SeanMcSean Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 drum corps fans...diehards...get that shows aren't 100% done until finals. casual fans or locals who come out every year don't get that and wonder why someone stood still for 2 minutes or abruptly ended their show in a weird way. if we keep relying on just the diehards, drum corps will die faster than it kind of is Sure, you never want to put out a product that is obviously unfinished. At the very least slap a band aid on there (corps aid?) to make sure there's a beginning middle and end. My bigger point is that Wildwood is an early show, there arent alot of corps there, and it seems like every year some corps either pull out or choose not to go, because its tough getting the whole thing out there that soon. So the question is, is it better to go unfinished, or to not go at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISP Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I do get a little disappointed seeing incomplete shows, but, I'm always so excited for the start of a new drum corps season that getting even a preview of corps shows is still something I look forward to every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Look, the performers (corps) have an OBLIGATION to be ready for the curtain rise! If it's too difficult to be ready, meaning present the full show (not necessarily be clean) by such date . . . . START YOUR PREPARATIONS EARLIER! This has been a sore point for years. There was a time when corps put out full and complete shows by Memorial Day. The weather was no different then, was it? Shut up, Al Gore! Look, the shows are shorter than those days, the entire season is shorter, etc. How can we change this? I see the same thing happening in DCI. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Sure, you never want to put out a product that is obviously unfinished. At the very least slap a band aid on there (corps aid?) to make sure there's a beginning middle and end. My bigger point is that Wildwood is an early show, there arent alot of corps there, and it seems like every year some corps either pull out or choose not to go, because its tough getting the whole thing out there that soon. So the question is, is it better to go unfinished, or to not go at all? dont wait until April to do drill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drilltech1 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Yeah when you don't change your product (or your shirt) for 3 decades it's easy to be ready in early June :) Are you referring to the Hawthorne hosts or Haring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 (edited) Look, the performers (corps) have an OBLIGATION to be ready for the curtain rise! If it's too difficult to be ready, meaning present the full show (not necessarily be clean) by such date . . . . START YOUR PREPARATIONS EARLIER! Completely agree. I think incomplete shows are an unfortunate by-product of more intricate and integrated show design. It takes time for several caption designers to agree on certain moments or phrases. This is my 10th year in drum corps (between DCI and DCA). I can recall two instances of learning or teaching drill in April/early May that actually stayed in the show throughout the season. Every remaining year, we learned drill in the spring that was ultimately rewritten or completely scrapped. There's also the issue of corps not knowing what their numbers are until spring-time. Some groups have no idea what their guard/percussion numbers are until April, when WGI is over. Of course these are just excuses (legit excuses, but still ...). If you commit to a show date, you owe it to the paying audience to at least pretend to put on a complete show. Edited June 13, 2013 by ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle B Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 The schedule is known early enough, plus it is the corps themselves that put them on the billing. You want to do a show in mid-June, come with a finished show. That means getting outside in March and marching. To not have a finished show at the first one, minus the cleaning and the additions/subtractions that come later is a big snub to all the early fans who pay to see you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 If you want your corps to be a contender, in either class, finishing the show is a given. It's not even something you think about. That's what part of what separates contenders from pretenders. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 (edited) Completely agree. I think incomplete shows are an unfortunate by-product of more intricate and integrated show design. It takes time for several caption designers to agree on certain moments or phrases. This is my 10th year in drum corps (between DCI and DCA). I can recall two instances of learning or teaching drill in April/early May that actually stayed in the show throughout the season. Every remaining year, we learned drill in the spring that was ultimately rewritten or completely scrapped. There's also the issue of corps not knowing what their numbers are until spring-time. Some groups have no idea what their guard/percussion numbers are until April, when WGI is over. Of course these are just excuses (legit excuses, but still ...). If you commit to a show date, you owe it to the paying audience to at least pretend to put on a complete show. shenanigans on the WGI route. You have corps here in the NE that have people tied to an indoor circuit that goes until the first weekend of May. One of them, year in and year out, has their #### on the field at the Beach. Is it finals ready? No, but the bookends are in place. They also have the most intricate if not one of the most intricate shows in the circuit every year. and, since 2005, they've lost what....2 shows? oh and they have done rewrites too. If you're still unsure of numbers in April and May, your admin team and staff hasn't done their jobs right. Losing someone here and there...it happens. If you wrote for 40 and you're still at 20 in April, then there's far larger issues Edited June 13, 2013 by Jeff Ream 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanMcSean Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 The schedule is known early enough, plus it is the corps themselves that put them on the billing. You want to do a show in mid-June, come with a finished show. That means getting outside in March and marching. To not have a finished show at the first one, minus the cleaning and the additions/subtractions that come later is a big snub to all the early fans who pay to see you. I hear you Kyle. But still no one has answered my question. You said you didn't want to pay for an incomplete product. Would you rather pay for no product? Or, if you consider the grouping of corps at a specific show the "Product," then youd pay for an even more incomplete product? I guess I just think its odd that alot of people are complaining about corps potentially not being finished their show this early, but there are other corps that choose to pull out of the show altogether, and everyone seems cool with that? I dunno, if I was paying for something, I'd prefer to get 90% of it than 0%. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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