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Very Interesting . . . Reviewing Corps Websites


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Trying to get an idea of what corps' maybe doing this year since not all have announced--(copyright issues, and just the general "make em wait" attitude to build the suspense.) So I browsed the websites.

I am very intrigued about what the Colts have up their sleeve for this summer. Next weekend is their last audition camp -- get this -- for singers and drama students.

Ooooh what does the corps from Iowa have cooking in the midwest this winter?

"Wicked"? "The Wiz"?

Who knows, but enquiring minds like mine want to know.

Andy

Hope is a good thing.

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I am very intrigued about what the Colts have up their sleeve for this summer. Next weekend is their last audition camp -- get this -- for singers and drama students. Ooooh, what does the corps from Iowa have cooking in the Midwest this winter? "Wicked"? "The Wiz"?

Presumably not The Wiz, since they had a Wizard of Oz theme last summer.

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When Frank/Larry McCormick got The Cavaliers to do the Circus show just before DCI began, the corps sought jugglers, tumblers,and other sideshow artists. In his book, Don Warren, corps founder, says it was a mistake. The conclusion is that the specialists operated at a different motive and energy from the rest of the Green Machine.

When Michael Cesario got the Madison Scouts to do Carmen and prompted them to add a female performer similar to what they did with Wizard of Oz, there was much consternation whether she was a member, a prop, or a real Madison Scout. My memory recalls that she even travelled apart from the corps members who were in the busses while she as the featured performer road in a station wagon or such.

IMHO, finding such desired talents within the membership of the corps renders a better result on and off the field during tour. Finding a narrator from among eligible corps vets as The Cadets did this past season (he had previously been a mellophonist) or as Carolina Crown did in its ring winning show in 2013 (another horn player) dissuades any barriers with other members. In general I don't like shows built on one person, the only child standing apart (and above?) the rabble.

Staffs usually don't need to search too far for the needed talents among the many that the current 150 DCI members possess.

Impossible you say? Not really.

Edited by xandandl
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When Frank McCormick got The Cavaliers to do the Circus show just before DCI began, the corps sought jugglers, tumblers,and other sideshow artists. In his book, Don Warren, corps founder, says it was a mistake. The conclusion is that the specialists operated at a different motive and energy from the rest of the Green Machine.

When Michael Cesario got the Madison Scouts to do Carmen and prompted them to add a female performer similar to what they did with Wizard of Oz, there was much consternation whether she was a member, a prop, or a real Madison Scout. My memory recalls that she even travelled apart from the corps members who were in the busses while she as the featured performer road in a station wagon or such.

IMHO, finding such desired talents within the membership of the corps renders a better result on and off the field during tour. Finding a narrator from among eligible corps vets as The Cadets did this past season (he had previously been a mellophonist) or as Carolina Crown did in its ring winning show in 2013 (another horn player) dissuades any barriers with other members. In general I don't like shows built on one person, the only child standing apart (and above?) the rabble.

Staffs usually don't need to search too far for the needed talents among the many that the current 150 DCI members possess.

Impossible you say? Not really.

If I remember reading the rags of the time, the Madison issue was not that she wasn't a corps member, it was that, by defining her as such in order to get her on the field, the corps would have had to re-write its by-laws to allow females. Because of that hurdle, the corps identified her as a non-corps member. The story was not a tiff between Madison and DCI, IIRC, it was the conflict with the by-laws that they didn't know HOW to classify her as a part of the corps. In the end, great show. Oh, and yeah, I heard the same that she traveled in the staff RV or something separate from the corps. That was a really fun and funny story at the time which I had only heard about during the season. It wasn't until Finals week that I saw the show and I remember how much she stood out as a female performer among a bunch of men (boys). The red, the frills, her demeanor. She stuck out like a sore thumb and I loved it. Didn't matter to me at all what they called her.

I agree about using the talents of members who have played within the corps. As long as they marched a horn, drum, weapon, or played he pit. But that's just me.

Edited by garfield
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If I remember reading the rags of the time, the Madison issue was not that she wasn't a corps member, it was that, by defining her as such in order to get her on the field, the corps would have had to re-write its by-laws to allow females. Because of that hurdle, the corps identified her as a non-corps member. The story was not a tiff between Madison and DCI, IIRC, it was the conflict with the by-laws that they didn't know HOW to classify her as a part of the corps. In the end, great show. Oh, and yeah, I heard the same that she traveled in the staff RV or something separate from the corps. That was a really fun and funny story at the time which I had only heard about during the season. It wasn't until Finals week that I saw the show and I remember how much she stood out as a female performer among a bunch of men (boys). The red, the frills, her demeanor. She stuck out like a sore thumb and I loved it. Didn't matter to me at all what they called her.

I agree about using the talents of members who have played within the corps. As long as they marched a horn, drum, weapon, or played he pit. But that's just me.

With that being the case, does DCI have any rules about having non-corps members on the field during a performance?

Edit: I don't know but your post made me wonder if something exists.

Edited by Lincoln
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