FAME preps students for career under lights

Friends of Art and Music Enrichment began as a ragtag group of theater, art and music alumni of Glen Cove High School and has become an organization dedicated to giving students experiences of a lifetime. FAME was started several years ago, after alumni wanted to give back to the district that fed the first flames of their artistic dreams, Beth Corbett, a 1987 graduate of Glen Cove High School, said. Before graduating from high school, Corbett said she was vice president of Glen Cove High School's Masquer theater troupe in her senior year. Masquers is a nationwide theater program with groups across the country. After graduating high school, Corbett said she went on to college, where she studied English and Communications, along with history and theater. She said that after studying in Los Angeles during college, she went back to pursue a career in entertainment law. Now she said she spends much of her time producing Broadway shows, including The Lost Boys, The Outsiders, A Few Good Men and Inter Alia, which she said opens in December. She said that her theater education in high school made it possible for her to pursue work as a producer. 'When you have the language and the vocabulary that high school theater gives you, 20 years later you walk into a room as an adult and you know what they're talking about,' Corbett said. 'Even if the widgets are different, the vocabulary is there, and so I easily was able to get through my imposter syndrome just because I could call back all those memories from high school that I was able to pull upon.' She said she wants to connect students with the contacts she has made along the way, so that they can get a step ahead when building their early careers. Maria Laino DeLuca,cice President of FAME and its marketing and events director, said that although she did not attend Glen Cove City schools, her husband is an alum. She said that now that her children are at Glen Cove High School, she wanted to get involved with FAME. She said that although her husband did not focus on the arts while in high school, two of her own children are in the arts. She said her career has always encompassed media and the arts. She said her career began in Latin music and off-Broadway shows, and then pivoted to TV. She said she began her career in television at MTV, and eventually began working for Nickelodeon, where she said she did marketing for their live-action shows like iCarly, Zoey 101 and Drake and Josh, as well as some of their animated series, including Avatar: The Last Airbender. FAME plans to give students opportunities through board members like Corbett and Laino DeLuca, who serve alongside treasurer and secretary Mark Kohn; creative director and co-founder Valerie Lasser; and advisory board members Melinda Basaca, Shannon Ernst and Judith H. Germano, co-founder and president emeritus. They said anyone in the community with connections is welcome to contact them with ideas for special opportunities for students. 'You never know if uncles, cousins, aunts or friends happen to know a director,' Corbett said. 'That's incredible to us.' Corbett said FAME plans to continue providing students with scholarships, masterclasses with influencers, photography and interviewing opportunities, as well as opportunities for students to see Broadway shows and meet the cast and crew. This year, FAME will also be honoring Glen Cove TV's supervisor, Chris Barry, during its annual fall fundraiser at the Sea Cliff Yacht Club. Corbett said that although FAME gives opportunities to students, it also celebrates the faculty and staff who make that learning possible.