When the US belatedly entered World War I, its military telephone communication in Europe was slow.
While the soldiers were able to run out wires effectively, it took six minutes for an inexperienced male military operator to connect a call.
The solution?
Recruit American women who worked as telephonists and who could connect the calls in one minute.
These women and their important but unsung contribution to the Allies' war effort is celebrated in Peter Mills and Cara Reichel's 2018 musical The Hello Girls, which is being presented by Heart Strings Theatre Co.
Producer Ylaria Rogers said: "It's a piece about women's history, which was completely erased by men."
Through Bell Telephone, the US Army begrudgingly recruited about 220 French-speaking female telephonists, put them through military training and into uniform, and took them to Europe.
Some of them served on the front lines.
All made vital military communications faster and more efficient.
But when the war was over, their contribution was not recognised and they found themselves fighting a battle of their own.
The army dismissed the women and didn't acknowledge them as having served in the military.
The women fought this sexism and indifference for decades, finally receiving veteran status in 1975.
Producer Ylaria Rogers, who also acts in the show, started the semi-professional Heart Strings with a production of Urinetown last year that was also performed in Sydney.
That well-received production made enough money to pay its participants a profit share in addition to their initial stipend as Rogers had hoped it would.
"Paid opportunities for professional performance artists in Canberra are few and far between. I founded Heart Strings to create a platform for professional artists to work together to create high-quality theatre and create professional opportunities," Rogers said.
The Hello Girls is supported by Canberra Theatre Centre through its New Works and Sector Development Program to support local artists and producers in the commissioning, creative development and presentation of live performances.
Rogers was introduced to The Hello Girls by Jason Langley, whom Rogers knew from the Victorian College of the Arts.
Langely had directed a production of the show at the VCA.
"I listened to it and fell in love with it," Rogers said.
The earlier production was the source of the women's military uniforms (the other costumes are new) and Langley is directing it again for Heart Strings.
The women were led by Grace Banker, played here by Rhianna McCourt.
"At the end of the war, she was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal," McCourt said.
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Out of 16,000 members of the Signals Corps, 18 received this honour. Banker was the only female recipient and the contribution made by her and the other women was otherwise neglected.
Although McCourt is from Sydney and this will be her first show in Canberra, she has a connection to the capital.
"My best friend lives here - Natasha Vickery. We were at WAAPA [the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts] together," she said.
- The Hello Girls is on at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. from September 7 to 9, 2023. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
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