Starrh majored in theater and worked in that profession before returning to the family’s Kern County farm.
Photo by Alex Horvath
“How do we highlight their lives and carry that on into future generations?” Community also factors into Starrh’s playwriting. Comparing past to present, he said, “Your roots would be deep, and your community would be important. Now that people are more mobile, and everything’s easy just to pick up and move, you don’t have the same tenacity for community where we used to.” What lies buried In “The Big Secret,” Starrh plays farmer Lester Jensen. The character’s name, he said, comes from his father’s middle name and a great-grandmother’s maiden name. Some of Lester’s lines were things Starrh’s father would say—“those little vignettes or moments where I remember his saying things vividly to me as a kid,” he said. “I tried to bring those out in moments when they worked.” Spoiler alert: The play’s “big secret” purports to be round and orange. “They get wrapped up in a pumpkin-growing contest,” Starrh said of the characters. “They think that’s the big secret. But the big secret is that there’s some deeper things that are going on and that are hidden.” Theater-goers, however, have no need of a box of tissues. Starrh described his musical as “lighthearted and fun,” with a large cast including children and a chorus. He and
Photo courtesy of Starrh family
Fred Starrh’s life was the inspiration for son Larry’s play. Where Fred once grew cotton, Larry now grows almonds.
Photo by Alex Horvath
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