C.Holland

well... let's look at where this all started when it was degrading. 2000... i love Scott Stewart but he was cheap as all f. 2001... lets' get volunteers to design the show and see what happens... 2002... ooops... this is the beginning of the end. so let's go the obvious answer. (seriously, this isn't structural engineering here... its a VERY simple answer that you already know) unless you're thick af. the answer of "what did they do differently..." they pumped literal s*** tons of money into their program and brought in a bunch of big names and then recruited the top of the top talent. every one of these programs went from "building mode" to "finals mode" when someone showed up and dropped a pile of cash into the bank and they pushed everyone out and replaced it all with cash, names, and talent. You need designers unencumbered to bring the art... and you need talent that needs ZERO teaching beyond teaching them the show. The less time teaching fundamentals the more time you spend teaching someone to stand on their head, playing 64th note runs, while juggling f'n chainsaws with their feet. welcome to 2023. (actually 1988... when money changed DCI) money buys a finals spot. you want a finals spot? cool. bring some money. a whole f'n giant pile of it. not "i want to be a finals/champion of a regional band circuit" money... like I want to win a f'n tony money. Like "i want to win best picture" type of money. Bloo had Doug, and then they threw a bunch of money at the rest of the show. Nevermind the member experience (yes.. my students who marched there had some therapy bills to pay after their tenure)... that's a very different forum and likely needs a lawyer to moderate. you wanna be back on top? Bring a giant f'n bag of money that makes even Scrooge McDuck blush, and then they can fire the design team and teaching staff (and all you old ####s can finally just stfu), replace them with people straight out of broadway, julie taymore? Mike Arden? Marianne Elliott? Alex Timbers? sure, they'll gladly show up to assemble a show if the project is the right fit, and the cash is the right fit. and boom. come get your second place medal to BD since the best f'n team you want to design a show isn't leaving concord unless you buy them a private island in the domain of their choosing. (and also let them still spend most of their time in the experience world that they've built in BD land)

Have you asked a member of cadets, crown, phantom, Spartans, troopers, caballeros, blue knights… etc why they’re where they are? I know why my students march where they do and why, and those who went to scv or BD in the past did.

Some people are in fact… ***holes.

this is the note. Open class pays you ZERO $0. And if you're in a mixed class show, you get a few nickels. The Open Class rights and privileges' are that you are allowed to perform under the DCI umbrella. that's it. Its one step nicer than Soundsport where you have to pay to perform, AND you have to buy a discounted ticket for your members to get into the show.

Class structure is about funding, operational abilities, and support structure. You can't be demoted once promoted UNLESS you've had to take a couple seasons off to regroup and rebuild your organizational structure. They have a style, a staff, a board, a support structure, and students who desire to march there. You don't like it... ok. Move along. But stating that the group offers nothing to the activity only shows your own ignorance.

Yup. Been that way for decades. Will continue until they’re banned or nature takes its course. They’re good at scaring off business though.

You don’t enjoy the sexist 1960s views that just help nothing? Next thing you know you’ll want non segregated schools and third valves on bugles.

Intelligent being the word. but please continue as expected. wah

Maybe you enjoy toxicity. Or need a hug. Idk. Idc. Wahhhhhhhhhhhh

You just enjoy crying about the same #### daily. Find something new to cry about for once.

Enough #####in about the admin. This thread is about the 2023 edition. I’m gonna throw out some thoughts from 25 years in theatre design here (and too many years teaching this activity)… If you can’t define the concept in your head to a T, you can’t coach a performer to elevate it. Moment to moment there should be a flow that transitions the concept effortlessly, that does not place as much weight on the performers trying to sell it. Good design makes the performers job easy so they can focus on fundamentals. How do we draw the eye from place to place? What is the thread that binds this all together? What translates the concept to the audience? And as much as I hate to say it, stop trying to march everything, we left marching as the only method of moving a perform well over a decade ago. Think of new ways to move performers from A to B that elevate the concept for the performer. I love all of you performers on the field, I am behind you 150%. I am agitated that this concept though cool, has holes in it and you’re being asked to elevate it more than it elevates you. if it’s a garden, find ways to make things grow. Find ways to grapevine moment to moment better. Money was spent on a prop, how does that integrate with the corps? What makes it sexy? What catalyst is it? if I have more questions than I have conclusions as a viewer, then I have concerns.

meeting invites are sent to donors, and in advance so you can plan to attend if you want to. both in person and over zoom are options.

Many barely limping along. It’s not safe to tour like we did then.

I guess old corps have old crazies who are similar. FWIW there are many of us who still go to shows, meet the members, help out at camps, pay our dues, sell souvies etc etc etc and are simply devoid of the alumni org. And we’re ok with it. I see alumni in nyc a few times a year. They have my cell. Otherwise I’ve Got enough BS to deal with in regular life, why add to it on my time off. There are holiday dinners I won’t attend either, for similar reasons and that’s ok.

Yup. He went under the bus from some alumni, so did anyone who’s taught there. It’s a fishbowl of varied unrealistic expectations. There’s been many a group that was shut down due to old dude toxicity. It’s also why many younger alumni have no desire to mingle with with elder ones. It’s like going to thanksgiving and listening to your cranky old uncle spout political propaganda at you all evening. if you’re a current scout reading this, I’m behind you all the way. Many of us are. If you’re coming near nyc, drop me a line. First beverage is on me.

This isn’t untrue. It boils down to “is the headache from the old balls worth it?”

Everyone was at the tailgate having a blast.

It’s a nicer take home at the end of the season, but the approaches fees still barely fill a diesel tank. It’s a long game to move up, and a gamble. Like moving up to premier league futbol, it can be both a blessing for the rewards and support, but hell in the process to have to spend significant amounts of cash to get to that point, with the gamble being you’ve spent and spent, and you’re no better now than you were before.

Congrats to your kid. Thanks to them for keeping the corps going. I look forward to seeing them on tour. as for the critics, there are lots of them, not just here, but across the activity. Everyone thinks they can do this better, but few have volunteered their time to do so. It’s easier to write slag from afar than to jump in and help. cheers to your kid from an alumni of the 00s.

It does. We used to warm up outside of the RCA Dome in Indy in sunny parking lots (pre Lucas oil) and then go inside the air locked blast chiller to perform. Pitch got low low low low low low low low… however. With the amount of people it takes to operate a venue of this size, you can’t magically open it up on a dime. You don’t know what event was just in there (just because it’s not on the calendar doesn’t mean it’s not already rented) or what sort of turnaround it takes to get a building of these sizes up and running especially if you just had something in there.

Lies. There’s too much money at stake to not have a list ready to call. This isn’t sport. It’s a non profit you need to constantly develop funds for. You don’t get any magical millions from CBS sports to pay for your admin here. You have to find someone crazy enough who actually WANTS to chase money and put up with thankless old ####s from two specific years that think they rule the activity who are never satisfied.

You can disagree all you want but the program coordinator who’s old school, the wardrobe of old school, the concept of old school, if was anymore old school they’d have been firing a starter pistol and arcing up for the ballad… zzzZzzzZzzzzZzzzZzzzzzz.

This can, and will go on forever. The old ####s will constantly cry but can never come up with one single name who is good at BOTH development of revenue and staffing for artistic. There are a few on this forum who were board members, didn’t meet their numbers, and then tried to take the whole corps down with their exit. But they don’t know, they know diddly about the activity in its current state, diddly about how the non profit arts work, diddly about how to develop funds for it, diddly about show design… you get the point. it’s the same tired argument. I hope they’re at least paying their actual dues, donating to the keg fundraisers for the annual tailgate, and buying corps meals like the rest of us are. irony is, go ask a member their thoughts. I love hearing from members, seeing their Twitter feeds, and I have a few students in there. They are working hard, having a blast, and keeping the corps going.

Scott’s ideals and his growing disdain for the activity (along with that finish) got him canned. You can only watch bridges being set on fire for so long before you realize what has to change. Madison would have been an island had he stayed. current admin dug the corps out of a texas size hole that very few could. So failure, not so much. If you’re only looking at the field placement as success or failure, you should remember there’s so many other things going well that aren’t field related that no one else is crazy enough to take on. But hey, feel free to nominate someone to take over at the end of this term. Or at least go ask the members their thoughts. I think you’ll be very surprised at their answers.

That show in 2019 was built to quiet the old farts screaming to go back to a different era. It was given a budget to match. Music selection was fine, but overall as a show package it just wasn’t good. It looked like something straight out of 1990. Now I’ve generally enjoyed it music selections for the past years, but I’m concerned that when it came time to storyboard (moment A, B…etc and basic ideas of how to setup each moment) this is where the details turn to “we”ll figure that out later”. Nope. Cmon design types. Plans unplanned become half thought bandaids.