karuna

2023 was his 3rd year if I’m recalling correctly . There was a revolving door in the guard caption for too many years as crown tried to find the right person to run the caption. Finding and staying with Tyler is what IMHO showed up on the field this year.

Guard talent has actually been very high for a number of years. IMHO the big change in the past season was on the staff side (Tyler E). CrownGuard's strong showing this past year should keep that talent rolling in. It will be interesting to see how much Broken City talent migrates to Crown in '24. Many of the BC vets had already committed to other lines last year but now many more of them have the opportunity to follow their staff to Fort Mill !

A Beethoven show and a Ligeti show would be "cookie cutter" shows? Staying away from the previous design teams work is pretty standard in drum corps and many other artistic endeavors. Easter eggs is not the same as duplication. Again -- it seems to me you want the old Crown with the old shows. I'm an unabashed fan of those shows. But expecting them to return is IMHO sheer fantasy. They were a product of designers who no longer work there and produced at a point in Crown's history that has long since passed. Finally let me remind you that all of this talk of (dark | opera | classical) is just DCP speculation and none of it has been put forward by the corps or the designers. So who knows, maybe Crown will do a Broadway show or Rock show or Muppets show next season. Or maybe a show about a dolphin?

Can Crown please go to Florida again? So they can do an Voctave collaboration? Please?

I'm not disagreeing with you so much as expecting the current design team to stay far away from the previous shows. Not because they weren't good or accessible but because they want to have their own identity -- their own version of Crown. I also think it's bit near-sighted to say sticking with opera is a "one trick pony". Or classical. Or even dark. Those are extremely broad genres. You could do 100's of shows in those classifications and not get even slightly repetitive. And all of those genres have plenty of room for fun.

If you love what Potter-May-Townsend put on the field, it certainly makes sense to follow Boston. Based on what Crown has produced since then I'd hardly call them a "one-trick pony". Nor has their design been too terribly "dark". In fact even last year's program was not truly dark from start to finish. 2007 was actually a retread of the previous WGI season's love-fest with the Wild Horses cover by Charlotte Martin. 2008 was a cute "best of" show; 2011 might best be characterized as "fun". What stood out to me this season was Crown backed off run-and-gun + note-fest as core show design features. Instead they explored a much broader palette of choices musically and visually. Based on the audience reactions I heard, I think it was a very accessible show. It most certainly wasn't "cute". IMHO that's a positive change.

That stuff was all from the Crown North designers. Don't expect it back; I embrace the direction this past season brought. It's a very nice balance of accessibility and sophistication topped with a good helping of Crown excellence sprinkled throughout. More please.

Watching Crown rehearse before NightBeat and realizing none of the electronics are there (due to threat of rain). Glorious! Acoustic Crown is truly missed.

Judges bios do not indicate their competence to judge a caption. Their tapes and their sheets (together) do. Fans don’t get to hear or see them. But corps staffs do and they are the ultimate authority in determining competency. If you’re awful the corps themselves will show you the door. Fans don’t need to see judging qualifications. The only reason it was raised here was dissatisfaction with a result. Hoping perhaps that stirring up some trouble for someone they don’t know at all on the interwebs would help their team out next season i guess. Anyway …. Fans get to watch. They don’t get to play the game. If you want to play the game, go teach or judge. Otherwise , have some popcorn and post on DCP! As for what other circuits do, if you think about who reads those bios (mostly parents who really have no idea what it all means) it’s basically a placebo to stop parents from complaining about incompetent judging. They will complain anyway but it works at least for some parents. And that makes it worthwhile. addendum: After re reading number 4, yes DCI should post the bios. The placebo effect is quite real.

Crown BD Mandarins Colts Cadets

It's a hard balance to strike. On the one hand, you need to be "sophisticated" if you're gonna be contending for medals. On the other, you still need to be "accessible" to your audience. Our previous design team (now at Crown North) leaned heavily to the accessible side. Things were obvious -- sometimes painfully so. But the excellence across the board carried the design so well that no one really minded a little bashing on the head. The current team is making (IMHO a very intentional) swing in the other direction. A few of their efforts ebbed perhaps too far in one direction. Again excellence carried the design strongly enough to prevent what literally ALL of DCP (sans Crownies of course) predicted ie dropping out of contention entirely. Granted many of those predictions were merely fans of other programs making way for their team to move up (zero sum game and all) . In any case It was a relief to see that balance come far closer to the center this season. Speaking of balance, it was a joy to see the percussion and guard sections just rocking it this year. Bodes extremely well for the seasons to come.

If you think you’ve got the horses to compete with BD there’s nothing better than to see them early and often. While it is an added expense just to get out there, you can do it on a budget. Crown did their normal ST at GWebb and then spent a number of days doing long bus rides / rehearsal days to travel west. You could also fly commercial and have a team of drivers take the caravan in advance. I will say this. West Coast fans REALLY show their appreciation when you go west.

Replying to myself because I'm an idiot.... Just to continue, I propose Puccini's Tosca. Everyone wants Crown to go dark. Well... revenge, betrayal, murder, suicide and a little torture thrown in for good measure. And many modern adaptations already on the books from which to draw inspiration. Those three chords. And OH the arias...

Love to hear these contemporary operatic pieces. OTOH...you've never heard Crown play Turandot. Even Sacktig commented that during the design meetings he didn't think "Tristan and Isolde" would really work well on the field but the result speaks for itself. That might very well have been the most orchestral interpretation ever put on a football field. There are many wonderful classical operas that have never been done (or at least done well). In any case you've got a built-storyline that you are free to reinterpret in a more modern fashion. And some incredible music by written masters of the art. And of course you are free to find other pieces to tell your story -- you need not restrict yourself to the original.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159418163226135&set=a.495575466134

Just to continue… they will need to continue to advance the range of skills performers in all sections are asked to master. You can’t beat BD being as good as a BD. Wider vocabulary in percussion; stronger and more consistent colorguard technique ; more developed choreography in the brass with the training to match. Also more clarity of design. They made steps in this direction but need to continue to improve.

Much as I loved run and gun Crown, it will not get the credit it once did. I don’t see a return to that style of show.

I’ll double down on classical and further refine to operatic. Make Crown the Opera House of DCI.

Oh that is the perfect show for Jeff Sacktig!!

oh no did you just use the P word? There is no P in scoring, it's just the last number in a series and does not indicate Pfection In any case congrats to your team. While I still remain forever and always team 👑 I was certainly a little team as well this year (even if my fellow Crownies gave me heck for it (and will do so again I'm sure ))

well he had BD up in one subcap so...it was a very reluctant 1st. but i did say holy crap. the streak is over.

Is anyone going to banquet? Cause I would love to hear the ageout numbers.

yeah that sticks out. but guys SO CLOSE to the silver medal. AMAZING couple of weeks at the end of the season.

Looks like we need to step up the VIS content because every judge had Crown outperforming their book.