Peril on the High Seas - 2010

Loaded With Laughs and Music - 2010

 

ACT ONE

The Setting: The Melodrama Theater, Bakersfield California, 2000

The scene opens as six ambitious Aera Energy employees, led by an unknown yet compelling force, head for an actor’s workshop at the Melodrama Theater as a team building exercise. The workshop culminates in an actual performance of the show they have been working on, and the enthusiastic band of performers encourages their friends and family to attend the show. This results in a small profit of $2,500, for which the group tries to find a worthy cause. Because many in the troupe had friends, family, or loved ones that were affected by cancer, they decide to donate the money to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The group has so much fun contributing to such a worthy cause, that they decide to stage a show every year to benefit the Relay for Life, with increasing contributions each year.

ACT TWO

The Setting: The Norris Road Veteran’s Hall, Bakersfield, California, 2004

No longer just a group of Aera employees, the little theater company has grown to include employees from many companies within the oil industry. The group, now calling itself Black Gold Productions, forms an alliance with the American Petroleum Institute (API) and sets its sights on grander shows with more performances to raise even more money for the Relay for Life. The API alliance also provides an opportunity to raise scholarship funds for deserving young people. The alliance proves to be a success as Black Gold Productions 2004 show of “Way out West in a Dress” raises almost $15,000 for the Relay for Life and $4,000 in additional scholarships for the API. The Black Gold Productions group receives an Excalibur Award from the American Cancer Society in recognition of their level of contribution. The award is the American Cancer Society’s second highest award given to donors.

 ACT THREE

The Setting: The Norris Road Veteran’s Hall, Bakersfield, California, 2005 – 2009

The group performs a show every year gaining more following and more support and raising more money each year for the American Cancer Society’s Bakersfield Relay For Life. The little theatre company is nominated four times for the Beautiful Bakersfield Awards in the Humanitarian Group category.

Over the past nine years, Black Gold Productions has contributed over $155,000 to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.