Written by Heather Fitzsimmons Frey
Just prior to and during the First World War, the newly formed Girl Guides of Canada (established in 1909) did a wide range of performances to entertain, showcase skills, participate in rituals created by the Guides, and raise money for various causes such as the Red Cross, local hospitals, and going to camp. These included musical concerts, dance performances, 'Empire' pageants and tableaux as well as plays, operettas, and comedic sketches written by the girls or their troupe leaders. There were also 'spectacles' of physical culture (also called Swedish exercises or gymnastics), demonstrations of First Aid skills and military drills (such as flag signaling), and other forms of performance such as rituals, marches, and ceremonies directly related to the Girl Guides' activities and achievements (receiving badges or honours, “flying up” to a higher level, etc.). The culture and goals of the Girl Guides suggest that girls had a great deal of control over the content of these performances, and they probably built their costumes, props, and sets themselves.
The following documents are from the Girl Guides of Canada Archive where researches can find scrapbooks that contain images and reports from across Canada, including photographs, newspaper clippings, and performance programmes, starting in 1913 and reaching to the present day.
The Girl Guides of Toronto present their original play “The Adventures of the Princess Ring” on the grounds of Casa Loma.
“Empire Pageant” Toronto. Performing “the Empire” featuring Britannia in the middle, surrounded by her colonies, was a popular form of entertainment throughout the nineteenth century. Performed in “national” dress, these entertainments offered opportunities to wear costumes and fancy dress, and to solidify a sense of loyalty to the crown. They were also used in schools as ways to teach geography. Note, for example, in this tableau on the far right that Australia is represented by a girl wearing a kangaroo dress, and next to her is a girl dress with long braids, presumably representing Canada in a way that engages with stereotypes of Indigenous people.
“The Magic Kiss” by Jean McConnell Casa Loma. In 1914, Lady Pellatt invited the Girl Guides to perform another play at Casa Loma, the perfect performance space for a fairy tale. The images were printed in The Globe on June 20, 1914 and Toronto Sunday World, June 21, 1914, but it was performed on June 13.
“Triangle Club Girl Guides, 14 – 18 years of age Dumbell Drill” Kenora; Burnaby Club Girl Guides “Club Swinging”. These images are two of many in the collection of girls performing physical culture drills. These exercises were intended to improve strength, flexibility, endurance, and grace. They were often performed to music. Note that the girls in Burnaby are probably wearing clothes that were not their regular Guide uniforms, but were probably specifically worn for exercise drills.
“8th Girl Guides Club, Toronto” performing First Aid Drills. For an audience, girls had to speedily create stretchers from found objects, performing bandaging, and other safety and rescue drills.
Girl Guides across Canada offered entertaining programmes to raise money to go to camp, for the Red Cross, or for other local charitable efforts. Some programmes seem very amusing and comedic, while others were very serious. Here is an example of one programme in which the main feature may have been pantomime, dance, or even a series of tableaux. The programme was given during the First World War, although the performance confidently asserts victory for the Allies and peace.
For this inventive tableau and performance, Girl Guides were promoting the importance of Victoria Gardens to address First World War food needs. The scrapbooks do not indicate what the girls did while dressed as vegetables. These images were collected in the scrapbooks in the Girl Guides of Canada National Archives, but may actually represent American girls.
Guiding involved particular performances of rituals loosely connected to Juliana Horatia Ewing’s story “The Brownies.” Involving recitation and pledges, the girls performed their commitment to Guides and Empire.
