Costumes? Why?

[onceuponatime]

With no disrespect to the posters here on Drum Corps Planet who have a theatre background or a love affair with Broadway (I plead guilty to that),  I fail to see why "Costumes" versus legacy corps "uniforms" require dedicated proponents on either side. Why does it have to be an either/or proposition?

Someone on this page generalized this discussion by laying the "new costume/theme" direction at the feet of the Bluecoats.That's not really fair. They came up with a very entertaining, exciting show that turned a whole new page in the how-to book of drum corps. I congratulate them on taking a big gamble on a show that caught the imagination of the fans. To the "non-costume" adherents was that such a terrible crime? This recently characterized "new era." as far as I'm concerned, was not what I woud consider to be a "drum corps show." as much as it was an entertainment vehicle. So what? Entertainment is supposed to be a major part of drum corps, and The Bluecoats entertained the hell out of those watching their show in the oil drum. Now, projecting ahead, what would an entire drum corps contest comprised only of corps who pursued that direction be like? What is new and different once around the block, will probably not appear as  new and different if one corps after another did it.

Remember, all of this "new era" stuff began years ago, when at The Annual DCI Meetings where one after another outlandish proposal was proposed, and year by year one after another, advocated by a small number of Corps Directors convinced the others of the value of what they were promoting. Year by Year these proposals were introduced, and then reintroduced, and then introduced again. The point was to wear down the opposition, and gradually they did.

Supporters here on Drum Corps Planet seem very supportive of radical change, proven or not. Most appear to be very intelligent people with well thought-out viewpoints. The prevailing argument seems to be that you cannot do well competitively any more unless you reverse your thinking. The scores awarded by the judges seemed to bear them out. Suddenly it appeared as though a fully-integrated theme was required for the judges to even look at you. GE became so subjective, the other captions became virtually invisible. What about the horn line? Oh yeah, they were pretty good. Not good enoough to score as radically as GE, but pretty good nonetheless. Percussion appeared to disappear as the unique musical art form drum corps had spent years perfecting. So, what about the percussion caption? Should it even exist any more? Were all the drum lines on the field equally accomplished? They all "looked" good to me. Eeeny, Meanny, Minny, moe...I pick that one!  Marching (movement if you prefer) which since the beginning of the recollections of drum corps fans, and the source of most of their amazement at what corps could accomplish, now meant absolutely nothing. Corps visual instructors began designing shows where it really wasn't necessary to be well-trained in marching, just so long as you kept moving on the field, pointlessly or not.

None of what I just said is meant to denigrate the "new era" of drum corps. I like some of it very much. But we are putting too much emphasis on conformity as opposed to variety. For example, I have been a huge fan of The Cavaliers since I first knew what a drum corps was. I admired and responded to the kind of shows they put on the field. I thought their distinctive uniforms added to every different show they performed. More often than not they excited me, they entertained me, they made me proud to be a part of such a wonderful activity. Then, as is the case with most long-established corps, they lost some key visual design people: Brubaker, Gaines and others I am less familiar with. As a result they slipped down a few notches for a bit, as would probably happen to any corps in those circumstances. So they decided to go "new-era" last season, and they shocked the bejesus out of me. I won't go into any details. If you saw them perform last season you know what I'm talking about. They did a complete back-face, and honestly, they were no longer recognizable as The Cavaliers. It was their decision to make, and I support them in whatever they have decided; but for now at least, I won't be waiting to view them in the same way I once did.

Now, as might be expected, there are other corps at the same point of decision. Where so we go from Here? Do we throw in the towel and become just one more in a series of one-act plays on a football field? Carolina Crown actually brought us to the point that we now find ourselves. They fielded one off-the-wall show after another, and with the combination of a truy great horn line and some pretty bizarre uniforms, they stood out from the pack. Where do they go now? Do they try to come up with one-act plays that are better than their competitors, and earn the plaudits of a judging community that has lost its' direction? Do they perhaps have a better idea that no other corps has explored yet? Last season it was a little of both. I thought they had won, but that's neither here nor there. I can't tell you what their theme or story-line was, nor did I care. I just liked them more. Did their stage coach, or their gun duel, or their dead outlaw entertain me at all? No! But their corps overall did. I don't think the "theatre" fans shared my sentiments Then there is the subject of uniforms. Crown does;t really have that problem. Over the years they have had so many different uniforms they are not distinctive in that category at all. So, for now, this winter off-season doesn't have to be any diffent for them than any other winter off-season. They still have time before they too will be forced to choose a stylistic direction.

Then we have The Cadets. Fair warning I'm a Cadet Alumnus, so my comments might not carry any weight with anyone who has never marched Cadets. I'm not even certain if there is any other corps that might be viewed as comparable to The Cadets. To begin with we have a sixy year old Director who has been the corps' Director for more years than many of you have been alive. In addition, he has a carved-in-concrete idea that you must move forward or you die. In The Cadets' case, it's very possible that if they subscribe to the new-era philosophy, they might very well die. The Cadets have an 83 year history, and an internal culture far more complex than most corps. Most Cadet Alumni, and many non-affiliated posters fans and observers, feel very strongly that The Cadet uniform is the best in the activity, and should never be changed. Our Director does not share that viewpoint, regardless of the cost of his intransigent position. For many years he has been making small changes to the uniform, which in most cases were not viewed kindly by many of the alumni. At other times he has been very alumni-sensitive (our 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee blast for one example), and transporting the entire corps to Holy Name Church in Garfield to play for the Church's 100th Anniversary celebration. Those are just two examples of many. At other times he does a complete reversal and proceeds with whatever danger-fraught decisions that often radically negatively effect the corps. Last season, for example, for the final few contests of the season, he suddenly springs a totally new all-black uniform on everyone. It was not a good decision, and that is an understatement. For the 2016 season he had The Cadets in those black uniforms for the entire season. Now the truth is that close-up they would have been a good uniform for any corps except The Cadets. For one thing, they didn't have 83 years of history behind them. Speaking for myself, I did not attend any shows during the 2016 season except for DCI Championships, and I found myself still horrified by the black uniforms. Beyond that, I was stunned to see that in spite of all the vitriol directed to The Cadets' show all season (I believe that "shipwreck" was one of the descriptions,) I was more than a little surprised to see just how good the corps was, and just how good the theme production, music and staging were. They caught me off-guard, and I have been off-guard ever since. I loved their hornline and their music (including the trombones, french horns, and violin.) I thought that by putting the horn soloist, who only played intermittently, on a layered prop that projected very high off the floor, and an appropriate-clothed adonis on another prop a little less high, where he seldom moved other than to change poses periodically, and provided a visual focus that never required you to take your eyes on what was happening on the floor. I never made any attempt at all to understand "the story" behind their show, and I think that people who did try to figure it out wasted a lot of time thinking and insufficient time enjoying. Speaking more as an Alumnus than an unaffiliated audience observer, I thought they were radically underscored. I also believe that the reason was that the judges didn't understand "the story" either, and that tried way to hard to make that a requirement.

Now a new season is upon us. The Cadets have a brand new staff (several key members of the staff are also Cadet Alumni and understand the culture, history, and significance of the corps. They have been very tight-lipped about the show they will be doing, and even more tight-lipped about the uniforms (costumes) they will be wearing. All we know for sure is that they will not be wearing the iconic Cadet uniform once again. We have been told they were selected to provide more flexibility for rolling around and dancing. The problem is that many if not most alumni, and many committed fans as well, have not reacted very well to hearing the words "rolling around" and "dancing." In short, they will not be The Cadets of History again, and reading between the lines, it appears they are going to be another of the "new era" corps. What that means to fans is that more and more shows by more and more corps will be all about "little stories." and once again superior marching, drumming, and music will not play much of a role. We cannot blame that on anyone but corps staff for turning our activity into a march of lemmings to the sea. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that every single corps sets the crowd on fire. But what I hope more than anything, is that The Cadets revert from being just another drum corps to being "more than just a drum corps."

 

 

 

 

[BoaDci]

I'm always gonna call them uniforms. To me at least, I see costumes as individualized for each person, and uniforms are something that spread across an entire ensemble.  So, by my definition they are uniforms, even though they arent the durable and heavy like the ones we all came to love.

[Tobias]

WGI is where the forward thinking design is. The groups perform in a controlled environment, are smaller and loaded with talent. Drum corps attempt to emulate that and some groups are more successful the others at finding that balance of effect that translate to large stadiums with 150 performers versus 25. 

Cadets have the most impressive traditional uniforms and when kaleidoscopic fast moving drill was credited by the judges, nothing was as impressive to watch IMO. 

Going forward, however, Cadets are wise to reinvent themselves and ultimately modify and modernize their look. Again, the balance of modernization and respect to tradition is key but the design team seems to have an epic event planned for this season so I'm cautiously optimistic. IF they suceed, the new look will be embraced, IF they fail, the uniform change will again be a scapegoat along with the director.

[flammaster]

I think the temporary change in Cadets looks good.  I would want them back in their old one but the new look was nice from my perspective.  As a Cadets viewpoint I can see how it would be bothersome.  I did not mind BD when they did that for two years but can see the outrage of the long tradition being thrown out.

[Tim K]

Uniform means "one distinct form" as in clothing. So if we look at Bluecoats in 2016, all horns and drums wore the same clothing and all members of the color guard wore the same clothing, so there was a musicians uniform and a color guard uniform. In 2014 all musicians wore the same outfit, a uniform, the guard all wore different clothing that was not identical. These would not have been uniforms. In schools often the word dress code is used when different attire is worn. 

Judging  from context, costume is used as a negative description and is not a reference to staging or theater. It's at times combined with WGI or BOA swipes. I'm not as familiar with WGI as I am DCI, and perhaps what the young people wear are referred to as costumes, but at least on DCP, costume usually means uniforms that are not liked. 

[Slingerland]

What drum corps have worn for decades have always been "costumes" - they've just been costumes that could be described as 'uniforms'.  Many of them may have had military design roots, but given that none of the drum corps in the 1940s through the 2010s were actual military units, all the cadet style jackets and shakos in the world ain't gonna make them a West Point Band, and the old Troopers unifom was every bit a costume, the same as what was worn by the actors on the set of F-Troop.

If Cadets embrace the change and make it work, no one will care. If it doesn't work, it won't be because they let go of a look that was first embraced in the 1930s. Cavaliers show last year worked not because of the uniform/costume change but because the show wasn't poorly conceived, as the prior few years had been (curious you thought no one knew who they were with their new look; my experience talking to people was the exact opposite).

Times change, and you can change with them or wither and die.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Slingerland

[xandandl]

Those who point to WGI as the origin of costuming in marching arts don't know the basics in drum corps history. I attribute this to their youth. Yes, young compared to the 83 year legacy of the Cadets, Mr. Shaw's well worded post, and my own senility/seniority. Costumes in drum corps go back to Am. Legion/VFW/CYO era which such corps as the Jolly Jesters in their harlequin clown outfits, Velvet Knights, who long before the California beach duds marched parades and some finals' award ceremonies bedecked in both headgear of a fighting knight and on mock horses that they stepped into to look like the horse was being ridden. Stanley Knaub festooned the Seattle Imperials in jumpsuits, some blue, some red, some white, a costume which he  carried over to his winter guard before he and others founded WGI 40 years ago. No, the Bluecoats are not to blame.

When Steve Buglino moved from Long Island to Illinois to teach with the Cavaliers, he instituted the naugahyde vests, muskateer hat, and feather flags for the Cavaliers' costuming  It built on the already present history of the clown and acrobatic outfits some wore for their Circus show.. Others took the credit That's well before the Canton Bloo were born. Kilties were already touting their Scottish attire, 27th was already kneeling in their khaki slacks, Troopers were already dressed as the 11th Cavalry, and various drum majors like the one for the Medford Grenadiers somersaulted into position including some who capped the entrance by catching their tossed shako so that the hat was in place and the plume upright. No, if one takes the long view, what corps will wear is much like the debate about 100 year cycles of weather vs. Global Warming. 

The gut discussions today are basically: the value of change for change's sake; the question of monetary interests in the fabric industry now controlling and dictating the "artistic" aspects of drum corps resulting in a  Conflict of Interest dimension drum corps must address if it is to remain an ethical activity for youth; and the boredom of those too long in the salaried administration and adjudication of activity that they struggle to find a spark in drum corps entertainment because they roll from one marching arts season into another (DCI/A to Marching Band to Indoor circuits back to DCI/A without sabbatical or other diversions to renew spirit and soul.

As the oldest continuous actively competing successful junior drum and bugle corps, the eight decades of the Cadets must be respected. Unfortunately, the interest of the present director of the corps in the alumni has only been for the wallets of the alumni as it serves his agenda. This includes all the busy-ness of the 75th which precluded, by Allentown's decision, the participation of a number of alumni personalities, the omission of a number of long-time vested volunteers, and the dwarfing of many aspects of the corps history which good people sought to offer in their publication which fringed on becoming a homage to himself. The dirty laundry should be aired only within the confines of one's own compound I agree, but sometimes the effects pollute the whole neighborhood.

Now the neighborhood is on the cusp of becoming a ghetto (sociological use of the term, not street usage) with only one way of thinking prevailing. Yet that thinking is cherry-picking what can be creative. Most will not remember the DCI "Janual" several decades back when the guest speaker to the administrators, instructors and judges spoke about what DCI would look like if the "field of green" was painted red. That was well before WGI made tarps a mainstay or Japan had a cement floor in its indoor arenas. Creativity is not merely limited to the outfits one wears.

In summary, four points:  It can be unfair to kids to use them as experimentation so that adults fulfill their psychological needs. Most change in DCI isn't change but a lack of historical awareness of what has existed previously while glossing the details to presume everyone was identical. The Cadets have an internal struggle for which the change of what they are to wear is a symptom not the cause. And to be truly creative, DCI can not be limited to merely one thinking or technique whether that be spats, spandex, or scabbards. 

  

Edited March 30, 2017 by xandandl

[corpsband]

Wow people writing epistles here!  

td;dr

Uniforms?  Costumes? It's all good, man! 

[Daave]

While were at it, I've heard that they are often called cast members now and not marching members.

[corpsband]

13 minutes ago, Daave said:

While were at it, I've heard that they are often called cast members now and not marching members.

Disney would probably sue!