Go Pink!

A comedic play about the real life experiences of breast cancer survivor Jenny Saldana, was set to start on Monday, October 20th at 7:00 p.m. in the lower level of the Barone Campus Center. The small elevated stage, equipped with microphones and standing speakers, stood in front of 35 seats.’

By 7:20 p.m., twenty minutes after the play’s scheduled start, 29 of the 35 seats remained empty for the play ‘Pink : The Chronicles of B.C. Jenny’

‘I texted everyone I know and nobody wants to come,’ said Alicia Ramharaek, one of the six seated Fairfield students.

‘Breast Cancer is serious, we’ve got to fight back…I’ll be pretty damn pissed if nobody shows up,’ Ramharaek said, as organizers scrambled throughout the Campus Center searching for an audience.

Meredith Marquez, Assistant Director, Office of Student Diversity Programs, had a more novel way of trying to build a crowd :

‘ ‘I just stood up on a chair in the cafeteria and asked ‘who likes boobs?’ they just kept eating,’ she said.

‘ Marquez wondered if it was the Diversity aspect of the play that drove away students.

‘Sometimes I wonder if the title ‘Student Diversity’ in flyer makes students question if they can relate to the topics,’ Marquez said.

‘A minimum of 50 pink flyers,’ Marquez confirmed, ‘were put up across campus, in both the residential halls and academic buildings’. Marquez also posted the event on the Student’s 411 page, the Campus Calendar, and also made it an open event on Facebook.

Around 7:20 p.m. the event was declared eligible for FYE credit, in a desperate attempt to gain interest. ‘An event almost has to be required in order to fill seats,’ said Marquez, ‘I feel like students just come in here (The BCC), eat and leavethat’s it!’

But once the play started, the Campus Center erupted with laughter. Pink: The Chronicles of B.C. Jenny was a hit with many of those who did show up.

‘It was funny and entertaining, she brought life to the topic in a different way,’ said student Sabrina Lefranc.

The play was performed by four actresses, including cancer survivor Jenny Saldana, who frequently changed their costumes and characters. The audience broke into laughter when the actresses donned pink pom-poms and lead the crowd in a ‘cancer sucks’ chant.

Funny and entertaining was what star Jenny Saldana was going for with her play.

‘Cancer doesn’t discriminate, it can effect anyoneI bet that you’d remember more facts about breast cancer than if it had just been a straight play,’ Saldana said after her performance.

But Saldana confirmed that Fairfield was one of the smaller crowds in her performing career.