Craig Fair
Craig’s excitement for music was clearly visible even at four years of age and he was instantly active in his music and also competed regularly at step dancing competitions in southwestern Ontario as a solo act and with a troupe called “Threes Company”.
Craig decided to pursue music and theatre education, and eventually he and his brother Shawn made up the group Wild Pitch. They made their debut performance at the 1989 Teeswater Old Boys and Girls Reunion singing Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis to almost 2,000 people. Wild Pitch continued to entertain afterward at just about any local function, large or small.
Shortly thereafter, Craig was contacted by the artistic director of the Charlottetown Festival in PEI, who was looking for a young boy to play a leading role opposite a seasoned veteran by the name of Bill Hosie in a musical called The Great Adventure. A friend of the director who had attended a Wild Pitch performance had recommended Craig might be a good fit after country-wide auditions and no luck. Craig headed down to PEI’s Charlottetown Confederation Centre Theatre and in the midst of professionals, Craig had the time and opportunity to work and perform all season. Upon returning to Ontario, Craig performed in Gypsy at The Stratford Festival Theatre and the following Christmas performed in A Christmas Carroll at the Grand in London.
Craig continued his academic education at FE Madill High School and immersed himself their drama department, performing in all of FE Madill High School’s productions, such as Guys and Dolls and Grease. Craig’s enthusiasm for music did not stop inside the school. He was constantly singing at weddings and performing at local and charity functions.
For six years he performed with “Soundsation” productions and acted as President of the organization for a year. During his Soundsation years, Craig formed the dance group Rivanova. During this time he was honored to accept a scholarship at the Kincardine Summer Jazz Week. In his last year of high school, he staged his own show A Christmas Gift at the Heritage Theatre in Wingham.
Craig then auditioned and was accepted into Sheridan’s Music Theatre Performance Program in the fall of 2000. There, Craig staged his own show Good Times at the Blyth Festival Theatre. Craig was successful in an audition for summer employment of 2001 and found himself performing on Paramount Canada’s Wonderland main stage in a show called The Graveyard Shift before returning to resume his studies at Sheridan.
Sheridan staged Catch a Rising Star each year and it featured the graduating class, as well as some of the outstanding dance critiques of the second year students. Craig’s critique made it into the show in early 2002. Following Catch a Rising Star, Craig returned to perform in the Charlottetown Festival before wrapping up his last year at Sheridan, graduating as a recipient of the Triple Threat Award.
