Ridiculous drill moves.....

[Methuselah-7]

as for a lot of the body work today...some of it does look silly, and it seems you see the same ones time and time and time and time and time and time again.

As far as all the body movement that is going on, the visual writers are just working the sheets. I think there are some relatively recent (last few years) changes to the visual sheets that reward, "body vocabulary" or something like that. But, sometimes it's done hamhandedly.

On the scatter drill matter, how does it usually happen? Whenever I've had a visual staff introduced a scatter drill, they usually joke about it because of embarrassment. It's a tacit admission of one of the following things: lack of time to finish a drill in time for a perceived important performance; lack of planning in advance for the staging of the next tune (perhaps the next tune was staged before this one;) a tune was replaced because it just wasn't working and the one replacing it had different staging needs; (I agree with Tom here:) the staff has given up on the season. Perhaps, it's a lack of confidence in the performers to make and sell a drastic change in drill.

To be fair, in DCA, there isn't a lot of time to work anything with the limited rehearsal time per week we have. This works strongly in the mix here. So, I'm not going to give up on the staff without more to be known, Tom.

Is working in a scatter drill a sign of poor morale within the corps or staff? I'm not sure which causes what. Does a scatter drill cause poor morale, or does poor morale cause a scatter drill?

:spitting: Geena Wacker

[NYSkyliner]

I hadn't seen a competing DCA corps all season, usually being out in the parking lot getting dressed. I did, however, get to see them in Rochester a couple of weeks ago and was appalled by some of the things I saw.

For example.... I didn't realize that some of the hornlines actually squat on the field. I had a dog that used to squat like that, and I had to clean up after her. If I had known before that corps were doing that, I'd have kept my eyes on the grass when I went on the field after them.

If a corps is trying to elicit a response from the audience, then a squat on the field will certainly get one - a chuckle or possbily even a guffaw. I don't think, however, that's the response they're looking for.

Perhaps even worse was the drill move(?) that a several corps did - one corps doing it three times. At the conclusion of a formation or a tune, everything would stop. They'd suddenly start screaming and running around like crazy, stopping at their next mark.

Now, as far back as the Fifties I saw high school bands doing the same thing - but usually when they were finished outlining a ship and running to set up "BHS" on the field. It was ludicrous when they did it then, and it's ludicrous when a corps does it now.

The very first thing that came to mind was a lack of creativity (or talent) on the part of the person writing the drill. He or she simply couldn't figure out how to move the corps from one formation into another, so the command was given "Mill Around! MILL!!"

I certainly hope I'm not alone is reacting this way to some of the bizarre movements I saw on the field - and I don't think I am. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Andy

Hi Andy,

I'm not really sure where you are going with this. Are you referring to competing Corps or other performing units? Please illucidate? Thanks.

Edited September 20, 2010 by NYSkyliner

[Andyroo]

Hi Andy,

I'm not really sure where you are going with this. Are you referring to competing Corps or other performing units? Please illucidate? Thanks.

Michael,

Don't get defensive on me!!

Please read paragraph one, sentence one, word five of my original post.

Thank you.

Andy

[chasgroh]

As far as all the body movement that is going on, the visual writers are just working the sheets. I think there are some relatively recent (last few years) changes to the visual sheets that reward, "body vocabulary" or something like that.

...it's a "chicken/egg" thing, and the sheets reflect what's going on in competition, not the other way around. There's usually a lag between innovation and adjudication of that innovation.

But, sometimes it's done hamhandedly.

...true, in the sense of "...hey, we need to put something in for that 8 count hold! Anyone?!"

On the scatter drill matter, how does it usually happen? Whenever I've had a visual staff introduced a scatter drill, they usually joke about it because of embarrassment.

...so, this statement indicates you've experienced this phenomenon a few times? Truly?!

It's a tacit admission of one of the following things: lack of time to finish a drill in time for a perceived important performance; lack of planning in advance for the staging of the next tune (perhaps the next tune was staged before this one;) a tune was replaced because it just wasn't working and the one replacing it had different staging needs; (I agree with Tom here:) the staff has given up on the season. Perhaps, it's a lack of confidence in the performers to make and sell a drastic change in drill.

...your conditions here are all relevant, and no doubt have happened. Have you read the entire thread? I ask because there have been references to a scatter utilized for *effect*...examples like Bayonne, Skyliners, VK... but you neglect to recognize such examples in your text. You are very black and white about the subject...

To be fair, in DCA, there isn't a lot of time to work anything with the limited rehearsal time per week we have. This works strongly in the mix here. So, I'm not going to give up on the staff without more to be known, Tom.

Is working in a scatter drill a sign of poor morale within the corps or staff? I'm not sure which causes what. Does a scatter drill cause poor morale, or does poor morale cause a scatter drill?

...sometimes it's FUN! Others not so...I did one with VK in '77 when we were out on the road far from home, and basically were told that visually the 2nd half of the show stunk...well, since I'd suckered-out for a pitch from the music guy ("...hey, man, I'll write the music to your drill, but we just HAVE TO play Star Wars!") and the change didn't work...I had to fix it. Wrote the 2nd half in a hockey rink in Montreal, taught it like I'd heard east coast corps did in the winter. I had 'em do a scatter (as I recall, to the 'Bar Scene' music from the movie) into a Picasso Darth Vader and off we went! I *certainly* knew the potential costs...was never embarrassed, not one little bit, but, yes, I'll cop to a smile and a snicker, heh. We piled into the busses and "performed" the thing in Seattle before heading home for a 2 week tuneup before nats in Denver. The corps ended up 25th when that meant something. Was it great drill...heck no! Was it there for effect? Kinda! Did it work? Indeed!

cg

:spitting: Geena Wacker

Edited September 20, 2010 by chasgroh

[NYSkyliner]

Michael,

Don't get defensive on me!!

Please read paragraph one, sentence one, word five of my original post.

Thank you.

Andy

Thanks for pointing that out. Guess I wouldn't have passed that Evelyn Wood speed reading course (although it sure would have come in handy during my graduate days for Social Work at NYU all those years ago ).

[SunRunner]

Fran,

I have noticed that when you are wearing one of your more, say, flamboyant shirts, everyone scatters.

See you next week

It's not that they scatter - it's more that they are temporarily blinded and just stumble around in agony!

[NYSkyliner]

It's not that they scatter - it's more that they are temporarily blinded and just stumble around in agony!

Either that or they go blind!!!!

[Andyroo]

Thanks for pointing that out. Guess I wouldn't have passed that Evelyn Wood speed reading course (although it sure would have come in handy during my graduate days for Social Work at NYU all those years ago ).

I agree with you Michael. Speed reading would have come in handy for me in the graduate program through RPI - all those years ago for me as well.

[HornsUp]

Almost every Jr corps in the 60s that did VFW states or nats did a chunk of "git there" drill.

VFW prelims timing was 5-6 min with no stop time. So ya hadda skip concert, slice a chunk out of the remaining 8+ min in motion, and paste it all back together with whatever transition you could come up with the week before the event.

[Fran Haring]

It's not that they scatter - it's more that they are temporarily blinded and just stumble around in agony!

I can neither confirm nor deny any of that.