History of ELT

Still Going Strong
-- Mike Saunders

Electric Light Theatre began in 1984; in preparation for the first on stage production in 1985.  The people who started it all had an interest in stagecraft.  A few of us had our beginning with the Scout Gang Show, while others had a background in dance.  All our experiences showed us that young people have a lot of talent when it comes to entertainment.  Beside the Gang Show, which was restricted to Scouting and Guiding folk, the only other group to cater for youngsters was Mildura Little Theatre.  This group was concerned with acting roles under the direction of the late Norm York, who incidentally was one our best supporters.
We felt we wanted to create a new bright modern variety show which could be available to young people in the whole community.  I recall that the 'Electric Light' bit was all about being bright.  As time progressed this concept lead us heavily into lighting effects.
Our first show went on stage with only 43 cast.  There were no problems with getting in then!  Our budget for the whole show was $500!  Last year we spent $2000 on scenery alone!  Our total budget exceeded $27,000.
Over the years a few of our past cast have ventured forth into careers in entertainment.   We have now a completely new cast on stage as Richard Tankard was the last of the original cast left.  Vaughan Stirrat is now the only person left in the Commitee from the original show, and has been involved until the current time.   What did happen over these years was that some extremely talented and creative people both in Cast and Production, joined in our ranks.  Their great leadership and example were an inspiration to the all youngsters starting off.
There was a time when we considered that only the girls could dance.  The boys spectacular routine in West Side Story will probably never be equalled.  As the show goes now, all the cast learn to dance.
There were moments of fun too.  Like when Scott's head appeared in the Juke Box where the records should have been.  A certain picture from 'Playboy' inside the sink.   And the time when the stage crew were caught on stage playing cards (The only light was on them).  Also, Richard Tankard's amazing "Everything is fresh".   		Probably the funniest was the disappearing cat on the string in the "Inspector Gadget" sketch, which a happened as an accident and we kept it in.
Over the years we have staged some very good items, about which we were well pleased.   "West side story" was memorable for the boys dance routine and the dynamic energy that surrounded it.  "St. George and the Dragon" (from our first show) was a good sketch brought to life with the capable acting of Craig (Aspro) Astbury and Randall Edwards.
There were the great spectacle items such as "Stars and Stripes" (a tribute to America) and the "Final Frontier" (a Space item).  In the scenery department Matthew Shortt's "Yellow Submarine" was unforgettable.  The original 1987 "Barber Shop Quartette," and the one that followed in 1990 which featured Richard's amazing coat trick was also memorable.  For technical excellence the "James Bond" act was one of the best.
Of the items that the kids loved being in were "Hair" and "Action Jackson", and "High School Musical"   The introduction of an A Cappella item into the show with Trickle, trickle was extremely effective. This kind of item has often been requested, and performed over the years.
Our Orchestra, too has been very obvious.  It has always been my intention that they are to be seen and feel an integral part of the show, and to this end they have appeared on stage in some years. (This made conductor Vaughan feel somewhat lonely!)  In other years the stage pit floor has been raised so that they can be seen as well as heard.   They appeared in a uniform (or costume) just as the cast do.  The standard of the Orchestrations has made their contribution to the show very effective.  The difficulty of finding musicians has lead us into the area of Electronic Music. We now use Midi files for the backing to the Show.
There was no show in 1996:  The Show went into recess as the team agreed that after 11 years of continuous production there was a need to stop and rethink a lot of things. The demise of the show was a distinct possibility but after the rest, the new production team put a new show together, which involved a lot of new cast.
In all, we have set a very high standard of stagecraft in Sunraysia, one of which we will have to work to maintain this high standard.

Our Mildura audiences have supported us well.  Some of our patrons even come back again to see the show a second time.  We appreciate your support because without it our talented young Australians would be unable to develop their stagecraft skills.


We appreciate any feedback you wish to pass on and your comments will be carefully considered.

Our name is up there in lights.  One day the names of some of our talented cast will be there too.

-- Mike Saunders - Founder and Retired Producer, Electric Light Theatre