Show Concept Rankings - 2016

[Cainan]

Show Concept Rankings - 2016

Here are the rankings of the top twelve's concepts as presented in their show announcements.

Each production concept is judged on clarity of theme, specificity, universality, and uniqueness. These rankings will impact finals night rankings more than say "How tight the drumline is." Depth of concept includes the meaning and purpose behind the production and carries the largest scoresheet weight, impacting all captions.

1. Cadets - Awakening of the Design Team - Statues dare to come to life, a metaphor for self realization and self-identifying. This could be the most powerful metaphor in a drum corps show ever, and directly relates to youth and personal development. Profound.

2. Blue Devils - As Dream Wins are Made On - Shakespeare's The Tempest. Classic tragic-comedy, universal and whimsical, with a flare of fantasy and humor. Sophisticated fun around the theme of love and redemption. Incredibly hard to stage and clarify.

3. Carolina Crown - Relentless - Spaghetti Western about revenge. Sendup or serious? They better decide. The description is all over the place and mentions three dramas from three different eras. On paper, it's a confused stylistic mess that needs focus.

4. Blue Stars - La Reve Your Engines, story based on the famous painting or a dream or Emile Zola's version, likely a romance fantasy sequence. Original, sexy and fun.

5. Boston Crusaders - Don Quixote In 12 Minutes. This story-based show could be a barn burner. And there's only one way to do it in twelve minutes, and that's if the entire corps transforms from criticizing and trampling Quixote, to by the end mirroring Quixote's movement, in a show of support for his crazy vision. Skip the story points on this one.

6. Cavaliers - Propaganda, In General - If they stick with well known political propaganda, this show may work. It might rely on historical audio recordings of the likes of McCarthy and George McGovern. If they build a transformation by the end of taking off their masks and breaking out of lockstep conformity, it may be an effective ending. (Note: Their promotional video entitled "Propaganda" featured Martin Luther King, a big gaffe. He's known as a Nobel Prize winning humanitarian, not a manipulator. Do they even know the difference? Are they muddying the definition of propaganda- - that's way too heady and thankless a POV for a twelve minute show, and the notion that King could be considered a propagandistic manipulator is just so... wrong. Really almost fascist and sickening- - King's inclusion as a propagandist exposes the corps to a media firestorm of controversy.)

7. Madison Scouts - Judas Christ Super-risk At least this show has a specific intent, but there are just so many stylistic potholes that they can encounter with this campy Broadway musical and weighty subject matter. Incredibly exposed. A 20,000 foot interpretation is best. Jesus help them.

8. Phantom Regiment - Voice of Vagaries, a dusty and confused anniversary show concept, have your capes and checkbook ready, alums.

9. Santa Clara Vanguard - Force of Nature Buffs - Looks like a melange of natural destruction imagery without a specific expository platform. If they use the seasons, it will provide some understructure. Where's the humanity and relationship to the corps member's lives?

10. Crossmen - Continuum. Um. Right. Andrew Markworth's original composition. Great. What's the theme? What's the show about? Drum corps is not a concert with added random movement. It's a visual performance medium with all the added responsibility of imagery, theme, meaning and story, either behind the scenes or in front of the camera. Get Markworth to start talking.

11. Bluecoats - Great Big ? in the Sky Blue's design team can't write a show description because they don't have a thematic through line. This corps is struggling artistically and is unable to build a thematic argument into their recent shows. Today, drum corps is not simply a concert with movement. Being glaringly theme-free will cost them on the score sheet. A meaningful theme isn't that hard to build, even with random musical selections like these.

12. Blue Knights - The Great Sixth Grade Book Report - The show announcement is an embarrassing sixth grade book report-- unedited, sprawling, rambling and vague. Change, innovation, illusion of safety, new story... yams are a super food... beginning of a new vague something, hey this wallpaper smells like a upholstery shampoo.

After seeing Bluecoats repertoire, I could not disagree with you more (not that I usually agree with you but...). All I can say is shut up and take my money. If they pull it off they will be untouchable.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Cainan

[BRASSO]

CH. 3 does provide some thought provoking commentary and insights that I do find intriguing, if somewhat a bit over the top, and sometimes to the extreme and/ or head scratching at times. That said, I do encourage him to continue, as it makes me think of things I had perhaps not thought of before... and even if at the conclusion of which, I might conclude the trip with him down Concepts Lane, was not worth it in the end, the mere thought of looking at something new and fresh from posters like CH.3 is a good thing for the daily exercise of the tiny cells found inside my cerebellum.

Edited June 1, 2016 by BRASSO

[afd]

Show Concept Rankings - 2016

Here are the rankings of the top twelve's concepts as presented in their show announcements.

Each production concept is judged on clarity of theme, specificity, universality, and uniqueness. These rankings will impact finals night rankings more than say "How tight the drumline is." Depth of concept includes the meaning and purpose behind the production and carries the largest scoresheet weight, impacting all captions.

1. Cadets - Awakening of the Design Team - Statues dare to come to life, a metaphor for self realization and self-identifying. This could be the most powerful metaphor in a drum corps show ever, and directly relates to youth and personal development. Profound.

2. Blue Devils - As Dream Wins are Made On - Shakespeare's The Tempest. Classic tragic-comedy, universal and whimsical, with a flare of fantasy and humor. Sophisticated fun around the theme of love and redemption. Incredibly hard to stage and clarify.

3. Carolina Crown - Relentless - Spaghetti Western about revenge. Sendup or serious? They better decide. The description is all over the place and mentions three dramas from three different eras. On paper, it's a confused stylistic mess that needs focus.

4. Blue Stars - La Reve Your Engines, story based on the famous painting or a dream or Emile Zola's version, likely a romance fantasy sequence. Original, sexy and fun.

5. Boston Crusaders - Don Quixote In 12 Minutes. This story-based show could be a barn burner. And there's only one way to do it in twelve minutes, and that's if the entire corps transforms from criticizing and trampling Quixote, to by the end mirroring Quixote's movement, in a show of support for his crazy vision. Skip the story points on this one.

6. Cavaliers - Propaganda, In General - If they stick with well known political propaganda, this show may work. It might rely on historical audio recordings of the likes of McCarthy and George McGovern. If they build a transformation by the end of taking off their masks and breaking out of lockstep conformity, it may be an effective ending. (Note: Their promotional video entitled "Propaganda" featured Martin Luther King, a big gaffe. He's known as a Nobel Prize winning humanitarian, not a manipulator. Do they even know the difference? Are they muddying the definition of propaganda- - that's way too heady and thankless a POV for a twelve minute show, and the notion that King could be considered a propagandistic manipulator is just so... wrong. Really almost fascist and sickening- - King's inclusion as a propagandist exposes the corps to a media firestorm of controversy.)

7. Madison Scouts - Judas Christ Super-risk At least this show has a specific intent, but there are just so many stylistic potholes that they can encounter with this campy Broadway musical and weighty subject matter. Incredibly exposed. A 20,000 foot interpretation is best. Jesus help them.

8. Phantom Regiment - Voice of Vagaries, a dusty and confused anniversary show concept, have your capes and checkbook ready, alums.

9. Santa Clara Vanguard - Force of Nature Buffs - Looks like a melange of natural destruction imagery without a specific expository platform. If they use the seasons, it will provide some understructure. Where's the humanity and relationship to the corps member's lives?

10. Crossmen - Continuum. Um. Right. Andrew Markworth's original composition. Great. What's the theme? What's the show about? Drum corps is not a concert with added random movement. It's a visual performance medium with all the added responsibility of imagery, theme, meaning and story, either behind the scenes or in front of the camera. Get Markworth to start talking.

11. Bluecoats - Great Big ? in the Sky Blue's design team can't write a show description because they don't have a thematic through line. This corps is struggling artistically and is unable to build a thematic argument into their recent shows. Today, drum corps is not simply a concert with movement. Being glaringly theme-free will cost them on the score sheet. A meaningful theme isn't that hard to build, even with random musical selections like these.

12. Blue Knights - The Great Sixth Grade Book Report - The show announcement is an embarrassing sixth grade book report-- unedited, sprawling, rambling and vague. Change, innovation, illusion of safety, new story... yams are a super food... beginning of a new vague something, hey this wallpaper smells like a upholstery shampoo.

Ranking according to you? Maybe you should state that point.

[Shempy]

CH. 3 does provide some thought provoking commentary and insights that I do find intriguing, if somewhat a bit over the top, and sometimes to the extreme and/ or head scratching at times. That said, I do encourage him to continue, as it makes me think of things I had perhaps not thought of before... and even if at the conclusion of which, I might conclude the trip with him down Concepts Lane, was not worth it in the end, the mere thought of looking at something new and fresh from posters like CH.3 is a good thing for the daily exercise of the tiny cells found inside my cerebellum.

I find myself disagreeing more often than not with C3's assessments, but his posts are engaging. I think just about everyone on DCP needs to take themselves a little less seriously, C3 and C3 detractors included.

[Cappybara]

Ranking according to you? Maybe you should state that point.

That is assumed

[Herk]

Drum corps is not a concert with added random movement.

I'd say it depends on the show. The case can certainly be made that this is an apt description of some shows...such as that one show where the guy was wandering around the stage orating, while the corps wandered around...almost out of sight...behind him. Or that other one that had the paper airplanes swooping all over the field.

[Ghost]

CH. 3 does provide some thought provoking commentary and insights that I do find intriguing, if somewhat a bit over the top, and sometimes to the extreme and/ or head scratching at times. That said, I do encourage him to continue, as it makes me think of things I had perhaps not thought of before... and even if at the conclusion of which, I might conclude the trip with him down Concepts Lane, was not worth it in the end, the mere thought of looking at something new and fresh from posters like CH.3 is a good thing for the daily exercise of the tiny cells found inside my cerebellum.

Plus, you haven't been a punching bag yourself for awhile!

[GREENBLUE]

I do believe that the Cavies inclusion of MLK in their brief promo clip for this year's Theme, was at best, confusing. It could be that the Cavies PR clip included MLK because someone at Cavies believes MLK was the recipient of propaganda in their view rather than a propagandist himself. That might be one take away from that Cavies Theme promo clip. On the other hand, perhaps someone at the Cavies believes that MLK was a propagandist. I personally would not share this view of MLK, if that is their intent. But Ch. 3 does make a valid point, imo, that the Cavies inclusion of MLK in their promo clip for this season's theme " Propaganda " was perhaps ill advised, in retrospect.

What we define as propoganda may just be in the eye of the beholder.

In 1963 when the speech was given many black radical leaders, some government politicians and residents in the south felt that the speech was taken to extremes.

In fact, after the speech, the FBI deemed King a major enemy of the United States. As quoted below from a report.

"In the light of King's powerful demagogic speech yesterday he stands head and shoulders above all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negroes. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security."

My point....looking back, we can see the importance of the speech. But at the time some in our country viewed it as ...well... Propaganda.

Maybe the Cavies weren't as far off in the inclusion as some thought?

[BRASSO]

Plus, you haven't been a punching bag yourself for awhile!

' Can't lay a glove on me.... ' float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.... Ali !!

Edited June 1, 2016 by BRASSO

[chaddyt]

6. Cavaliers - Propaganda, In General - If they stick with well known political propaganda, this show may work. It might rely on historical audio recordings of the likes of McCarthy and George McGovern. If they build a transformation by the end of taking off their masks and breaking out of lockstep conformity, it may be an effective ending. (Note: Their promotional video entitled "Propaganda" featured Martin Luther King, a big gaffe. He's known as a Nobel Prize winning humanitarian, not a manipulator. Do they even know the difference? Are they muddying the definition of propaganda- - that's way too heady and thankless a POV for a twelve minute show, and the notion that King could be considered a propagandistic manipulator is just so... wrong. Really almost fascist and sickening- - King's inclusion as a propagandist exposes the corps to a media firestorm of controversy.)

I think the term "propaganda" has come to take on a much more negative connotation then it's definition traditionally allows for. From Mirriam-Webster:

Full Definition of propaganda

1. 1capitalized : a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions

2. 2: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person

3. 3: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect

It is by no means an inherently "bad thing", and to claim the Cavaliers are promoting a fascist interpretation of King is a huge stretch.