Fighting Chance Productions Hair: July 19-August 1 | Waterfront Theatre, Granville Island

When it comes to fundraisers we have tried a lot of different things. Our very first fundraiser was for our production of Side by Side by Sondheim and was called My Other Side. It featured some musical theatre talent sharing some of their other talents including song-writing, guitar, piano and performing music that was not musical theatre based. It was held at the Alibi Room in the summer of 2007 and was quite successful. We then went on to do monthly cabarets as a way of bringing the community together and helping finance some of our projects.

Following that in the summer of 2008 we did a fundraiser in conjuction with our production of The Musical of Musicals: The Musical and did a cabaret with the theme of Dream Roles. It was great fun and well-received. We then did a fundraiser for The Laramie Project at the New Revue Stage on Granville Island.

Last March was the start of us taking away the “fundraiser” title that we were using and changing it for the word “party.” It made all the difference in the world, and something we realised was that while raising money was certainly important, we also wanted to use the event as a celebration of what Fighting Chance was up to. In March we held a party at the Rosedale on Robson Hotel to help us choose our 2009/2010 season. It was wildly successful with over 100 people attending – and a great night was had by all. We followed that up in July, 2009 with a patio BBQ at the Rosedale on Robson. Again over 100 people joined us to celebrate our success and to see excerpts from Rent. It was another great event.

Which brings us to our plans for March, 2010. I’m thrilled to announce that we’ll be premiering The Awesome 80s Prom at in conjunction with the Vancouver Alpen Club. It’s going to be the perfect precursor to our production of The Wedding Singer: The Musical. From Samuel Frenchs website: The Awesome 80s Prom is a brand new blast-from-the-past party in the style of Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding set at Wanaget High’s Senior Prom… in 1989! All your favorite characters from your favorite ’80s movies are at THE PROM, from the Captain of the Football Team to the Asian Exchange Student, from the Geek to the hottie Head Cheerleader, and they’re all competing for Prom King and Queen. And just like on “American Idol”, the audience decides who wins! Come back in time and join the breakdance circle or just sit back and watch the ’80s drama unfold.

It will feature a cast of 20 – many of whom are Fighting Chance alumni! We’re very very excited about it and it will show for two nights only – March 26th & 27th. Tickets will go on sale on December 1st, 2009 – but we wanted to let you know about it now since reservations will be limited! You will NOT want to miss out on this awesome event. For more information (and some great 80s tunage) check out the official website for The Awesome 80s Prom!