As the writer, actor and producer of the one-woman production company Famous American Women, Carol Starre-Kmiecik brings to life such locally and internationally famous women as Dorothy Fuldheim, Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton,
Clare Booth Luce and Mother Elizabeth Seton. Starre-Kmiecik can, in fact, be
any woman you or your civic group want her to be, given enough prep time. Her
mission is to tell the life stories of courageous women who overcame such obstacles
as poverty, abuse, prejudice and widowhood to make significant contributions
to our country.
Starre-Kmiecik, a Lakewood resident since 1991, has been performing
on stage for over 25 years. Her high-school drama teacher at Lourdes Academy
in Cleveland was Mary Rose Oakar, former U. S. Congressional representative.
She has a Bachelor's Degree in Speech and Theatre Arts from Baldwin-Wallace
College and studied Improvisational Theatre at Chicago's
Second City for two years.
The one-woman shows have given Starre-Kmiecik a way to combine her performing
career with motherhood, as well as indulging a passion for history and the great
stories coming out of women's lives. "Having kids, doing plays with all the
rehearsal time is a little bit ridiculous, and the opportunities to make a living
in theater in Cleveland are limited. So this is how I've found a way to perform,"
she said.
Dorothy Fuldheim is
Carol's signature character. In 1996, the Women's Bicentennial Committee asked
her to portray Fuldheim at official events, and the show grew from there. She
has "done Dorothy" over 200 times since then, recreating the character as she
was in the 1940s, rather than the 90 year-old WEWS commentator many contemporary
greater Clevelanders remember. Although Carol does not physically resemble the
diminutive Fuldheim, red hair and the trademark Fuldheim feistiness go a long
way to bring Dorothy back to life for audiences around the area. She has joined
forces with Patricia Mote, author of the 1997 biography Dorothy
Fuldheim, The FIRST First Lady of Television News, which is available
at Starre-Kmiecik's performances. Starre-Kmiecik, in turn, "did Dorothy" for
Mote's book-signings.
Creating a character is a complex process. "First, I read as many books as
possible, and try to deal with the conflicting accounts of a particular woman's
life," said Starre-Kmiecik. "Then, for the more contemporary characters, I can
look at film and video images to work on voice, body movement, phrasing and
costumes. For the nineteenth-century characters, I can look at still photographs
and portrait images. Luckily, all the people I do have written a lot themselves,
so their own words are accessible."
Starre-Kmiecik's latest creation is Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The
North Olmsted Adult Education Program requested that she put 
together
the character, and she finds it has been a challenge. "Jackie talked so softly,"
she noted. The other challenge is age. Right now, she tries to portray
her characters as they were in midlife, rather than old age, since aging with
makeup doesn't work well in the close settings in which her performances usually
take place. "My character repertoire will expand in the future--I'll be able
to do more mature women as I mature," chuckled Starre-Kmiecik.
Demand for Starre-Kmiecik's performances is steadily rising. "I did 23 shows
during Women's History Month (March), but it doesn't really fall off, even during
the summers. Civic groups and men's groups hire me all year round," she said.
A dentist from Canton saw her performance of Amelia Earhart, and booked her
as a surprise for the annual banquet of his group "The Flying Dentists" (--yes,
just what you think--dentists with pilot's licenses). Otherwise, word of mouth
and the press releases she sends to smaller newspapers bring most of her bookings.
"The small towns are great," she said. "You can tell that a lot of the audience
doesn't see live theater very often, so they treat me like a celebrity. I actually
get autograph lines." 
Starre-Kmiecik recommends her Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony and Clara
Barton shows for all schools, and Elizabeth Bayley Seton, the first American
saint, for Catholic school programs. Her Dorothy Fuldheim, Clare Booth Luce
and Jacquie Onassis performances are more suitable for adult audiences, she
feels.
Bringing recognition to the accomplishments of women is part of Starre-Kmiecik's
mission for Famous American Women. "Right now, Dorothy Fuldheim is more
of a local character," she noted. "My goal is to make her nationally recognized
as the ground-breaking newswoman she was."
Audiobook of Fuldheim Biography Due Out Soon
Two area artists, Patricia Mote and Carol Starre-Kmiecik - one an author, the other an actress - have teamed up to produce an audiobook. The Cleveland Years relates the legendary Dorothy Fuldheim's 37-year career as Cleveland's premier television news analyst at WEWS-TV5 (now Newschannel 5).
Reading from Mote's, Dorothy Fuldheim: The First Lady of Television News, actress
Carol Starre-Kmiecik of Lakewood creates a convincing interpretation of the feisty redhaired television news pioneer. She has portrayed Dorothy Fuldheim more than a thousand times, originally creating her own one-person show for the Cleveland Bicentennial in 1996. Mote's biography appeared the next year. Since then, the two have become friends and are dedicated to keeping the Dorothy Fuldheim legend alive throughout the state.
The audio version, a 3-disc set of The Cleveland Years,was recorded at Clockwerke Sound Studio in Rocky River and will be available in bookstores and shops throughout the area by mid-November. Fore more information, please contact: (440) 234-4244.
Carol Starre-Kmiecik can be contacted by calling: (216) 226-3531
