Meet The Team
Shakira Willis
Shakira manages the beautiful Tin Cup Coffee shop attached to the Theater. She and her team of baristas are dedicated to providing great service, delicious food and a relaxed environment for you and your family.
Fred & Cris
Starrh
As the owners of the Shafter Ford Theater and the Tin Cup Coffee shop, Fred and Cris are committed to making this a family friendly, safe environment for everyone to enjoy. They are also eager to continue improving the facilities to better suit the needs of the community and for your next event. Stop by and say hi sometime!
Dana Starrh
Dana Starrh, daughter of Fred and Cris, Manages Shafter Ford Theater and it's Venue's. She works around the clock to ensure you and all your event requirements are taken care of, always striveing to make your event a memorable, seamless experience.
Where We Came From
The legacy of Shafter Theater dates back to a time where Fred Starrh Sr. began performances in singing quartets, as well as community theater with titles like Music Man. That passion carried into his family through his son Larry, who participated in various theatrical performances. This eventually inspired another community led quartet featuring Larry on vocals and his sister-in-law, Cris Starrh, on piano. That group was called The Spindles, aptly named after a piece of equipment used in harvesting cotton, which was the crop of choice for the family of farmers.
Cris Starrh continued to spread this passion for local arts by founding the Shafter Children's Summer Theater program in 1996. Twenty seven years later that program has grown into a flourishing children's and young adult's program that stretches from kindergarten to adults, featuring 130+ children, musicians and volunteers.
The love of art and theater was reinforced even more so as Larry would write and compose original scripts and yearly musicals, utilizing local cast members, musicians and volunteers to perform. These shows would be featured during the beloved Shafter arts festival, Colours.
The combination of all the love, passion and commitment for the community and the arts grew into a dream of owning and operating a community theater. When the local ford dealership closed, Larry and his family saw potential in the building and thus created what we know today as Shafer Ford Theater and Tin Cup.