Dress Rehearsals

[tariq.shah]

First off, aren't dress rehearsals a one time thing? Isn't that what makes it what it is?

Second, what does the existence of a few "2nd dress rehearsals" tell us?

Marchers participate in this activity to perform and to compete. I think these DR's are satisfying this desire in marching members until actual competitions ensue later this month.

So: The season has taken an increasingly long time to commence. Why exactly is this, and can it be changed? Instead of Dress Rehearsal #2, in a town the corps is not from, ought there be a competition? Is this possible? Are corps these days reluctant to perform and compete in early season shows because their presentations are unpolished? If yes, what does this say about the state of the competitive aspect of drum corps, vis-a-vis the competitive instincts of the marchers themselves?

[BozzlyB]

There are a number of points to "dress rehearsals", the first that come to mind is it presents the opportunity to perform before a large audience and get those first time jitters out prior to the first judged contest. It identifies logistical problems with time frames getting on/off field, if it is treated exactly like a show setting. If done locally it provides an opportunity for the corps to say thanks to the community with a free full dress performance, and in Blue Stars case collects huge amounts of donated food for the local hunger task force as the show is free but people are encouraged to bring a food donation. There's probably more reasons they make sense.

[ouooga]

The more dress rehearsals the better. Performing your show in shorts and sunglasses is WAY different than performing your show in the uniform. Shakos change EVERYTHING! And the uniform is usually a lot more constricting than people realize....hell, performing with any form of top on, let alone a t-shirt and a jacket, is completely different than performing without any shirt, and knowing how it will really be will always help members.

Honestly if it were practical, I feel like corps would benefit from always rehearsing in uniform (aside from the obvious reasons why this would be a bad idea, like heat and wear/tear on the uniform). And as far as visual stuff goes, I think staffs would really appreciate being able to see how it will really look in terms of color and uniform pieces, rather than trying to envision it.

Quick story, my college marching band put on an exhibition show at a high school competition a few years back. We wrote a brand new, pretty simple show just for this competition. The big finale moment was when the entire band got into a 2 x 2 block and "snaked" the whole thing forward. We were so close to each other that everyone had to hold their horns at press box so we wouldn't hit anyone in the head. We got it down pretty good in rehearsal, but the day of the show came and no one had ever considered that we would be wearing plumes. The trombones took out every single plume that was in front of them, and it looked terrible. Dress rehearsals would have solved this.

[apsb1b]

Honestly I think that dress rehearsals (more than one) are necessary. The performers need to be able to perform at their best and performing in uniform is a lot different than shorts and sneakers. I don't think that these dress rehearsals are to feed the competitive spirt, yes it gets performers pumped for competition, but its also getting them ready for giving 110 % in uniform on the field. You may think that dress rehearsals happen only once, but plenty of stage shows and musicals have numerous dress rehearsals, which is what it sounds a rehearsal in full dress, its not just a one time thing right before competition or opening night.

I don't agree with the fact that just because they are doing another dress rehearsal they should already compete. They want to perform at their best, and if that means that the fans have to wait a couple more days then I, for one, am ok with that. And honestly how many times do you see here on DCP a corps getting negative comments because they're show isn't done at the first competition? So really we come to expext perfection out of these corps and they in turn are working hard to give us the best product they can perform

[Cron]

First off, aren't dress rehearsals a one time thing? Isn't that what makes it what it is?

Second, what does the existence of a few "2nd dress rehearsals" tell us?

Marchers participate in this activity to perform and to compete. I think these DR's are satisfying this desire in marching members until actual competitions ensue later this month.

So: The season has taken an increasingly long time to commence. Why exactly is this, and can it be changed? Instead of Dress Rehearsal #2, in a town the corps is not from, ought there be a competition? Is this possible? Are corps these days reluctant to perform and compete in early season shows because their presentations are unpolished? If yes, what does this say about the state of the competitive aspect of drum corps, vis-a-vis the competitive instincts of the marchers themselves?

First off, there is no rule stating that there shall be only one dress rehearsal.

The existence of a few 2nd dress rehearsals tells us exactly that. There are a few second dress rehearsals out there.

The season is starting at *about* the same time it always does, so no, nothing can be done about that. The start of the season is directly tied to the ending of the school year and having some time to rehearse after school is out and before hitting the road.

As far as corps being reluctant to perform, I don't think so. The season just starts when it starts and corps will rehearse until that time. Corps don't set the start date of the season, so corps only performing dress rehearsals at this point is simply the only option.

[DrillmanSop06]

First off, aren't dress rehearsals a one time thing? Isn't that what makes it what it is?

Second, what does the existence of a few "2nd dress rehearsals" tell us?

Marchers participate in this activity to perform and to compete. I think these DR's are satisfying this desire in marching members until actual competitions ensue later this month.

So: The season has taken an increasingly long time to commence. Why exactly is this, and can it be changed? Instead of Dress Rehearsal #2, in a town the corps is not from, ought there be a competition? Is this possible? Are corps these days reluctant to perform and compete in early season shows because their presentations are unpolished? If yes, what does this say about the state of the competitive aspect of drum corps, vis-a-vis the competitive instincts of the marchers themselves?

Dog 'n pony shows are designed to help the performers scaffold into the competition season. You can practice your show as much as you want but the only way to get better at PERFORMING is to PERFORM. These exhibition performances are excellent for the members because they are being prepared to deliver the best possible product to the PAYING customer right out of the gate. You'd have less excellent products at the first show without previous performance experience. That's why nearly every single corps has figured out that you get the members in front of people as many times as possible before the competitive season begins; remember, the staff wants numbers out of the gate and will do anything to get those. It's a win-win situation.

Have you marched in the last decade?

[glory]

If I recall, Cadets did two "dress rehearsals" as late as August last year. These served several purposes. They were, above all, another opportunity to perform. The local communities were invited to watch what they'd been hearing and hearing about. They were also an extension of the rehearsal routine with uniforms as the added and necessary dimension.

The long and the short of it is there is nothing wrong with performing. Kudos to the Cadets and every corps that finds excuses to showcase our talents for more people.

As for competing more and sooner, that's a different discussion about geography, demographics, education, economics and society. There aren't a dozen drum corps an hours drive away anymore. You can't just snap your fingers and call a contest. It takes time, money and effort to gather corps for competition.

HH

[jjeffeory]

Corps don't set the start date of the season, so corps only performing dress rehearsals at this point is simply the only option.

Of course corps set the start date of the season. DCI is the corps, and DCI dictates the start of the season based upon what the member corps want.

[FTNK]

Dress rehearsals are almost always free and open to the public, often as a "thank you" to the community for hosting the corps in their area and putting up with the constant noise for a month or more of spring training. It also gives the members a low-pressure first run of the show. Honestly, this has to be the dumbest and most misguided target for dino rage ever.

[Cron]

Of course corps set the start date of the season. DCI is the corps, and DCI dictates the start of the season based upon what the member corps want.

Okay, let me clarify since every thread on here seems to fall into a battle of semantics. No SINGLE corps determines the when the start of their season falls, therefore, the mutually agreed upon date is what we have to work with, regardless of whether or not Corps X, Y, or Z would like to have a show a bit sooner.

Also, it wouldn't make much sense to start the season any sooner as many of the public schools around the country are just letting out. In other words, long story short, etc. The start date of the season as June 18th is just fine.

*edited to add some more thoughts*

Edited June 15, 2011 by Cron