Celtic
Curtain Call
A Chance Gala Celebration · Saturday, October 17, 2026. Celtic music, fantastical costume, and bold storytelling, all in one room, for a cause bigger than any one of us.
Some lights are worth following.
The lights went down, and for two hours you forgot to check your phone. Now think about the kid who felt that same spark for the first time because a theater education program brought it to their classroom. Or the neighbor who found a place to belong because a local outreach program opened its doors to them.
That doesn't happen by accident. Small, independent theaters like Chance keep it alive season after season, and when things get tight, education and outreach are usually the first to go, not because they matter less, but because they're the hardest to see on paper. When that happens, it's the student who never gets the class, the neighbor who never gets the invitation, the community that gets a little quieter.
Chance Theater's mission is simple to say and harder to live out every day: build a more connected, compassionate, and creative community through bold, intimate, socially-conscious storytelling, unafraid to say the thing everyone else tiptoes around. It's earned Chance a National Theatre Company grant from the American Theatre Wing and a reputation, across Southern California, as one of the region's leading ensemble-driven theater companies. Compassion. Creativity. Connection. Around here, that's not a tagline. It's how the work gets made.
That's exactly what Celtic Curtain Call exists to protect.
This is Chance Theater's biggest night of the year, and it's built to be nothing like the stuffy, sit-through-the-speeches galas you're picturing. Think Celtic music, a killer bar, fantastical costume, bold storytelling, a lively auction, and a room full of people who love this community as much as you do. You come for the party. The theater's artistic, education, and outreach programs get funded because you did.
Here's exactly what you're funding
Compassion, Creativity, and Connection isn't just Chance's slogan: it's four real, year-round programs that this one night keeps alive.
Theater classes for every age (4 through adult), including a dedicated track for artists on the autism spectrum, taught year-round under Education Director Karen O'Hanlon.
Teens Speak Up, Veterans Speak Up, and Spectrum Speak Up give teens, veterans, and artists on the autism spectrum a stage of their own. Chance is a proud Blue Star Theatres partner.
Five brand-new plays a year get developed here first, in partnership with our Resident Playwrights, before they're ever produced anywhere else.
From the Tony Award-winning Once to the West Coast premiere of The Messenger to Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill: the kind of intimate, unafraid work that's earned Chance a National Theatre Company grant from the American Theatre Wing.
The Chance Galas are unlike any other event. Have a blast, and celebrate the arts in Orange County.Molly Mahoney
What your generosity looks like on stage
Beyond the warm glow of doing something good
Live music, a full bar, dinner, a lively auction, and an after-party, all inside the beautiful Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center.
You don't need to already know "the theater crowd" to belong here. Everyone in that room showed up for the same reason you did.
From prominent seating to your name underwriting a piece of the evening itself.
Directly supporting Chance Theater's artistic, education, and outreach work in Orange County. Talk to your tax advisor for specifics.
Not sure where to start? Grab a single ticket.
It's the easiest way to show up, see what all the fuss is about, and know your seat directly supports the mission. Ready to make a bigger statement? Host a table for your friends, colleagues, or clients, or step into a sponsorship and put your name on a piece of the evening itself.
Cocktail, semi-formal, or full Celtic fantasy: costumes are encouraged
This year’s Celtic-inspired, fantastical gala is your excuse to have fun with it! Wear your favorite cocktail or semi-formal look, or lean all the way into Outlander Highland romance or Renfaire-meets-Ireland—think Once meets the Renaissance Faire, with a little Irish magic thrown in. However you interpret it, the goal is the same: have fun, feel like yourself (or the most magical version of yourself), and come ready to celebrate!
This isn't just a "theater people" party
Cultural Enthusiasts & Arts Supporters
Whether you're a longtime patron or someone who just appreciates a good story well told, this is your night to experience, and directly fund, the magic of live, intimate theater.
Community Leaders & Philanthropists
If you care about cultural enrichment in Orange County, your presence here connects you with a room full of people who care about exactly the same thing.
Creative Minds & Artists
This is a celebration of the artistic spirit: a chance to be inspired, meet fellow artists, and support the programs that nurture the next generation of talent.
Families, Educators & Conservatory Parents
If you've watched a young person come alive through Chance's classes, Teens Speak Up, or a Conservatory production, this is how that stays funded for the next family who needs it.
Veterans & the Speak Up Community
As a Blue Star Theatres partner, Chance builds real programs for veterans and artists on the autism spectrum, and this room is full of people who believe in that work.
Dedicated Chance Theater Supporters
If you've felt what Chance's productions can do, this is your most direct way to make sure that work keeps happening next season, and the season after that.
Put your name on a piece of the evening
Sponsorship categories are claimed first-come. once claimed, gone for the year
A $300 ticket is less than most couples spend on a mediocre date night out, except this one comes with live music, dinner, an open bar, an auction full of surprises, and a direct hand in whether a kid in Orange County gets access to theater education next year. The tiers above aren't arbitrary: they're built so a first-time guest and a longtime champion of the arts can both find their seat at the table, and so that every level of generosity is recognized in a way that actually matches it.
The sun's going down over Anaheim. You walk in to the sound of a Celtic band warming up the room, lanterns lighting the path ahead of you. Glass in hand, you're catching up with people you already know and meeting a few you don't. By the end of dinner, you won't be able to tell who's who. The auction gets a little competitive. The stories from the stage remind you why you said yes in the first place. And somewhere in the middle of it all, you realize: this is the best kind of night, the kind that does double duty as doing something that matters.
Because of you, Chance Theater's artistic, education, and outreach programs are funded for the season ahead. That kid who gets their first theater class. That neighbor who finds their community. That bold, unexpected new production that never would have gotten made otherwise. All of it, made possible by one night you actually wanted to be at.
A few things worth knowing before you commit. Sponsorship categories are claimed on a first-come basis: once a sponsor underwrites the Entertainment, the Band, or the After-Party, that opportunity is gone for the year.
Tables are limited to the seating capacity of the Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center, and prominent seating tiers go first. And there's only one October 17th. This isn't a rolling deadline.
Save the date. Raise your glass.
Raise the curtain with us.
However you want to be part of Celtic Curtain Call, whether that's a single Advocates ticket, a full Icons table, or a sponsorship with your name on it, the fastest way to lock it in is to reserve online. Sponsorships, mail-in gifts, and anything custom go through Erika Miller.
Prefer to mail your contribution, or want a sponsorship category? Reach out to Erika for the Gala Sponsorship Form.
P.S. Sponsorship categories (Entertainment, Catering, the Band, the Auction, the Photo Booth, and more) are first-come, first-claimed. If you want your name tied to a specific part of the evening, the sooner you reach out to Erika, the better your odds.
P.P.S. Can't make it the night of but still want in? You don't have to choose between your calendar and the cause. Sponsor a table for others to use, or mail in your contribution using the Gala Sponsorship Form. Every dollar still goes straight to Chance Theater's artistic, education, and outreach programs, whether you're in the room or not.
P.P.P.S. This season, Bette & Wylie Aitken serve as our Season Producers, with the Family of Mary Kay Fyda-Mar continuing on as our Associate Season Producers, a legacy of generosity that Celtic Curtain Call carries forward every year.
Our Gala Sponsors
Table Sponsors
- Mayor Ashleigh Aitken & Michael Penn
- California Bank & Trust
- Molly Mahoney & John Dominguez
- The Prepared Performer
Event Sponsors
- Sam & Tammy Tang
- Myrna Hamid
- David & Danice Limberg
- Chris & Steve Sumpter
- Vinnie & Hoyle Leigh
- Molly Mahoney & John Dominguez
- Rachelle Menaker & Eddie Schuller
- Susan Bowman & Freddie Greenfield
- Kathy & Bahram Esfahani
- Bruce Goodrich
- David & Judy Joss
- Steven & Louisse Koch
- Mary & Michael Lysik
- Fran Riggs
- Laurie Smits Staude
- Vangie Thomson and Marnie Ceporius