willbrook Blvd., across from the Mingo Shopping Complex.