Foster’s theatre company, FAMDA, has been staging productions in South Gippsland since 1953.
On Friday 17 October FAMDA celebrated its 55th birthday with a party at Source Café in Foster and used the occasion to launch FAMDA’s 2009 season menu.
Inaugural life member, Pattie Fleming, a foundation member of the company and in the cast for its very first production, was in attendance and Barbara Fleming commented that another founding member, her mother, Jean Gotch, had sent her best wishes for the occasion.
John Laurie added to the party atmosphere by providing musical entertainment and Genevieve Moore presented an interesting selection of visual memorabilia from past shows.
President, Max Adam, provided an entertaining summary of some of FAMDA’s past achievements before revealing the tantalising fare being cooked up for FAMDA audiences in 2009.
IN THE BEGINNING
FAMDA is an award-winning, community theatre and singing company that has involved, inspired and enriched the Corner Inlet community since 1953.
Its history goes back even further than that to 5 May 1948 when W. S. Pearl, the Shire Secretary, and hardware store owner, Doug Davis, convened a meeting attended by seventeen others to form an organisation to take advantage of cultural opportunities provided by the State Film Centre and the Council of Adult Education.
The group was to be known as Foster Film, Art, Music and Drama Association and its first aim was to sponsor regular screenings of films sent by rail from the State Film Centre and touring companies, principally the Council of Adult Education, bringing musical groups, plays and even ballet into the district.
The visiting artists, including musicians from the Zelman Orchestra, an affiliate of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, were usually billeted in the private homes of FAMDA members.
Another aim was to provide a centre where members could pursue their own interests in fields of visual arts, orchestral or recorded music, selected documentary films or dramatic art including choral singing. Each group was allocated one night per month to enjoy its particular art and a general meeting was held to plan activities well ahead.
FIRST PRODUCTION
At Foster FAMDA’s 1953 AGM the president, Ivor Gazzard, the first head master of the then Foster High School, suggested that dramatically minded members might like to stage a variety show at the Foster Hall and Foster Frolics hit the boards on 4th November 1953.
FAMDA thus takes its official birthday from the time it began staging its own shows rather than imported ones.
Foster Frolics was a variety show based loosely on a night club, the Ragwort Rendezvous, which was famous for its can-can ballet and its solo vocalists wickedly plagiarising the popular stars of the day. The cast was listed as including Mrs. Fleming, Mrs. Gazzard, Mrs. Gotch, Mrs. Carruthers, Mrs. Smith, V. A. Roney, Mrs. Traill, C. I. Gazzard, H. Davis, T. Burns, L. Traill, D. Cunningham and R. Carruthers.
This show was a tremendous success and plans were immediately made for a similar event the next year and FAMDA forged ahead with its other activities. The music-lovers formed a recorded music group which met at private homes to listen to and discuss the composers and their works and usually electing a leader for the next month’s program. The visual artists met for painting sessions and occasionally were able to invite an artist to assist. Those interested in films were able to arrange screenings using Foster High School facilities.
Advancing from the early variety shows, the company decided to tackle something more ambitious and for the third annual production included Trial by Jury with Len Tosch, Joyce Pearson, John Kahsnitz and John Fleming among the cast.
This was so popular that it was followed by The Mikado the next year. With all the confidence of the youthful society, members created kimonos, black wigs and long regal fingernails fashioned from old X-ray films.
During the relatively short life of the society, the musicians had started a nucleus of an orchestra which became the mainstay of the musical comedies. This group became so important that an orchestra pit was built into the floor of the old hall to accommodate it.
Membership increased, musical evenings gained popularity and the art and film groups flourished but, over all, ‘the stage’ was favourite and the name, FAMDA, became synonymous with stage productions. Musical comedy, pantomime, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, mystery dramas and melodramas appeared year after year.
In 1962 the Foster Mechanics Institute burnt down, theatrical productions ceased but all the other activities continued.
NEW HALL
With the advent of the new Foster War Memorial Arts Centre in 1966 with the large stage and the provision of more sophisticated lighting, more ambitious productions were undertaken and two or three productions have been staged nearly every year.
FAMDA celebrated Foster’s centenary with a locally written historical play, The Great Uncertainty. For Victoria’s Sesquicentenary FAMDA commissioned a melodrama based on life in Foster as a goldfields town. The result was Felicity’s Fortune written by Patricia Fleming with music by Barbara Fleming.
Some shows were taken on the road. In 1982 a controversial production of Don’s Party was staged in Leongatha and Yarram as well as Foster.
FAMDA’s Bicentennial show, 200 Not Out, had two performances in Yarram. In 1990 Follow the Star was performed in Georgetown, Tasmania and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum toured to Yarram in 1991.
Enlargements and improvements to the stage area at the Foster Hall, which FAMDA has always assisted financially, made possible larger productions such as Oklahoma! directed by Glenn Smith and staged in conjunction with the local secondary college.
FORTY YEARS ON
In 1993 FAMDA staged a splendid performance of Fiddler on the Roof. Directed innovatively by Neil Goodwin, FAMDA used newly constructed tiered seating to convert the hall to a veritable theatre.
It was also the first time FAMDA had entered itself in theatre competitions and Gippsland Theatre awards went to John Watson as Best Actor, Max Hastings as Best Supporting Actor and the Dream Sequence earned the award for the Most Innovative Contribution. There was also a Judge’s award for community involvement prompted by the large number of local businesses providing sponsorship for the production. FAMDA’s sponsors are still very much appreciated for their generous contributions to the company.
In 1995 FAMDA decided to change its name officially to Foster Amateur Music & Drama Association in recognition of its focus on theatrical pursuits rather than film and visual arts and Geoff Davey designed FAMDA’s new Dancing Stars logo.
AWARDS
FAMDA has enjoyed a remarkable run of success with its recent productions.
From 1998 to 2006 FAMDA won the Gippsland Theatre Most Outstanding Play trophy every year, except for 2000 when FAMDA did not stage a play, as Best Play awards went in succession to Round and Round the Garden, Educating Rita, The Woman in Black, Hotel Sorrento, A Month of Sundays, Shirley Valentine, Shadowlands and Oedipus Rex.
There were also awards for Bruce Crowl, Max Hastings, Murray Maclean and Raymond Dunstan as directors and numerous trophies for actors, sets and lighting.
Productions of Annie, Oliver!, Guys and Dolls and The Producers have earned several Music Theatre Guild nominations and the 2000 Most Outstanding Technical Achievement trophy went to FAMDA for its staging of Oliver!
Since 2002 FAMDA’s plays have impressed VDL judges with many nominations. A set design award went to Geoff Davey for the set design of Hotel Sorrento, Rob Ellis has twice won the sound design award while Bruce Grainger won the best supporting actor award and Cate Aitken the Best Actress in a Minor Role trophy for their performances in Oedipus Rex.
2009 FARE
The first course was Bush Magic, a playful pantomime of perfidy plus puppetry presented in the Christmas holidays between 14 and 25 January.
Dinner at Hugo’s, a gourmet thriller by Edwin Coad, served 17 – 24 April as the entrée to the Prom Coast Seachange Festival.
The final course on the menu was Stephen Sondheim’s delicious musical, Into the Woods, fractured fairy tales with a cautionary note to be careful what you wish for. This delightful confection was staged 2 – 17 October.
In addition the Prom Coast Singers tempted the taste buds by singing in the extended Prom Coast Seachange Festival program on 1 and 2 May.
The annual South Gippsland One Act Play Festival continued on the weekend of Saturday 8 August.
2010 HIGHLIGHTS
The Arty-Farty Trivia Party on 17 July was great fun.
The 10th Annual South Gippsland One Act Play Festival was bigger and better than ever with generous funding from the Toora & District Branch of the Bendigo Bank.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee showcased the talents of young performers from across South Gippsland and attracted large and enthusiastic audiences.
PHOTOGRAPH – November 2008
FAMDA Past, Present and Future – Pattie Fleming (Life Member and cast member in FAMDA’s very first production), Max Adam (FAMDA President 2006 – 2009) and Louise Dower* (young performer in FAMDA shows such as Ebenezer’s Dream, Twisted Tales, Open Call, Bush Magic, Into the Woods and many more to come.
* In 2009 Louise went on to win a Music Theatre Guild of Victoria judge’s award and also the Gippsland Associated Theare Award for the Most Outstanding Junior Female for her performance as Milky White, Jack’s cow in Into the Woods.
