An advertisement for The Stagecrafts Spotlight Series encore performance featuring clips of the performance.
Full project video coming soon!
PARTY PRINCESS
at Hollywood Fringe Festival 2024
A project that started as a class assignment and staged reading at the University of Michigan in 2021, Skylar decided to take another shot at this one woman show concept of a birthday party princess on the edge, this time as a writer, director and producer. Featuring an incredible performance by fellow UMICH alum Amanda Kuo, the production ran for 5 performances in June of 2024 at The Hobgoblin Playhouse to rave reviews. After the initial run, the play was selected to receive an encore performance as part of The Stagecrafts Spotlight Series. Skylar was thrilled with this first experience in the LA theatre scene and is exciting to work on more projects for the stage and to see where Party Princess might go next.About the play:
Party Princess is a darkly funny one woman play about a disillusioned birthday party princess hurtling rapidly towards the end of her rope. One day she shows up to a gig dressed in the wrong costume and all hell breaks loose when the kids beg her for the real story of the little mermaid, a story that just might hit a little too close to home. Party Princess explores the implications of the “Disney branded fairytale” and the effect those implications have on society, particularly young girls. This play asks what lessons we should be teaching our children, and if we should still be encouraging them to wish on stars and dream of becoming part of OUR world.
The Long Months - Official Trailer.
The Long Months - Full Project Video.
Senior Directing Thesis:
THE LONG MONTHS -
A Visual Album at
The University of Michigan
The Long Months is a completely original, student created visual album that I conceived, produced, directed and edited as a part of my senior directing thesis. The album consists of thirteen songs spanning across the emotional experience of the long months of winter, when the holidays are over, but spring has still long yet to arrive. Filmed around Ann Arbor to capture a uniquely Michigan experience, The Long Months takes those who listen and view it on an emotional journey from nightfall to morning, winter to spring, and adolescence to adulthood. The entire album of music from the project can be found on streaming services everywhere under "The Long Months" by The Long Months Project.THIS IS OUR YOUTH by Kenneth Lonergan
Basement Arts at The University of Michigan
Junior year, I had the opportunity to direct one of my all-time favorite plays at Basement Arts. Taking advantage of the black box studio space, I chose to strip the apartment setting down to its bare essentials and have the whole production take place in the round. This bold choice and the intense material of the script provided several exciting challenges and helped to create a visually stunning and verbally energetic production of Lonergan’s most well-known work.
Photography by Maya Ballester
Original Writing:
As a writer, I have had a variety of experiences that range from a one-woman play to a mock television writer’s room. I have been lucky enough to receive recorded performances of a couple of my works, selections from which are included below. Please give them a watch to get a taste of my writing and the subjects I am interested in. If you are interested in reading more of my work, you can email me at skye.starrs@gmail.com !
DAMN GOOD TV
It is the most dramatic season ever behind the scenes of reality dating show "Love in a Hot Tub." A battle of wits has begun between an up-and-coming female producer and the season's frontrunner, turned villain. As the world of the show grows ever more bizarre, the drinks flow, the rumors fly and a slightly demonic host oversees it all. This play explores the complicated relationships between women, how these relationships have shaped reality television for years, and how reality television has shaped us and our perceptions of women when it comes to relationships, both onscreen and off.
Selected scenes from the radio play recording produced by Blank Space Workshop (November 2020)
Selected moments from the University of Michigan Playfest Festival staged reading of this one-woman show (April 2021)
PARTY PRINCESS
Party Princess is a darkly funny story about a disillusioned birthday party princess hurtling rapidly towards the end of her rope. One day she shows up to a gig dressed in the wrong costume and all hell breaks loose when the kids beg her for the real story of the little mermaid, a story that just might hit a little too close to home. Party Princess explores the implications of the media representations of fairytales and the effect those implications have on society, particularly young girls. This play asks what lessons we should be teaching our children, and if we should still be encouraging them to wish on stars and dream of becoming part of OUR world.