AzEuph Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 After reading the topic on the future of drum corps I got to thinking. WGI is a national competion, but there are probably 40-60 percussion/guard circuits that can be found at the state or region level. Some of these ensembles decide to go to the national level. What were to happen if states/regions were to start their own drum corps circuit. Would we see a lot more drum corps forming, but at a smaller size? Would it hurt the national touring of DCI? With this option, corps could use the option (being from Arizona I'll use it as an example) of performing shows in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and also the option of traveling to San Diego, LA, or Las Vegas on select few weekends? Then when a corps feels they are ready for a national tour they can contact DCI and request to tour in World or Open. Years with small cash flow they can reduce their tour, saving money for future seasons. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 After reading the topic on the future of drum corps I got to thinking. WGI is a national competion, but there are probably 40-60 percussion/guard circuits that can be found at the state or region level. Some of these ensembles decide to go to the national level.What were to happen if states/regions were to start their own drum corps circuit. Would we see a lot more drum corps forming, but at a smaller size? Would it hurt the national touring of DCI? With this option, corps could use the option (being from Arizona I'll use it as an example) of performing shows in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and also the option of traveling to San Diego, LA, or Las Vegas on select few weekends? Then when a corps feels they are ready for a national tour they can contact DCI and request to tour in World or Open. Years with small cash flow they can reduce their tour, saving money for future seasons. Thoughts? The biggest issue would be cash on hand. A winterguard or winter drumline CAN BE far less expensive to operate than a full out drum corps. This can be especially true in the scholastic arena where tax dollars can be used to purchase most, if not all the equipment necessary to compete. The costs of fielding 100+ young people in a drum corps do not go down considerably because you only tour locally. Once the buses go down the road, it's $X per mile. The regional shows do not draw as much as more national events. Take the show at Glendale last year...about 3000 people...to the later show in Tempe at ASU....about 8500 people. And the tickets were cheaper for Glendale so less money is available to give to the corps for performance fees at smaller events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueemrld8 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 The biggest issue would be cash on hand. A winterguard or winter drumline CAN BE far less expensive to operate than a full out drum corps. This can be especially true in the scholastic arena where tax dollars can be used to purchase most, if not all the equipment necessary to compete.The costs of fielding 100+ young people in a drum corps do not go down considerably because you only tour locally. Once the buses go down the road, it's $X per mile. The regional shows do not draw as much as more national events. Take the show at Glendale last year...about 3000 people...to the later show in Tempe at ASU....about 8500 people. And the tickets were cheaper for Glendale so less money is available to give to the corps for performance fees at smaller events. What are ticket prices based on anyway for these shows? great post btw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 After reading the topic on the future of drum corps I got to thinking. WGI is a national competion, but there are probably 40-60 percussion/guard circuits that can be found at the state or region level. Some of these ensembles decide to go to the national level.What were to happen if states/regions were to start their own drum corps circuit. Would we see a lot more drum corps forming, but at a smaller size? Who is going to start these corps given the economics of today? Who will march in them? There are Open level corps already who can't fill their spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzEuph Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 I guess in my mind I had seen it as a part-time gig. With shows on weekends and practicing maybe 2-4 times per week. This would mean no food costs, or facilities costs. As far as buses go, I know that most independent winter ensembles drive themselves except for the long trips. Is there no way to make this work, realistically speaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K. Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 The regional shows do not draw as much as more national events. Take the show at Glendale last year...about 3000 people...to the later show in Tempe at ASU....about 8500 people. And the tickets were cheaper for Glendale so less money is available to give to the corps for performance fees at smaller events. How much of the gate do the open class corps receive from a "mixed" (world, open class & all-age) show? Am I wrong in assuming that only the world class corps get paid? If so, then the above example is a moot point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre Kulp Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I guess in my mind I had seen it as a part-time gig. With shows on weekends and practicing maybe 2-4 times per week. This would mean no food costs, or facilities costs. As far as buses go, I know that most independent winter ensembles drive themselves except for the long trips.Is there no way to make this work, realistically speaking? It sounds more like how drum corps actually USED to be! When every town, or church, or CYO group, etc. had their own drum corps. And the membership came from the kids on your block! People didn't fly across the country to be in a drum corps. They had on practicing down the street from them. And if, for some reason, they didn't want to perform with THAT corps, there was one in the next town over! That's also why there used to be drum corps all across the country, not just on the coasts and in the South. And there were hundreds of them. Not just a couple dozen. I'd love to see that kind of thing happen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwallace600 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I guess in my mind I had seen it as a part-time gig. With shows on weekends and practicing maybe 2-4 times per week. Such corps already exist, and as TB pointed out, struggle to recruit members every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i heard from someone Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 There are Open level corps already who can't fill their spots. how many "world class" corps have we seen in the past few years that didn't have 135? there were Div I's that didn't even have 100. to address the OT...there used to be circuits, DC West, DC Midwest, DC East, and i believe DC South...they were basically absorbed into the DCI fold. DCM was the last holdout, but there wasn't enough "big name" corps willing to participate, especially in part since their rules were not exactly the same as DCI, and eventually they ceased operations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubawarrior Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I guess in my mind I had seen it as a part-time gig. With shows on weekends and practicing maybe 2-4 times per week. Such corps already exist, and as TB pointed out, struggle to recruit members every year. Monsieur Wallace...surely you have not forgotten a little corps known as Pacific Crest. from their website: Completing a four-day series of two workshops and a first round of auditions, Pacific Crest instructors worked with over 270 prospective members interested in the 2008 season.On Sunday evening, the staff selected 163 students to register for the corps, including 80 brass players, the largest number in the corps' history! sounds like recruitment is just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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