The play is set in a Public Hall of a small outback town. The hilarious efforts of the hall committee, and some of the local characters, as they set about overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles, to achieve their objective, demonstrates the tenacity and ingenuity of outback folk at their indomitable best .
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Plot / Synopsis
The local line dancers are annoyed, because the hall committee have cancelled their regular practice session.
Government funding has been obtained, to pay a visiting director, from the city, to teach a group of debutantes the finer arts of grooming, deportment, dress and dancing.
The committee plan to impress a visiting member of Parliment, by demonstrating that the hall is mainly used for arts and cultural events, in order to apply for more arts funding, to help repair the old building. The original grant, is conditional on there being at least six debutantes, to be presented. This stipulation, of course, includes six male partners for the debutantes.
The committee have three local, would be, social society debutantes, but they need to convince at least three of the line dancers to become debs...... And find six jackaroo’s willing to wear dinner suits, and learn to dance the Minuet.
Debutante frocks and dinner suits have to be ordered from the city. The ball has to be planned to perfection, to impress the member of Parliament. Of course, things never go as planned. Murphy’s Law of the Outback applies, and everything goes wrong..
The hilarious efforts of the committee, and some of the local characters, as they set about overcoming, seemingly impossible obstacles, to achieve their objective, demonstrates the tenacity and ingenuity of outback folk, at their indomitable best.
Suggested Music.
ACT ONE
Two Months before the Ball
Music No. 1. Line Dancing Number .................…........
Music No. 2. Waltz of the Flowers, .......................….....
Music No. 2a. Waltz of the Flowers, .......................….....
Music No. 3. Optional Solo ............................................
Music No. 4. Waltz of the Flowers …………………….
ACT TWO
The Night of the Ball
Music No. 5. The Boys from the Bush ..................................
Music No. 6. Mandrake, or The Longreach Rodeo..(Optional.)
Music No. 7. ....... Any Waltz ...........
Music No. 8. Waltz of the Flowers..........................................
Music No. 9. Finale.... Members of The Outback Club............
Cast
The Line Dancers
Leanne.................... Bossy, easily stirred.
Simone................... Tomboy, calls a spade a spade.
Barbara................... Pretty, naive, may be blonde.
The Debutantes
(May double as extra line dancers, disguised with hats and wigs etc.)
Sonia......... Snobbish, vain, well off, landowners daughter.
Kathy....... Sonia’s best friend. Middle class, nice girl.
Louise........ Awkward, Perhaps very tall.
The Guys
Wombat ................... Jackaroo, Bush Character.
Fourby .................. Jackaroo, Thick, as a Four by Two.
Nugga.................... Town Layabout, Sometime Rodeo Rider
The Committee
Muriel Sterling........... Mother of Sonia, Bossy,
Betty Lawson.............. Widow, Mother of Louise. Good Cook.
Rhonda Bowden...........Spinster, Town Whinger
Others M/F (May be Male or Female)
Leslie Heatherington........ Arts Council Director. City dweller.
The Mayor.. (Small role only. )
The Honorable Member of Parliament. (Male or Female.)
(The MP is a non speaking Cameo role, may be someone selected from the audience)
Chorus if required. Extra Line dancers. M/F Extra Debutantes and Partners, Extra Committee Members M/F