Frank Van Straten (born 14 May 1936) is an Australian performing arts historian, author and former director of the Performing Arts Museum. Van Straten was the first archivist of the Performing Arts Museum (now

Australian Performing Arts Collection The Australian Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne, formerly known as Performing Arts Museum (PAM), is the largest specialist performing arts collection in Australia, with over 780,000 items relating to the history of circus, danc ...

), at the

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

, and its director from 1984 until 1993. Between 1986 and 2001, he researched and presented

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

's Nostalgia segment, broadcast on Melbourne's 774 and the ABC Victorian Regional Network. In 2002, Van Straten acted as the Historical Consultant for

Graeme Murphy Graeme Lloyd Murphy AO (born 2 November 1950) is an Australian choreographer. With his fellow dancer (and wife since 2004) Janet Vernon, he guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and best-known dance companies ...

's 'dance musical' '' Tivoli'', performed by the

Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the ...

, which premiered at the State Theatre,

Arts Centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Van Straten has served on the board of the

National Theatre, Melbourne The National Theatre is a 783-seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets. The building was constructed in 1921 as The Victory Theatre (3000 ...

. He has also served on the judging panels of the

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

and

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

. He is a patron of the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society (Victoria), and a founding member and committee member of the Victoria Theatres Trust (now Theatre Heritage Australia). In 1999, Van Straten received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in honour of his contributions to the performing arts in Australia. In 2007, Van Straten was appointed Live Performance Australia's Official Historian. Van Straten was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the

2017 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

Bibliography

* ''Discovering puppets'' (South Melbourne : Performing Arts Museum, Victorian Arts Centre, 1981) * ''Bourke Street on Saturday night : the memories of Charlie Fredricksen "the man outside Hoyts"'' (Melbourne : Performing Arts Museum, Victorian Arts Centre, 1983) * ''National treasure : the story of Gertrude Johnson and the National Theatre'' (South Melbourne : Victoria Press, 1994) * ''The Regent Theatre : Melbourne's palace of dreams'' (Melbourne : E.L.M. Publishing, 1996) * ''Tivoli'' (South Melbourne : Lothian, 2003) * ''Huge deal : the fortunes and follies of Hugh D. McIntosh'' (South Melbourne : Lothian Books, 2004) * ''Florence Young and the golden years of Australian musical theatre'' (Mornington, Vic. : Beleura, 2009) * ''Her Majesty's Pleasure : A Centenary Celebration for Adelaide's Theatre of the Stars'' (Adelaide : Wakefield Press, 2013)

References

External links

Interview with Frank van Straten
conducted by Bill Stephens, 25 July 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Straten, Frank Living people 1936 births Australian historians 20th-century Australian historians Members of the Order of Australia