PROGRAMME DIFFICULTIES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 93, 6 May 1937, Page 3

PROGRAMME DIFFICULTIES

Our Own Correspondent)

Waipawa Savage Club's Efforts L. •

(From

WAIPAWA, Last Night. The annual report presented to ' the Waipawa Savage Club at its meeting last night stated: The year closed with a eredit balance in the bank of £16 6/11, as against £4 19/2 for the previous season. This imprevement is, however, more apparent than real, as the increased credit balance is to a large extent dne to tho zeal of our secrmary, Savage Moss, in coilecting outstanding subscriptions. The number of members during the season was 33, which is approximately the sauie as for the previous year. From the entertainment side tho past season maintained the standard sct by previous years. The thanks of the club are due to those members who so willingly helped to fill the ?year's programmes, and more particularly to those few whose outstanding abilities caused them to *be repeatedly called ou. The club owes a debt of gratitude to Savage Conductor Maher and hiis orch'estra, without whose assistance the programme organisers would have been faced with 'a practically impossibfe' task. Chief Savage Sawyer carried out his duties with great success and to the advantage of tue club as a whole. We sincerely regret his departure. In years gone by the Waipawa Savagj Club Was a highly popular institution, and the high quality of the concerts provided was suffieicnt to attract a large membership. With changing times, however, and particularly with the advent of radio, it iis found increasirigly difficult to attract members by a purely concert programme, no matter how good the programmes themselves may be. It is felt that an attCmpt should now ,be made to widen the vcope of the programmes sufficiently tp cater for a more varied taste in entertamment, and also by introducing plays, sketches and debates to increase the number of individuals who are themselves taking part in the pYovision of the entertainment. A further point that should be borne in .mind is that in a small town like Waipawa the supply of talent in the direction of musicai entertainment is limited, with the ' result that it is necessary to mahe an unfair call on those few Savages who are able and willing to provide it. An attempt should be made to vary, to a large extent, the type of entertainment previously offered, to reduee. the number of purely concert items and to introduce short plays, sketches, debates, play-reading and short leeturee. This type of entertainment, interspersed with occasional musicai numbers, it is Jioped will not only extend the appeal of the club and so ' attract new members from among those who have not previously joined, but vrni aiqo uuable a larger number of members to take a personal part in the entertainment.