Guests: Ann Bensted, Sorel Coward, Maria Galatsanos, Siva Ananda, Sandra Fred, Thomas Scheuba
Apologies: Valerie Bonython, Sheila Evans, Mavis Martin, David Middleton, Bob Mills, Trevor McGuirk, Pam Trimmer
Chairman Stephen the Younger (Bone) introduced his sailing mate Peter Kelly. Peter is a specialised production manager who graduated with Honours in Drama. He has played a number of roles in bringing the wonders of vision, sound and stage to the public, including with the Festival of Arts, the Adelaide Festival Centre, the State Theatre Company and WOMAD. His management of Phantom of the Opera enabled a 4 month season in Adelaide in 2001. His specialty is scenery transformation.
Peter reflected that back in 1594 at the Globe Theatre in London when Shakespeare was a superstar, and performances could involve 20 or more Acts, the audience was asked to visualise the prevailing circumstances of each play. I guess Mark Antony's soliloquy of Julius Caesar would have been appropriately costumed with Latin leathers but missing the Rome colosseum. The break between acts were 5-10 minutes.
As theatre evolved, scenery became essential and practicality forced a reduction in the number of acts for each play etc. 3 or 5 act operas became common. Back in the 1970s, the Peter Brooks Theatrical Theatre Space was at the leading edge of stage development by incorporating abstraction into what had become literal background presentation. What you saw was no longer a reasonable replication of the expected scenery......the presentation of Midsummer Night's Dream contained such elements. When Peter Kelly took over running of the Dunstan Playhouse in 2001 it was full of stage furniture and scenery items. Computer graphics now play a crucial role.
During his 12 years with the State Theatre Company, there were 100 productions ie an average of 8-10 per year, which required very fast turnarounds. Designers and workshop staff worked closely together to create the many and varied backgrounds. For Germaine Greer in Crucible the stage was fully computer controlled. In plays such as
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf the changeover time between scenes was reduced to 40 seconds and it is now not uncommon to have segmental change within 5 seconds. Perhaps one of the most challenging scenery staging was
Maestro which incorporated a cyclone, but Peter counts
Frozen as his most memorable......seen relaxing here after his presentation.
Peter was thanked by acclamation and provided with the fabulous Rotary stick and vino to assist future staging.
RYLA - Thomas Scheuba
Vocational and Youth Committee Chair Stephen Baker introduced Thomas who was sponsored by the club at this year's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. Thomas is a 21 year old economics student from Austria who has been studying in Adelaide. He has already been involved in a number of Rotary projects including Youth Exchange and is strongly committed to a water supply project in Ethiopia.
Thomas provided photos of RYLA activities and the group of young people with whom he spent the week. He felt the greatest benefit of RYLA was from the relationships formed and the deepening of understanding. He was particularly touched by a 19 year old refugee from Somalia who had lost her mum, and the experiences of a young woman who had been subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Despite the extreme difficulties they were both strong and positive about the future. An added bonus was collecting $360 towards his Ethiopian project where as little as $15 can secure a family's water supply for 20 years. Thomas was thanked by acclamation.
Spots
Jerry Casburn confirmed that the play he had invited members to attend is on 17 November.....truly! He also thanked everyone for their support for Pride of Work, particularly Leonie Kewen who worked her butt off while Jerry was swanning around the world.
Stephen Baker reiterated his request for early advice on meeting attendance to help with catering and for members to get savvy with and provide feedback on our website.
Wendy Andrews asked members to support the Salvos Super Sunday event on 5 November, commencing 10am...our club will be helping with the BBQ. There will be a fashion parade and bake-off. The bake-off of cakes and biscuits in the afternoon, for those who haven't poisoned anyone of late, has an adult and children's section. For some strange reason package mixes are banned......which leaves the editor out. Further details can be obtained from Marlene Whiting 0n 8261 1049.
Ali Mostaghim informed of the session at Damien's this Wednesday from 10am - 1pm sewing kits for Days for Girls.
The Finale
Guest Maria Galatsanos won the atrocious squares.....a smart strategic choice from those responsible for drawing the winning marble. The best contribution to happiness was from Dennis who was enthusiastic about exporting Power to China and leaving them there. Jerry, Sorel, Stephen the elder and Thomas all chipped in with positive news, while Mavis lamented the loss of her dog Rupert.
The meeting closed at 8.02pm
Rotary News
Rotary members in Harvard, Illinois, USA, have teamed up with community groups to help alleviate hunger and bring the community together. By Arnold R. Grahl Photos by Monika Lozinska Videos by Andrew Chudzinski
Preschool children from Brown Bear Daycare plant young tomato plants and they visit the community garden in Harvard, Illinois, USA, every Monday from spring to fall to learn about garden-related topics and even help out.
“They get to taste the vegetables, some that they have never even seen. They get to experience what it is like to plant a garden from the planting to the picking to the eating,” says Sheila Henson, executive director of the day care center and a member of the Rotary Club of Harvard. “At the end of the summer, we have a parent night where the parents come and get to see the different things their children have been involved with.”
With the goals of alleviating hunger and educating the community, master gardeners from University of Illinois Extension planted the garden in 2001 on a half-acre parcel donated by the city and adjacent to the public library. Over the years, the master gardeners have enlisted the support of many businesses, organizations, and clubs, including the Rotary Club of Harvard, making the project a community-wide effort.
As many as 250 needy families benefit from the 10,000 pounds of vegetables that are grown and donated every year to the local food pantry. The fresh produce serves as a safety net for many families. Roughly a quarter of the community’s 9,200 residents live below the federal poverty line, a result of the limited employment opportunities in small farm towns across Illinois. The already fragile economy was further affected by the closing of a Motorola plant here in 2003 after only seven years of operation.
“Everybody needs a little help now and then.”
The Rotary Club of Harvard took on the project seven years ago, looking for a way to address hunger and help the community. With only seven members, the club has had an impact far beyond its size, amplifying its efforts by working with the master gardeners and other groups.“Harvard is definitely a better place because of the members of this club, and that is what keeps us going,” says Mike Morris, the club’s president. “It’s the expertise of the master gardeners, individuals in the community, farmers who help, and the education provided through the day care that makes this an amazing team effort.”
The Rotary club has provided $400 to buy seeds and starter plants from a local nursery every year since 2011. It also purchased plastic drip irrigation tubing and fertilizer valves after a drought threatened the garden in 2012. This year, it provided a letter of support needed by the master gardeners to secure a $5,000 grant for an organic compost mix that will add nutrients back to the soil and help keep weeds at bay.
“Many of us master gardeners are up there in years and can’t get down on our hands and knees like we used to,” he says. “I was so impressed with Rotary and Sheila, who brought all these young volunteers in. It was incredible how much we accomplished.”The Harvard Rotarians also used a Rotary grant to buy a new freezer, which allows the food pantry to store vegetables longer. Last winter, Morris secured another Rotary grant for $2,000, which, when combined with $5,000 from club funds, funded seven weeks of food deliveries from the Northern Illinois Food Bank..
On a July morning, about 20 people – Rotarians, master gardeners, and community volunteers – are scattered among the 14 rows, each 125 feet long, pulling weeds and picking vegetables. The garden is behind schedule this year because of heavy rains, and today’s harvest is smaller than normal.
“Thanks to the garden, we can feed people who can’t afford to buy fresh food at the supermarket. I believe it is everybody’s responsibility to help the community. If our children see that there is unity, love, and support, they are going to do the same thing. We are leaving them a legacy.”
Upcoming Events
COUNTRY CAR CRUISE (The Unley Redex Car Trial) on this coming Sunday 29 October, kicking off at 9.15pm from the Unley Shopping Centre.
Start revving you engines
Our Upcoming Meetings
31 October 2017 at Damien on Fisher at 6 for 6.30pm
Charlie Shahin - Experience with Refugees in Lebanon
Chair: Jerry Casburn | Set-up, Welcome & Attendance: N White & W Andrews
7 November 2017 at Damien on Fisher at 6 for 6.30pm
Grant Lock - Life as a Missionary in Afghanistan
