wishbonecav Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Before it turns into a Frankenstein, mini-corps needs this review to make sure Donna's mission isnt getting lost in translation. I would not object to that at all. The sheets are presently close to the music effect sheets that DCA uses anyway. There is only ONE LINE on the sheet in a subcaption that says "Visual Enhancement" ...it supposed to only give credit if the visual content helps to generate music effect. IMHO, We may have gotten a little out of hand with as much movement as the top corps are doing. I am not even sure that the competitors or the judges understand the sheets. I had a lot to do with writing the existing sheet, wrote a show to fit the sheets and still only came in 3rd place. Dont get me wrong here...I understand that judging apples, oranges, bananas, pears, melons, et al...is not an easy task. But are we making it harder for judges with the addition of as much drill as we are doing. The Ghost Riders cannot keep up with the Jones's in this regard. We have some people that just can't do that much movement because of age or health reasons. Should we cut people because they cant do drill? I am hoping for some communication with DCA this winter on how to go about doing some things that will not cause mini corps from getting out of the competition. We only had seven corps by the time the show went off. I spoke with a person of interest from a steady competitor that said the group he is from may not return next year. No sour grapes here at all...but where are the Erie Thunderbirds, Golden Eagles, Lambertville Volunteers, Matadors/Generations etc...did we make it so they couldnt compete with their existing personnel? FWIW...with the Ghost Riders, what you see is what you get. I am not sure that we can get much better than we were on Friday night. I am proud of that for sure! Donny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spandy Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) Before it turns into a Frankenstein, mini-corps needs this review to make sure Donna's mission isnt getting lost in translation. Here's an idea, and really I'm just sorta thinking out loud... maybe we could have two classes of mini corps? One class for "standstill" or "concert" and one class for drill. The concert corps could do some small movement if they wanted, for staging or whatever, but there would be no visual score on their sheets. Again, it's just a thought... Edited September 5, 2012 by Spandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmaustin Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Without trying to speak for other Mini Corps, I don't believe that the majority would object to a "Park and Play" type of performance. This was after all, how it started years ago. Here's an idea, and really I'm just sorta thinking out loud... maybe we could have two classes of mini corps? One class for "standstill" or "concert" and one class for drill. The concert corps could do some small movement if they wanted, for staging or whatever, but there would be no visual score on their sheets. Again, it's just a thought... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) Without trying to speak for other Mini Corps, I don't believe that the majority would object to a "Park and Play" type of performance. This was after all, how it started years ago. Good point, Paul. It didn't start as a visual thing.... it started as a music thing. The only concern I would have in having the mini-corps show at City Dock is what an earlier poster said... the audience at that mini-corps show is now huge. Can that City Dock venue accomodate that large a crowd? Edited September 5, 2012 by Fran Haring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Drum Corps Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Probably not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbomite1512.2 Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Is Halsey echo chamber, mean Halsey Field House still used for sporting events? I remember going there in the late 70's with my uncle to watch basketball. I recall a public entrance behind Dock Street or around there, but of course life was different then. Security concerns rule that entrance out or even the whole academy. I recall it being a big huge building. Probably because I was a kid and everything looked bigger back then. So do I&E on Dock street and move Minicorps inside???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Try this. Go to Google Maps. Zoom in way down to the Annapolis Dock area. Imagine the Mini Corps stage set up on Dock Street just to the right of the hardware store. Clearing out that part of the parking lot looks to provide plenty of room. The crowd can stretch out to the end of the dock, even to the boat slip across the water. Heck, we might even encourage a small flotilla a boaters to enjoy the event FROM the water. Downtown businesses can be encouraged to provide food and "fuel." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) If you can find your way into the quad or have a chance to do that as part of a tour (not sure you could see the Plebes doing their heavy lifting, but seeing squads of 4th class cadets bopping around in formation is kinda fun) that would probably be a lifetime memory. USNA has a visitors complex and visitors department. As a taxpayer, you own at least a few blades of grass there and requesting a tour would not be too far out of bounds. Who needs a tour when you can drive around on a Dept of Defense sticker and ID? And they might take the grass outta my pay. Seriously no idea where the Docks area is and thinking of trying for I&E again with old metal.... found out some people are upset at me that I never went back. Edited September 5, 2012 by JimF-LowBari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Drum Corps Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Here's an idea, and really I'm just sorta thinking out loud... maybe we could have two classes of mini corps? One class for "standstill" or "concert" and one class for drill. The concert corps could do some small movement if they wanted, for staging or whatever, but there would be no visual score on their sheets. Again, it's just a thought... There is no score or any place to score visual excellence or even if you do visual or not, it is only an assumed one line place to say that movement helps your music effect. Donny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffUsnaDB Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Thanks for the kinds words on my behalf. I worked my butt off, but I certainly had a TON of help... which made it fun. I will ask a number of preliminary questions once we get the Annapolis committee back together... 1) are the City Dock bars interested in hosting/sponsoring an I&E event, if it guarantees an extra 50-100 people in their establishment during happy hour? 2) what is the seating capacity of the City Dock stage area? Maybe the stage area becomes the spot for visual I&E (flags, rifles, etc.) and perhaps the larger percussion ensembles. 3) is the Naval Academy willing to host mini-corps in Halsey Field House. It was under renovation all of this summer. Halsey has a number of facilities indoors, including a HUGE football field and several basketball courts. Access from City Dock could be through Gate 1. I can honestly tell you that I doubt the "pub crawl" idea and the idea of using the Naval Academy facilities can co-exist. I can tell you that the City was not amenable to closing down Dock St. or closing off large areas of parking. That was all before we finished hosting the first year, so perhaps their stance has changed since then. We'll see. Getting around City Dock is fairly easy for handicap. If the pub crawl idea flies, you're looking at about a four block distance from one end (the stage area) to the other, all fairly flat. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.