bobjacobs

Incorrect. Surf does, Teal doesn't. The reason that only 20 voted is because a few weren't present for the meeting.

Not true. Where did you read it?

Absolutely. To each, his own.

I'm offended by the implication that the "style" of color guard is in some way "hurting" ANYTHING... pursuant to the title given to this thread by the OP. I respect his right to voice his opinion, and I reserve my right to express mine. A reference to Disney in this particular conversation and context is a straw man argument.

I don't know why I'm somewhat "offended" by this topic... but for some reason I am, even though I'm not a color guard performer. I would imagine that straight and gay men alike who perform in color guards would be offended by these types of sweeping characterizations as well.. Should we sit down with the Olympic figure skaters, and suggest that they are not worthy of watching because they are "too ladylike?" Should we "girl up" the young women currently tossing rifles? It's no secret that more color guards than ever now use men as well as women as a part of their ensembles. We know this wasn't the case throughout the history of drum corps. When working with musical and production themes that feature gender distinctions as a part of the plot of story, say "Spartacus," or "Carmen," or "West Side Story," the men are choreographed to depict a "male" role effectively – such as kicking slave girls, gang violence, stabbing others, etc. However, when the "role" or theme is more abstract, or when there is simply no friction/attraction/conflict between genders as a part of the theme, the dance and equipment work tend to be more "unisex," portraying the mood of the moment as opposed to the gender of the performers. Should we analyze the "manliness" of those engaged in other art forms, such as Ballet, Modern Dance, Opera, and Broadway shows as a component of our ability to appreciate what they're doing? Are we offended by the "style issues" relating to Olympic bicyclists, ski boarders, luge, bobsled or figure skaters? Should we bar references to dance or movement as un-manly? Are character portrayals of mountain climbers OK on a football field? Samurai warriors? Gladiators? Robots? James Bond? I'm all for artistic criticism... it's a part of the bedrock under our entire activity. I fail to see, however, what "productive" conversation can come from an analysis or criticism such as this.

The Surf organization was involved with the formation of an inner-city drum corps a few years ago. A visionary school administrator proposed the concept as an after-school activity for middle and high school students who had better than 90% school attendance and who had made the honor roll, etc. She really wanted the group to have the optimal chance at success. The administrator asked the music teachers in this district to do the research to see what it would take to start such a group, as she was impressed with the discipline and professionalism she had witnessed years earlier at a drum corps performance. Through a series of phone calls, we were contacted and agreed to do whatever we could to lend a hand. The school district had discontinued its instrumental music program years ago. When we went hunting through closets with the music teachers, we found one old box of mouthpieces that looked like they could have been part of an archeological dig. When we got together to start the planning, we were incredibly impressed at the interest in getting this going, on the part of students and teachers alike. Using a modest grant provided by the school district, we helped them to secure horns, drums, flagpoles and uniforms and we hired a staff to provide twice-weekly lessons on each to these raw recruits. We even ran a few Surf rehearsals along with theirs, to enable these young performers to have the chance to experience some degree of "instant success" by taking part in sectionals, stretch blocks, marching basics, etc. Once we had a read on the situation, we added a baton twirling element, since there was a lot of interest in that from the kids at the school. One of the teachers was a feature twirler in college, and we were able to get some additional assistance to have that end of the operation begin with 12 students, as a way of getting even more kids involved in the program. A few surprises were in store for us: – At the first orientation/parents' meeting, we had well over 100 people show up, many of whom didn't speak English. We quickly had to find a teacher who could act as a Spanish interpreter for us as we spoke to the parents and grandparents of the students. Parents were enthusiastic, had a bunch of great questions, and signed their kids up for the adventure which would culminate with a performance at the Memorial Day parade in the town. This parade was a pretty big deal for the entire community. – A lot of kids lost interest quickly. There was no cost to the kids for the program, but many of the kids found the structured environment to be "not fun enough," even though we had scaled things way back in terms of "rehearsal etiquette" in order to best serve the situation. Our brass section quickly went from 20+ young student players to nine... but we decided very quickly to keep pushing forward, and had decided to supplement the Memorial Day performance if need be with some of the Surf members who lived in the general vicinity of this community. – Possibly our biggest surprise came when several of the horn players turned in their instruments – with tears in their eyes – because their parents didn't want the "noise" of them practicing in the house! We had gotten these kids FIRED UP about being in this group... we made them feel "ten feet tall and bullet proof" and taught them all of those great "taking pride in yourself" lessons... their horns were immaculate, they were on time for rehearsals, they were generally prepared to build on their successes of the previous week. What we hadn't considered, however, was that mom, dad, grandma or grandpa had just worked their tails off all day, often as laborers in a blue collar situation, and didn't want to deal with the "sweet sounds of success" of a young musician trying to figure out a horn for the first time. Some of the kids actually bundled themselves up and went to a city park to sit on a picnic table in an effort to get in their practice time. This was pretty rough in February and March, and really stopped us in our tracks when we realized the gravity of what we were trying to do. We continued the rehearsals every week, and got our ragtag group ready to perform on Memorial Day, with a stirring rendition of "My Country 'Tis of Thee." They marched around the school... asking if they could wear the somewhat ill-fitting uniform tops and way-too-big shakos even during practices. The nine horn players, eleven drummers, ten flags and six twirlers went around and around the block... avoiding the uneven sidewalk and ignoring the taunting comments being yelled at them in Spanish by their schoolmates who were hanging out on the streets. When Memorial Day came, the anticipation was something I don't think I'll ever forget. I've had many proud moments in my career as a corps director, but the thought of that classroom as the kids were being pinned and taped and adjusted by Surf volunteers and some of the families of the kids in the startup group brings a smile to my face, even today. About two hours before the debut performance of the group, the skies opened up with a relentless, torrential downpour. With Surf members waiting on buses to help support the parade and a classroom filled with kids staring out the window, city officials canceled the event at the appointed step-off time. The students, their families and the administrators were crushed. We were subsequently able to hold an awards presentation, and the members of the group were recognized for their efforts. It might very well have been the greatest group to have never performed, in terms of the heart and dedication of those involved. Sadly, the administrator left the school district and there was no one there to share the vision to keep the program moving forward. The biggest take-away I learned from this, and possibly the tidbit that would be most helpful to those wishing to engage in starting up a group is this: In order for an inner-city corps to be started from scratch, in my opinion, there needs to be a considerable amount of advance work done to create some minimal level of infrastructure and some "critical mass" of kids who understand what they're going to be doing and who actually want to do it IN THAT SPECIFIC MANNER. A drum corps is not a "step team" in most situations, and unless the intent is made very clear and the infrastructure exists to support all that it takes to create the corps, frustration can set in pretty quickly for everyone. Also, we learned very quickly that attendance issues were a function of other demands being placed on the student by their family... many of the older kids had to work to assist the family situation and many had to babysit so their guardians could stay on the job. This makes it difficult to cumulatively build on the previous lesson, when teaching rudimental basics, etc. From this experience, and others that I've witnessed over the years, one of the things that leads to less-than-exceptional results is the assumption on the part of those starting the group that just because they're offering a drum corps experience, the community will want it... and that they will want it in the manner that the well-intentioned catalyst group wishes to administer the program. Some day, we're planning to jump back into this world. There are a few more ducks we need to get in a row before we do, but we'd be willing to share our knowledge on this subject with anyone wishing to reach out to make a difference in their community.

We've talked to our partners at Fathom Events about this issue, and they understand the desire of drum corps fans to hear this with the "volume cranked to 11." Obviously, the individual theater controls the volume in each room at that specific location, and even when memos are sent and requests are made, the projectionist and/or manager on duty that day has the final authority on the volume knob. We're continuing to work with our partners at Fathom on this, so they can in turn communicate with the theaters. Fans have reported that a diplomatic approach to theater management has worked far better than the pitchfork and burning torch approach, when requesting an increase in volume.

You know, Jeff... you really should actually show up at the dome before you post 10,000 more words about how bad it is! You might actually like it!

One of my favorite topics. It all seems so simple... "Just put the show back on PBS." That's what I thought too. The old PBS show was one of the ways that I became a drum corps geek. I used to lean the hard-wired condenser mic from my 1970s vintage GE8440A shoebox cassette recorder up against the speakers of my parents big old RCA television in order to get what was at the time a "decent" audio recording of the world championships that would be practically worn out by the time the next championship rolled around. My siblings knew not to even be near the house on that Saturday night in August, with the potential for a random noise in the background almost surely resulting in their untimely demise. I can't tell you how many hours I sat riveted in the band room at my high school watching the same reel to reel black and white video tapes over and over again... with Gene Rayburn of Match Game fame holding down the fort in the days before Reliable Rondo. Wow. Am I really that old? Has anyone even heard of Gene Rayburn, much less Match Game? Anyway, here are some facts relating to why the PBS option isn't a part of the current marketing strategy: 1. The individual PBS stations have to WANT the broadcast. Much like DCI, PBS is a collective of individual entities scattered all around the country. Unlike the "big four" national networks, each local PBS station, for the most part, determines its own schedule. Thus, just because we offer the program to the PBS system doesn't necessarily mean that a station in a given market will take it. Not everyone shares our love of the game! 2. We have no control over when or if the program airs. While some markets may opt to televise the broadcast, others may not. Some may want a one hour version, and others may accept a two hour edition. Those who choose to run the show may do so at any time they have a suitable opening on their respective schedules. This could mean that the show airs in September or February of the following year... or anytime in-between! Or both! Trying to create a "critical mass" of viewers in this situation is nearly impossible. With limited resources, it makes promoting the event a tremendous challenge... which is counter-productive to the desired outcome in the first place. [DCI bears the brunt of the anger from disgruntled fans who can't understand why perceived "DCI incompetence" has somehow interfered with their ability to view the program in their local market.] 3. The days of the marathon four hour broadcast live from finals are a thing of the past... but a tremendously enhanced version of that experience is offered for the quarterfinals which are now shown in their high definition glory in digital movie theaters around the country. While not as convenient as sitting in the living room in your boxers, the theater experience does provide "the next best thing to being there" by putting a bunch of fans together for a great drum corps social experience... one which gives tens of thousands of loyal followers a great opportunity to see the corps at their very best. (And yes, we continue to work with theater management to TURN UP THE VOLUME!) Television content is in far greater supply than it was twenty years ago. Our ability to warrant four hours of live television time just isn't feasible. I know there has been some folklore handed down over the years regarding the amount of pledges made by fans of drum corps vs. the total donations actually received by local PBS stations. I can't really speak to that, because I don't know the facts... and all of the information I've found so far has been somewhat anecdotal. With all that needs to happen in a given day, I just haven't had the chance to break out my Sherlock Holmes Jr. Inspector Kit and look for more info to this end. There is little doubt that a national television broadcast creates significant exposure and increased opportunities for DCI and its member corps. When the decision was made to curtail the ESPN telecasts, it was a tremendously difficult one. In hindsight, it may have very well been one of the decisions that has led to DCI remaining viable as a business. Production costs are significant, as is the cost for commercial television airtime... and with the unique nature of drum corps programming, corps playing multiple copyrighted tunes can run up a tab of more than $12,500 per corps in licensing fees for the broadcast alone! This is in addition to all of the other licenses necessary to put the corps on the field and to capture the audio and visual aspects of their performances. Although some of that is mitigated when delivering the show through the Public Broadcasting Service, the challenges at this point are greater than the benefits for the fans, the corps and the performers. We continue to work on this, however! We'd love nothing more than to figure out a way to get back on the air and to reach as many people as possible... from the comfort of their own homes... on the second Saturday night in August. Anyone with a wealthy drum corps loving uncle is encouraged to call the office!

Jeff: You seem to assume that there is no brain power being expended trying to attract new sponsors... Which is not true. Just because we may want a relationship with Gatorade, for example, doesn't mean that Gatorade finds our little niche market to be fertile enough for them to make a five-figure sponsorship investment. My colleagues work tirelessly on creating proposals and presentations for new advertisers and strategic partners... but it's not a DONATION we're seeking on the part of these companies, it's an ADVERTISING BUY, usually measured in cost per thousand impressions. For each pitch, we have to be able to quantify the return on the investment that the advertiser/sponsor is making in very precise terms... or we lose the sponsors... or we don't get them to begin with. Over the past several seasons, we've fostered a significant relationship with Champion and Under Armour, based on the fact that we appeared on their radar screen through the ESPN broadcast and thanks to one of the members of the DCI professional staff who was able to make the connection. Many of the corps now wear licensed UA Heatgear under their uniforms, and the fact that it bears the corps' custom-imprinted logos is no small feat, as Under Armour is incredibly particular with regard to the management of their brand. Last year, the judges, fans and corps members were able to wear DCI branded and corps co-branded UA & Champion apparel with an increasingly-wide selection, because the relationship has been a true win/win and continues to grow. With the market being what it has been for the past two years, there aren't a whole lot of consumer products companies looking to invest in a niche within a niche like DCI, particularly when DCI doesn't control their access to independently-run events along the tour. For example: If you're running a show in Harrisburg and you decide that there's nothing in it for you to have an inflatable Gatorade bottle at your front gate, there's nothing to contractually obligate you to do so... Thus, DCI can't "sell" Gatorade's marketing department on the several thousand additional impressions for which your show accounts. Long-gone are the days where the only things the sponsors really wanted were parking passes and good seats at an event. We're working to develop and deliver an audience to a group of people who want to communicate with specific demographic targets... which puts us in a classic "slaves to many masters" situation. There's a LOT to this, man! I can tell you with first hand knowledge that there are a bunch of folks much smarter than I am working their tails off to gain ground in this area. If you or anyone has a contact that could result in a new sponsorship for DCI, PLEASE pass it along... not just the "did you ever think about calling Gatorade?" kinda suggestions, but actually, "My next door neighbor is the head of global marketing for Gatorade." That's the kind of contact we need, since we don't have a sales force on the streets, we have one guy trying to cultivate business on a full-time basis... and he doesn't even get an expense account! Seriously, if you have a contact, pass it along. I'm sure we can work out great seats and a parking pass for YOU as a part of your commission.

This is false. The mailings are sent to EVERY school in that market... but certainly we can't control whether or not the information is posted on the bulletin board. There has been additional outreach to develop promotions which would link the "Corps-style" and "Traditional" worlds in ATL... If you have direct contact in this regard, feel free to e-mail me. I'd love to talk with you about it.

DCI hasn't incorporated YouTube into its overall marketing strategy... yet. The corps have invested heavily in creating the Fan Network platform with which to deliver its digital content... but the landscape continues to change with regard to options for "spreading the good word" and engaging more people.

Understand that if DCI knowingly and willingly allows copyright violations to occur, the publishers can simply revoke the rights to perform their music. In some situations, DCI could also be liable for additional fees. With 22 World Class corps playing an average of four or five copyrighted works in a single performance, it doesn't take long for the licensing fees to add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This translates to a substantial portion of the $$ the fans pay for CDs, DVDs and downloads. This story from DCI.org explains much of that. The policing of YouTube and other sites is, for now at least, a necessary evil.

This is not an attempt to sound coy, but as a collective of non-profits, DCI is actually in the business of supporting the missions of its member corps. Each member organization has a different mission and vision, which creates an inherent challenge. The needs, wants, views and perspectives vary widely.

It seems that those who have the strongest emotions are those who have been a part of the activity in some form... most often, as former participants. If that is true, it would stand to reason that in order to propagate a next generation of resilient superfans, we're going to need to get more people involved. We need to apply 21st century thinking to the "how" of all of this, since there are a number of variables which simply didn't exist during the height of the "drum corps glory years," regardless of how that's defined.

I was also just thinking about this the other day... All of the kids in drum corps standing in line for the pay phone after a show... All of the rehearsals taking place in a shopping center parking lot... All of the kids taking Polaroids of one another... All of the moms and dads shooting black and white super 8mm movies of their kids on the field... All of the LPs and photographic prints being sold from a station wagon in the parking lot... All of the corps coming to shows in carpools, getting dressed out of their trunks... All of the kids standing at attention for inspection... All of the drum lines moving up and down the fifty... All of the symmetry, so that side one can still help teach side two their drill... I think about it every time I watch a movie that has been restored or digitally colorized... one which I probably wouldn't have wanted to watch in scratchy black and white. I think about it every time I see a football player wearing a helmet that has a face mask, or a hockey player wearing a helmet at all. I think about it every time I use Wikipedia on my iPhone to instantly settle a bet. I think about it every time I set the GPS in my car to get me where I need to go without stopping at a gas station for directions. I thought about it a LOT over the past two weeks when I watched what seemed like every sport in the Olympics using some form of super-slow-motion instant reply as a critical part of the adjudication system. After reading tens of thousands of posts on Drum Corps Planet over many years, and after having had the chance to read hundreds of pieces of "fan mail," both positive and negative, I guess it's safe to say that one man's good truly is another man's evil. One man's evolution is another man's destruction. And so it goes. We seem to expend a ton of energy "fighting" our personal battles to preserve drum corps as we want it to be... perhaps fighting to preserve it in the way we remember it. We are rightfully protective of the value the drum corps activity has in each of our lives, and some are intolerant of others who wish to do the same. This isn't any different than generations of fanatic followers of an art form or sport which claims evolution and change as fundamental (and essential?) to its existence. I can answer the question posed by the OP. The answer is C, all of the above. To the degree that I have any control over anything relating to the "big picture" of helping to market the corps which comprise DCI, I look at it as a three-pronged approach. • Retain existing fans. Obviously far, far easier said than done for a variety of reasons, but the goal nevertheless. • Recruit new fans. Find ways to share the love of what we do with others. 200 new people at every show this season = >25,000 new fans. • Recover lost fans. The trickiest of all. Some have merely drifted away to allow life to happen. Others have left the fold because they're upset about things that hours of conversations and many frosty mugs wouldn't be able to change. Many of my colleagues take part in drum corps as directors, instructors, volunteers or teammates on the DCI staff, because they think about what it could be... not about what it is or what it was. Many have a deeply personal connection with drum corps at different points along its evolutionary continuum. Perhaps, sometimes that focus leads things astray by the standards of some observers... but I just have to believe that the passion, the energy, the experience and the brainpower that is focused on #####ing and moaning could be channeled in a direction that would facilitate a better situation for the fans, the corps managers and the participants alike. When I come up with a proposed solution to that conundrum, I'll be sure to shout it from the top of the highest mountain. Until then, I guess we can return to our regularly scheduled mayhem, already in progress.

The theater attendance is audited separately.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here... My point is that if "everyone" hates "domes" as much as Jeff alleges, then the San Antonio and Atlanta shows would not have the attendance that they have, regardless of who was in the show. From the sentiment expressed here, the die-hard fans would rather have an outdoor experience, in most cases. As for the rest?... perhaps comfort (air conditioning) is a factor which may be a significant driver in determining whether or not they even consider coming to a drum corps show in July.

Jeff: Love ya and all... but I've just gotta call you out for this. Your assertion that "people just don't like drum corps in domes" is patently false. San Antonio and Atlanta are among the top three or four best attended shows of the year for each of the past several years. Perhaps you should stop to consider that there are other factors in play besides "DCI wants more and more events in domes."

The Blue Devils, Carolina Crown, Phantom Regiment, Bluecoats, Cadets and several other corps run their own workshops with their own formats and little to no direct coordination with DCI. DCI is there to assist with promotion, etc., and you will probably see a more concerted effort to that end this year. The content, etc., however, is the province of the individual organizations.

It extends beyond well beyond mere ego and "credibility" to levels of implied "liability" in many cases. The mere fact that there is a divisional delineation absolutely IS segregation by its very design, and there are logical reasons why this is the case. As the Open Class corps continue to improve their on-field acts and behind the scenes operational functions, new opportunities will be created. Here are just a few quick answers to just a few questions you've posed: – Open Class events are held separately from World Class events for a number of reasons. 1. There are X number of shows in a season, and X number of available performance opportunities. It is important to note that not all WC corps that wish to get into a given show are able to do so, and that the scheduling of the tour is an expansive, time consuming process requiring give-and-take among corps and tour event partners alike. Some long-time tour events can't be serviced every year for a variety of reasons... which is another topic entirely. 2. Length of total show – adding 2 corps to a lineup extends a show another half hour +. Not only does that extend most shows to the 3 hour mark, but often pushes the end of the show past the sound ordinance in a local community. Would Broadway survive if every show was the running time of Nicholas Nickelby? It would certainly be a challenge in the short attention span world of today... especially with an intermission every 17 minutes. 3. Additional costs on the contract fees – Open Class corps are paid in "mixed" shows, and plans are being reworked to create some sort of a payday for OC corps in all-OC shows in the future as well. Tour event partners generally try to squeeze in as many World Class corps as possible, and often don't want to pay the additional $$ for additional corps. 4. Additional housing sites – bringing 5 or 6 corps into a town makes for a housing/rehearsal site challenge... additional corps add additional challenges. People aren't coming out of the woodwork offering corps or tour event partners free housing sites. 5. Quality/consistency of Open Class performances, sizes of corps, etc., vary widely. Many sponsors simply don't find it charming to have smaller corps on the field "doing their best." They want big, audacious, loud drum corps. Period. Yes, they'd rather have a lower-scoring World Class corps with more than 100 performers on the field than a high-scoring OC corps with 85. This fact is compounded when a local tour event has been able to get the local TV stations, newspaper photographer, the mayor, other community VIPs and/or corporate sponsor-type officials there for the start of the show... quite often, they don't want an "opening act" to be anything less than World Class. On the positive side... 6. Open Class-only shows enable the OC corps to be the star of the show. Particularly for communities that aren't long-time bastions of the drum corps artform, it also gives an OC Tour Event the chance to establish and grow an annual fund-raiser in the form of an evening of family entertainment at a reasonable cost of admission, due to the lower contract price for an all-OC show. This is invaluable to an OC corps which sponsors its own "Home Show" and is trying to grow a local support base. 7. Having OC-only shows adds more opportunities for tour events. It also helps to develop an awareness in "new markets." 8. OC-only shows enable OC corps to sponsor interactive learning experiences of their own... once again, making them the star of the show. Not only does this help to reinforce sound educational techniques to local music educators, but also provides an invaluable recruitment tool for the corps as well. 9. Head to head competition. The corps seem to like that! There's a lot to this entire issue... and I have appreciated for years your stalwart efforts at "sticking up" for the Open Class corps, and I admire you for continuing to do so. I've learned a tremendous amount about this situation as I've been knee-deep in it for the better part of my adult life. We'll dive deeper into this situation in the weeks ahead... but there's a LOT more to this than "the man tryin' to keep a brother down."

Because of the apparent amount of interest in the subject on the part of many who have shared their thoughts here and who have contacted me via e-mail and PM, I plan to address some of the unique challenges related to the marketing and management of an Open Class corps in an upcoming edition of the DCI Direct column. I have what I feel is a wealth of perspective on this subject, both in terms of having been a part of an OC organization for a really long time and by having a vested interest in the marketing of the activity as a whole... not to mention a personal stake in the success of the Open Class corps specifically. The recently published poster/calendar is but one recent example of how the tide has turned with regard to getting more tangible exposure for OC. There are a number of other examples as well, which I will be happy to explore in greater detail. I can tell you here as a preview that although it may be easy to assert that OC is the "red headed stepchild" of DCI, in many cases "we the corps" have been our own worst enemies. Yes, DCI can do more and is doing more to promote Open Class corps... but there are so many factors beyond the control of DCI that sometimes proposed solutions which seem incredibly obvious just aren't all that easy to execute. Perhaps you've identified one of the biggest inherent challenges: When the original group of instructors got together in 1989 to start forming the Jersey Surf, we contacted a DCI board member for assistance. It was explained to us that DCI's mission was not to assist corps in starting up... they weren't "that kind" of a sanctioning body. It was further explained the the original vision was to form a collective of the top corps in the country for the purpose of promoting those top corps. It was all very pleasant... perhaps somewhat sobering... but not all that helpful in providing a roadmap. It took us a while to get our heads around that line of thinking. We learned quickly that we needed to figure things out for ourselves, and that there was no step-by-step instruction manual on how to do any of the stuff that would be necessary for what we assumed at the time would lead to "competitive" success. Fortunately, we were quick adaptive learners as a team, and we became comfortable with carving out a niche within the existing structure to offer drum corps to people who might not be able to do it otherwise because of summer classes or jobs, etc. We focused on building an organization, and not "just" a drum corps that competed on a football field. Unlike many of the 173 corps which have come and gone since we started, we created a plan for sustained growth and incremental success that did not put all of our eggs into the competitive basket. Personally, I was very resentful that DCI wasn't seeing the bigger picture, and wasn't understanding what I thought was the unique opportunity it had to guide more groups to propagate the activity for the future. As I got more involved, however, I gained insight into why things were the way they were, for better or for worse. Now... many years later... there has been a commitment to DEVELOP corps all along the DCI spectrum. Are we closing the barn doors after the horses have bolted? Frankly, I don't think we have the time to waste to even discuss that. Sure, we need to learn from the past... but we need to create a new future. As far as the business plan goes, there are many conversations which are much better left for the boardroom, and there is a "State of the Activity" address in one form or another which opens the Annual Meeting every year. The business plan is pretty simple: sell tickets to shows. The more tickets sold the more money generated to push back to the corps which comprise the collective. Sounds easy, right?

I've read your writings on this in several different threads, spanning several years now... and I still don't have any idea of what you mean about "the lack of marketing for the Open Class corps."

If only there were solid demographic data spanning the generations. I think if you peeled away the top layer of the onion and looked inside, you'd see that the demographic composition of both the "senior" and "junior" corps activities have shifted. Therein, I believe, lies the survival story. Some of those demographics once served by junior corps are now served in the all-age realm. Some of those once served in senior corps are now engaged in the alumni movement as well.

I don't want to further derail the thread's original topic/intent... but I'll quickly say this in response to your question, and I admit in advance that I am generalizing, since there have been several successful startups in the past 20 years (since the Jersey Surf started): I think that the TYPICAL startups since I've been around – in general – don't have realistic expectations for what it takes to start and successfully sustain a corporation which combines a music education experience with all of the other attributes unique to each organization's mission and vision PLUS the demands of putting it on the road as a TOURING entity. The challenges are compounded exponentially by the fact that these businesses rely heavily on the support of volunteers (many of whom are not formally trained), require an insane commitment of time and personal resources on the part of everyone involved, and are managed with at least some portion of their focus to include having to COMPETE in a game against other corporations of disparate means.