Chance Encounters: The Anaheim Hills theater ushers in a new era
by Paul Hodgins
This year could well be the year that Chance Theater joins OC’s elite league of major cultural players. The plucky Anaheim Hills company is known for its savvy programming philosophy that combines ambitious musicals, mainstream and popular seasonal fare, and challenging new work. Founded in 1999, Chance has grown steadily over the last few seasons, capped by an ambitious fundraising drive last year.
In February 2014 the company opened its new Bette Aitken theater arts Center, which is twice the size of its predecessor and includes a flexible main stage that can expand to as many as 150 seats. In October, Chance announced plans to unveil a second stage early this year, which will enable it to present 11 productions in 2015, up from seven last year. Its current season includes a six-show subscription series, two holidays productions, a three-show Theater for Young Audiences series and four staged readings.
To fund all this growth, Chance’s founding artistic director, Oanh Nguyen, and his colleagues wooed some big-money donors. The jewel in Chance’s funding crown was a $250,000 gift from philanthropist and attorney Wylie Aitken and his wife, Bette, whose Anaheim Hills home is near the theater. “It’s very exciting to be a part of Chance’s vision at this important moment in their history,” Aitken says of the new main stage.
“We’ve enjoyed about 50 percent growth since unveiling our expansion,” Nguyen says. “As we move to the mid-size theater world we will see the benefits of a growing subscription base.” The theater’s budget has jumped impressively, from $490,000 in 2014 to about $600,000 this year. The expanded facilities give Nguyen flexibility.
“With the new space we are able to make even bolder decisions and do newer works. At the same time we were able to expand our youth program. This our first Theater for Young Audiences series; we didn’t have the space for it before.”
Community outreach is also growing. “We will being in under-served Anaheim teens and help them write their own play, act in it, direct it and market it,” Nguyen said.
This year will be remembered as a watershed moment for Chance, Nguyen thinks. “We will make our mark as a mid-size theater that does innovative and personal work while serving our community in new and different ways. We will be known as a theater that’s uniquely suited to our audience.”
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