Cirrus@Austlit

Written in the lead-up to the centenary of Thespian Lodge No 268 of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland, The Show Must Go On tells the history of a Freemasons Lodge founded in Brisbane at the end of the war years primarily for people involved in the performing arts. As Stig Hokanson notes in his Foreword, 'Freemasonry had to this point been out of their reach due to evening and night work in which these men were engaged' (p.9).

Records indicate that the early members of the lodge included vaudeville entertainers and musicians, dramatic and comedic acts, and members of Queensland's symphony orchestra. The author goes on to note in his foreword: 'Thespian Lodge changed over time as actors gave way to newspaper workers. Journalists, compositors, proof readers came to dominate later decades. These professions later still gave way to retires, a cohort which today dominate its membership' (p.9).

A number of the thespian biographies included in The Show Must Go On were first published by the author in newsletters to the Lodge members.

The Australian Variety Theatre Archive (AVTA) is an independent, not-for-profit research website devoted to the period of theatrical activity in Australia that might be considered the 'golden years' of minstrelsy and vaudeville. The motivation for the site has been the need to rectify the exceedingly poor amount of research directed towards this area of Australian history and thus address the many myths, inaccuracies and gaps that are to be found in the present historical record.

The AVTA's primary objectives are two-fold: To celebrate and advance our knowledge of the Australian variety theatre industry which operated between the mid-1800s and the late-1920s/early-1930s; and to provide an on-going information archive which will serve as the basis for further research by both academics and historians, as well as by the general public.

Variety entertainment during the period covered by the AVTA crossed many theatrical genres and media forms (including film and radio). The archive is primarily interested, however, in the following genres: burlesque minstrelsy (including minstrels farces) vaudeville revue revusical (one act musical comedies) pantomime. The archive is also looking to provide biographical details on the people involved in variety the performers (individuals and acts), entrepreneurs and managers, troupes, scenic artists, stage managers, front-of-house managers, costume and property-makers, choreographers, writers, composers, songwriters, lyricists directors, music directors, producers and associated industry practitioners (journalists/critics, advance representatives etc).

The AVTA also publishes Mixed Bag, a monograph series devoted to variety theatre and popular culture entertainment.

Source: http://ozvta.com/ (Sighted 23/06/2011)