GANG MEMBER'S COPY 1971 AUSTRALIA PALAIS THEATRE the scout association spcitRIANH/^31,,citralia His Excellency The Governor and Chief Scout of Victoria: THE HON. SIR HENRY WINNEKE, K.C.M.G.. O.B.E., K.St.J., Q.C. President of the Victorian Branch: THE HON. SIR JOHN YOUNG, K.C.M.G., Q.C. Chairman of the State Executive Committee: DR. N.A. NEEDHAM Chief Commissioner for Victoria: DR. NORMAN JOHNSON General Secretary: I.G. DOWNING, Esq. Lti I..41 The Manufacturers of SILVA COMPASSES WISH YOU AN ENJOYABLE EVENING A short note for Scout Loaders: Orienteering is a functional skill of Scouting. It develops skills in finding one's way through unknown territory. To help teach the art of orienteering — "The Orienteering Service of Australia- has made available various excellent 16 mm colour films for showing at Scout meetings. Interested persons may 'phone 489 9884 or write to P.O. Box 246, East Melbourne, 3002, for the latest list of films, and other promotional material on orienteering. t $ see the magic of Assistant Director: Deputy Director: WALLY EACOTT BILL DAWSON Technical Co-ordinator: HERR Y BOLD Personnel: KEN BEATON Producer and Musical Director: KEN BAYLY Parents and Supporters: JACK WILLIAMSON Costumes: PAT BOLD Staging: STEVE BRACKENRIDGE Relationships: JIM FIRTH 2 gang show with... Assistant Director: M. PETER HART DON LITIIGOW Administration Co-ordinator: REX MASTERS Assistant Producer: ALANA MOOR Production Co-ordinator: GRAEME MOOR Properties: BILL LEY Production Assistant: JOHN JENKINS Production Assistant: Make-up: RICHARD GREEN MARGARET GREEN more of the gang Production Lay Liaison: Assistant: JIM MILLER ROBERT MOTTON Sound: Electronics: JOHN LORNIE PAUL SCHAFER Front of House: External Services: NORM SHAW GRAEME TAYLOR Production Secretary: Services: CYNTHIA WALKER Production ROBERT WHITE Stage Director: Assistant: NEIL WEATHERILL STEVE WHEAT TRIBUTE TO DOUG CLARKE On Saturday, August 7, our Technical Director passed away just 28 days before the opening of our 24th Anniversary Gang Show. Doug had been intimately associated with each of the 24 shows since 1953, serving as cast member, choreographer, producer and production director as well as contributing in so many ways behind the scene. Doug was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, in the U.K., and later attended Liverpool University where he studied architecture. He first joined the Scout Movement in 1928 and later became a patrol leader in the 4th Wallasey Troop. While still a scout, he visited the Arrowe Park Jamboree and saw Baden-Powell and the famous caravan presented to the Founder on that occasion. During World War II he was with the R.A.F. in Maintenance Command and later taught with the R.A.F. Education Service. Following the war, he became SM of 2nd Anfield Sea Scouts in Liverpool and was later GSM of that Group. His last appointment prior to migrating to Australia was as ADC of Anfield District. Doug migrated to Australia in September 1950 and joined the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, where he was employed as Plant Layout Officer until his death. On his arrival in Melbourne, he became acting ADC ih Footscray District. He then moved to Melbourne District, first as ADC then as DC. His work in the District with migrant boys was notable. As DC, he established six national Groups as a means of integrating migrant boys into Scouting, while allowing them to retain their own valuable cultural backgrounds. In 1961, Doug became an AAC in Yarra-Batman Area, first for Scouts, then for Handicapped Scouts and later for Public Relations and Development. His last posi- tion was that of Assistant Branch Commissioner for Public Relations. For his services to scouting, Doug received the Medal of Merit in 1963 and, in 1971, was presented with the Bar to that medal. Doug's face was familiar to many from the Gang Show programme. During its early years, Doug looked after stage props and later choreographed the Show. In 1958 he became Producer and in 1963, Production Director. This position involved respon- sibility for all technical aspects of the Show-lighting, stage, sets, costumes and properties, to name a few. The high degree of technical skill which Doug acquired over his 23 years with the Gang Show played a large part in the show's success. Doug felt that Gang Show could certainly justify a place in today's scouting, both through its important public relations role and through the training it gives to those in the Gang and in the many suburban and country shows which Gang Show sup- ports. "Scouting", he said, "Is essentially a Look Wide at life. Theatre is one of the important facets of life which mirrors our culture. In training boys and girls in team work and in physical and mental control, theatre is also training them in citizenship." "Our responsibility in scouting is to offer a wide variety of activities — just look at the badge list— and theatre is one of the valuable training activities." The Show has lost one of its greatest stalwarts. He will long be remembered as one of the builders of Melbourne Gang Show. 5 "On your mark... get set..." Shell Australia's community spirit goes a lot further than just supplying the automotive kind. Shell's keen involvement in Australian sport spans more than a decade. Thousands of junior sportsmen in all major sports — football, tennis, cricket, basketball, swimming, athletics and golf, have benefited from the assistance given by Shell to amateur sporting bodies. Shell's active support is creating opportunities for juniors to improve their techniques in their favourite sport. SHELL AUSTRALIA SPR278 6 And for my next trick — Abracadabra — the 1976 Melbourne Gang Show. It's all here: dancing grapes, swinging Shakespeare, a song- and-dance camel, magic pantomime, and a tribute to the 75th anniversary of Federation. Whether you're seeing your first or 24th Gang Show, we hope you enjoy it. This year's show actually began 12 months ago — only a few days after we had torn down the scenery and repacked the costumes from last year's show. The hard-working production team (that's a joke) chose and planned the new songs and sketches ... the tech- nical team advised that the stunts required of them were impossible (but they did them anyway) . dance and other movement ideas were extracted from varied brains and committed to paper. The tempo increased in April. The cast were auditioned and inter- views held for all the departments listed elsewhere in this programme. With measurements to work on, the hard-working cos- tume makers (that's probably an understatement) began their mam- moth job, as did the set manufacturers. It seems like only three months ago (it was actually 13 weeks ago) that the cast started rehearsing and the personnel team started filling their files with data on where everyone should be standing and breathing at any given time. And suddenly we're here at the Palais. Three dress rehearsals and nine performances later we'll be again tearing down sets and repacking costumes as the magic of an exciting fortnight fades. But it's been a great chance to entertain (we hope) our families, friends, and Scouting friends from all over Victoria (plus members of Gangs from Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, other parts of Australia, and even New Zealand). We'll be back next year for our silver anniversary—we hope you will be too. 7 The Gang's Musicians: MAURICE SCOTT, JEAN NORTHCOTE and BILL GLASSON CHOREOGRAPHY by WENDY GASCOIGNE ORCHESTRATIONS by ED HARRISON COMPUTER FACILITIES by ROD DORIN ABOUT THE GEAR THEY WEAR- All the dazzling costumes worn by the Gang are made and owned by the show. But who dreams them up? That's where our costume designer, Ken Smith, comes in. He provides the cre- ative designs which are then trans- formed into patterns and finally into the finished garments seen on stage. This year Ken notches up his tenth year as Gang Show's costume desig- ner and you'll agree he's done a tremendous job. Ken is a professional designer with that well-known Bourke •-• -.- Street store, where he does those Christmas windows and the Moomba float. In his spare time, he designs for theatrical productions and runs his scout group, First Moorabbin. Ken and his wife, Jan, were recently overseas on a trip he won for his costume design at the Arts Ball. You'll see this "piece-de- resistance" worn by the prince and princess in the Arabian sequence (Ken's the prince). The Melbourne Gang has accumulated more than 10,000 costumes in its 24 year history. Each has been lovingly made by the parents' team behind the show and all are housed in the Gang Show store at St. Kilda. This year, our costume making group has added another 2,000 or so new creations to this impressive total. When the show finishes its country tours, which follow the Palais season, the costumes are available for hire at reasonable rates. If you're interested, write to Gang Show, 384 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. 8 the rpagical, musical, mystical gang show cast... Leon AARTS Robin HOPWOOD Ruth PEMBERTON John AARTS John HOSIE Bruce PERKIN Bruce ANDERSON Trevor HOWLETT Rod PETERSON Raymond HUME Gordon PETTY David BEAN Judith PHILLIPS Lyn BETTESS RustyJACOBS Robert PINAL Ted BLAMEY Val JOHNSON Barry PITTS Gary BOURTON Rob JONES Mark POTTENGER Stu BURFOOT Colin PROSSOR Leigh Mark CAMPBELL Richard KEIR Murrayy PURKISS Bruce CHISHOLM John KELLETT Bruce PYKE Braham CIDDOR Linda KELLETT Rob CLAPTON Byron KURTH Bernard RAFFERTY Vicki COLLINS Bruce RAWLINGS Julie COOKSON Greg LANYON Andrea REYNOLDS Tim CORNEY Graeme LAST David ROBERTSON Peter CORR Marlene LATTA David ROTHWELL Russell