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In 1967 many members of the Miranda School of Arts theatre troop
were dissatisfied with the management of the group which was
virtually run by one man. A Company meeting was held and a new
society was formed with the idea of presenting musicals to suit
the people belonging to the society while welcoming new members.
The atmosphere was to be that of a large happy family with many
social events to be enjoyed by all.
Using draft constitutions of other societies and trying to
improve these where possible Laurel Gee, Alan Mundy and George
Rixon drew up a constitution which was accepted unanimously by
the members and Miranda Musical Society was born. The Miranda
School of Arts donated a starting capital of $80.
The inaugural management committee of Miranda Musical Society
was elected:
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President - George Rixon
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Secretary - Laurel Gee
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Treasurer - Shirley Oberg
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Publicity - Bernard Brought
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Social
Secretary - Darryl Francis
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Members
representatives - Sandra Cook and Don Loveday
The first rehearsal hall was the Miranda School of Arts but that
building was demolished to make way for the Colonial State Bank.
The second hall was at the Sylvania Soccer Club where the
society worked under difficult conditions with the principles
rehearsing in the kitchen at the same time as the chorus
practiced in the main body of the hall. The third hall the Como
School of Arts was affectionately known as the fleapit but after
many years of use the termites ate their way through the
building. The society took up a temporary home in the Oyster Bay
Community Hall until the new Como School of Arts hall was built.
This is now the official home of the Miranda Musical Society.
Shows were staged at Port Hacking High School auditorium at
Miranda and ticket prices started at $1.00 for adults and 40
cents for children. This hall was used until 1986 when
renovations closed the venue for several months. Forced to move
on Miranda Musical Society found a new home at the Sutherland
Entertainment Centre where many successful shows have been
staged.
In the early days the accent was for the group to have fun as
well as present shows. The social committees worked hard
organising family events including car trials, theatre parties,
picnics, pool parties and crazy hat nights that were enjoyed by
all. With the hectic pace of modern day living these social
events are no longer held.
Only two shows have ever been stopped during an actual
performance. In March 1970 South Pacific was halted due to
torrential rain on the tin roof which made it impossible for the
audience to hear, in fact the cast were unable to hear each
other on stage. Once the storm passed over the show was
restarted from the beginning to the delight of the theatergoers.
The second time was on advice from the police when a bomb hoax
emptied the hall, once the all clear was given there was not an
empty seat in the house.
In almost 40 years Miranda Musical Society has never cancelled a
performance due to illness of a leading player, this is an
incredible statistic considering that no understudies were
available. Injured chorus members have been known to spend the
night at Sutherland hospital before turning up on stage at the
next performance.
Miranda Musical Society often staged amateur premieres of
unknown musicals sometimes with great box-office success at
other times they were not so successful. In 1993 Miranda Musical
Society presented the NSW amateur premiere of Les Miserables,
dress circle tickets were $25.00 and every show was sold out.
This was the most successful show ever presented. In June 1999
Miranda Musical Society staged the world amateur premiere of The
World goes round.
Staging two major productions each year in March and September
MMS has managed to add a successful mid year show since 1996.
When fires tore Sutherland Shire apart in 1994 MMS made
donations to the fire brigade, Como West public school for a new
piano and to other charitable organisations.
There are many foundation members who are still actively
involved in the running of the society in fact Alan Mundy who
began as director in 1967 has continued as the resident director
averaging two shows per year until 2002 and now continues with
an average of one show each year.
Miranda Musical Society was incorporated in 1991.
Adapted from a speech by Anne Petre-Black December 2000.
Re-worded by Nancy Hardie 2005.
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