Okay, our first charitable production was a success! How did we do?
1. We exceeded our goal for fundraising for Life With Cancer.
2. We had more people attend than we originally projected.
3. The production of The Actual Dance
got an even more positive response than we thought it would.
What people said about our February productions:
"I went home and cried. Don't worry, that's good! I got it all out. This was the first time since my diagnosis that I have realized what my family is going through as well as my own feelings. Thanks to you all!"
"We were almost overwhelmed with the insight and self-discovery. What a powerful, important message."
"Amazing what Sam Simon did with a blank stage and a stool. Well written, well acted. It was as if anything more would have detracted from the experience."
"You packed so much in a short time. So tightly written. Not a wasted word."
"What a wonderful evening. I was thinking it would be depressing. No, it is a love story and it has a happy ending."
"A lot of emotions and a positive message."
"This was more than a fund raising project. This was a community service. Thanks ... for presenting this."
"'Powerful' is the best word to discribe "The Actual Dance.'"
"Wow! Sam Simon is quite an actor and Susan Simon is my hero."
"It sounded morbid when I first heard about it. But it worked. I saw the tears in peoples' eyes. I saw their smiles. It really worked."
"I learned so much about what my mother and father and all of us will experience."
"So powerful, poignant, so glad we came. Lived here over 25 years, our first time at this theater."
"I feel better prepared. There could not be a better way to help people understand."
"The whole presentation and the community wide effort makes me so proud of Falls Church. People reaching out to help. Well done."
"Please do this again. I will help."
To visit the website for The Actual Dance, please click here.
To visit the Life With Cancer site, please click here.
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Strange Bedfellow a not-too-organized group
MISSION: Common cause for worthy causes
We are members of many different civil, professional, educational, business and political groups and businesses in Falls Church. We were brought together by the Community Issues Forum.
We are Lions, Dogwood Cafe, George Mason Boosters, Panera Bread, the American Legion, University Women, Italian Cafe, Boy Scouts, VPIS, Greater Hillwoood Citizens Association, Ireland's Four Provinces, Citizens for a Sustainable City, Cherrywood Homeowners, Catholic War Vets, the League of Women Voters, the Democrats, the Republicans, Clare and Don's, Doodlehopper and more.
But which of us is the strange bedfellow? Does it matter? Each person has likes and dislikes. Some of us are more opinionated than others. But there's work to be done, so let's make the best of it and join together. Many hands make quick work.
The mission of Strange Bedfellow is to bring together in charitable activities people of every political persuasion and special interest. Our goal is to put away the differences long enough so that, together, we can raise funds for deserving causes and people in our communty.
As volunteers, we are willing to try almost anything legal - including declaring a truce - to raise money for charity. We may be competitors in our 'real lives' but we are dedicated to working together for worthy causes.
Join us and you may learn which of us is that strange bedfellow who is so different from all the rest. On the other hand, maybe Pogo was right when he said that we have met the enemy and he is us.
We all fit. We are all welcome. Come join our common cause for worthy causes.
Please give us your ideas and suggestions. You may also volunteer to be part of our group with the form to the right.
"The whole presentation and the community wide effort makes me so proud of Falls Church. People reaching out to help. Well done."
- a patron who attended in February
Current activities: When a group of Falls Church civil organizations decided to present a play to benefit cancer treatment, no one knew what to expect in the way of community interest. But those two February performances of Sam Simon's The Actual Dance seem to have struck a cord.
People who saw the play wanted to see it again. People who did not see it asked when and where it was being performed. Others asked Strange Bedfellow to schedule another performance.
In February, the audiences enjoyed an old-fashioned love story with a modern twist ... and helped raise money for cancer treatment at the same time.
The play is about the toll cancer takes on not just the victim but the victim's family and friends, too.
We would be pleased to have your help, no matter how strange we or you may be.
Our Email is:
The Community Issues Forum daily newsletter:
The Forum's Twitter feed:
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