Musical Theatre Education Society

The Musical Theatre Education Society, founded in 1984 in Canberra, Australia, is one of Australia's peak national music-oriented educational bodies. Founded by a group of close-knit friends, the Musical Theatre Education Society (MTES; pronounced Mmm-tess) was created to promote the scholarly aspects of musical theatre with the main musical theatre focus being on film versions of musicals.

MTES's mission statement is "To explore and promote the potential for improved humanity through the dissemination and education around the oft-forgotten genre of musical theatre, thereby enriching the lives of Ordinary Australian Working Families. MTES aims to show you the world - shining shimmering splendid!".

MTES meets regularly in Canberra, Australia, and hosting responsibility for meetings is shared amongst the membership. MTES meeting follow a standard pattern of scholarly presentation of the musical being explored; viewing of said musical; and piano-sing-along version of the musical for membership participation.

MTES aims to explore the intersection of universal themes with musical theatre techniques: how themes are portrayed through lyrics, performance, dance and musicality.

The original founding members of MTES bring with them years of industry experience, having worked in the television, music and dance industries.

New and exciting developments at MTES include: the opening of the first international branch of MTES in Honiara, Solomon Islands; and the first MTES wedding. The engagement was announced in October 2008; the wedding bells are due to ring in March or April 2009. Other members of MTES are already planning an entertainment extravaganza for the wedding reception in honour of the couple.

MTES recognises that as a group of world citizens we all have a wider responsibility to the world. MTES has evolved from a social-justice platform, is proudly a pro-poor organisation and is a vocal supporter of the UN Millennium Development Goals. MTES prides itself on conducting carbon neutral meetings and are frequent donors to local not-for-profit organisation MIEACT and international NGO CARE Australia.

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