Cesario out as Artistic Director

[Jeff Ream]

6 hours ago, garfield said:

So, in a way then, Cesario was an interpreter more than a direction-setter.  He helped corps see that they were going down an audience path that was not being scored well.

or maybe not just received well by the fans. 

[garfield]

8 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

preach brother. I heard him talk about what he's been saying with DCI back in 06 or 07...re-engage the fan, and the last few years DCI top to bottom has taken huge steps in that. Effect is about the full triad again, not just super deep faux intellectual crap. It's ok to make us laugh, cry, even hate. Maybe now, DCI has finally gotten ( back) to what he was preaching...and look at the results the last few years...a few more corps, attendance growth...maybe he's saying "my work here is done".

 

and if so, I say thanks Michael, because you provided the kick in the ### DCI sorely needed

Maybe you're attributing credit for success to the wrong source.

This notion has been framed as Cesario against the corps directors and, somehow with his guidance and persuasion, "DCI" was suddenly compelled to adopt his solution set?

 

 

 

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, cfirwin3 said:

Again... I REALLY don't think that the position has anything exclusively to do with visual design... or really the specifics of design at all.

The position is DCI's representative to all of the corps with very general respect to their thematic presentations.  Does/can the person get involved in some decision making?... I don't see why not.  But the Artistic Director is concerned with a DCI show (A DCI show is an event... not a performance)... as it relates to a mix-mash of drumcorps shows.

This isn't like a federal government secretary that doles out regulation to sub-departments in the various states.  For another analogy... it's like the shopping mall manager, making sure that every anchor store is doing what they do best (without directly involving themselves in those stores doing what they do).  They want people coming to the mall.  They want people having a good time at the mall.  They want the stores that are at the mall to know that they are important.  They want to help them be successful, because it is in everyone's benefit.

I don't have many more ways to explain it.  Other than that if DCI has no such position, then you are more likely to get less enjoyable DCI shows (again, a DCI show is an event... not a performance)... with respect to the way in which corps compliment the event, each other, and the activity in general.

Did they have this position through the 1990's?  If not... I suggest that it was noticeable.

as a judge you may often find yourself telling a group something isn't working.....but then you have to carefully extract yourself from telling the group what specifically to do to fix it. I think Michael was along those lines. I can hear it now:

 

" you know these solid forms here and those solid forms there becoming linear forms here just aren't swashing my buckle, they're making me clutch my pearls.......toy around it with it, it's June see if you can create something to make it flow better, like chocolate from a tub".

 

all jokes aside, my hunch is that is more of what he was doing. Not dictating, just pointing out what isnt working and challenging staffs to make it better on their own.

 

I know when I still wrote/taught, those were the times I found out just what I was good or not good at......and helped me get better. 

[garfield]

3 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

as a judge you may often find yourself telling a group something isn't working.....but then you have to carefully extract yourself from telling the group what specifically to do to fix it. I think Michael was along those lines. I can hear it now:

 

" you know these solid forms here and those solid forms there becoming linear forms here just aren't swashing my buckle, they're making me clutch my pearls.......toy around it with it, it's June see if you can create something to make it flow better, like chocolate from a tub".

 

all jokes aside, my hunch is that is more of what he was doing. Not dictating, just pointing out what isnt working and challenging staffs to make it better on their own.

 

I know when I still wrote/taught, those were the times I found out just what I was good or not good at......and helped me get better. 

There's no doubt the dude is full of creativity.

I wonder about his comments on August 1st, but that's not really important.

 

[Jeff Ream]

8 minutes ago, garfield said:

Maybe you're attributing credit for success to the wrong source.

This notion has been framed as Cesario against the corps directors and, somehow with his guidance and persuasion, "DCI" was suddenly compelled to adopt his solution set?

 

 

 

i think when you look at the business side of things, you had to see something wasn't working. Indy was reaching record lows. attendance was flat except for a few places.

 

So why was that? was it how the judges wee judging? was it how the corps designed? was it a combination of both?

 

 

yes, IMO it was, and he got some very large egos to realize, yeah hey, ####, he's right. So over time they re-did the sheets and philosophy on how to judge them, they created a source for corps to reach out to to throw #### against the wall and see if it stuck...and lo and behold.....numbers started going up, and not just Indy. they added things like Sound Sport which has created a corps or three. And...quite honestly....he was the one voice everyone would listen to to work for the common good and start healing the self inflicted G7 wounds. Quite honestly, bringing him in may have been Dan's best decision since he took office. If there is one voice in the activity everyone will shut up and listen to, it's Michael.

[garfield]

47 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

i think when you look at the business side of things, you had to see something wasn't working. Indy was reaching record lows. attendance was flat except for a few places.

 

So why was that? was it how the judges wee judging? was it how the corps designed? was it a combination of both?

 

 

yes, IMO it was, and he got some very large egos to realize, yeah hey, ####, he's right. So over time they re-did the sheets and philosophy on how to judge them, they created a source for corps to reach out to to throw #### against the wall and see if it stuck...and lo and behold.....numbers started going up, and not just Indy. they added things like Sound Sport which has created a corps or three. And...quite honestly....he was the one voice everyone would listen to to work for the common good and start healing the self inflicted G7 wounds. Quite honestly, bringing him in may have been Dan's best decision since he took office. If there is one voice in the activity everyone will shut up and listen to, it's Michael.

I thought that might be the case, too.  But I was keeping track at the time, and the numbers don't bear out the contention:

Total Revenue of DCI

2008: $8.8mil

2009: $8.5mil

2010: $8.83mil

2011: $9.72mil

2012:  $9.514mil

(source: DCI 990's)

And I've got attendance figures that don't bear out your contention; it was actually increasing from 2010 - 2013.

I don't want to take anything away from anyone who has devoted his life to the marching arts, but I do want to keep forefront in mind that those actually out there doing it deserve more credit for where we are today than those who stand on the sidelines and say "I like my mortar joints a little smaller".  

 A good friend, and one actually doing it, reminds me of this fact.

 

 

[garfield]

56 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

i think when you look at the business side of things, you had to see something wasn't working. Indy was reaching record lows. attendance was flat except for a few places.

 

So why was that? was it how the judges wee judging? was it how the corps designed? was it a combination of both?

 

 

yes, IMO it was, and he got some very large egos to realize, yeah hey, ####, he's right. So over time they re-did the sheets and philosophy on how to judge them, they created a source for corps to reach out to to throw #### against the wall and see if it stuck...and lo and behold.....numbers started going up, and not just Indy. they added things like Sound Sport which has created a corps or three. And...quite honestly....he was the one voice everyone would listen to to work for the common good and start healing the self inflicted G7 wounds. Quite honestly, bringing him in may have been Dan's best decision since he took office. If there is one voice in the activity everyone will shut up and listen to, it's Michael.

I can't disagree with allowing credit for herding the DCI cats - he gets that.

I also know that the same contention was being made by some pretty prominent (remain nameless) directors at the time.

SoundSport is brilliant, even as the gulf between SS and OC is wider than ever.

I wonder - and I'm CLEARLY not a G7 apologist - where the impetus to "right the ship" came from, and I think it worthy of recalling the voices of the time.  That's all.

 

 

[garfield]

I also point to the Boston Crusaders who, apparently, took VERY seriously the points being made at the time about programming and launching into the 21st century of the activity.

These guys got religion HARD, and have made ASTOUNDING progress in business management of their org.  Did that come from the AD?

I, personally, think it's important to recognize the motivations and drivers that have so successfully "launched" the activity to the point where OPEN CLASS CORPS are turning away auditionees in numbers never experienced before.  I wonder...

...was it Cesario or the G-7?

(remember, both were going on at the time)

 

[cfirwin3]

2 hours ago, Eleran said:

With regard to the actual role of DCI's Artistic Director, DCI posted in 2012:

Spearheaded by DCI Artistic Director Michael J. Cesario, the inner workings of this new judging system—which has been under development for more than two years—have been put together by instructors who make up DCI's Rules and Systems Task Force (RSTF). 

That is about as explicit as you can get that the "Artistic Director" was not just offering guidance and suggestions to the individual corps, but directly shaping the ways in which corps were judged.  

We can all draw our own conclusions as to whether corps are willing to change their direction/behavior in order to seek enhanced recognition by the judges, so I think it safe to say that the role had a lot of impact, indirectly, on how the corps design.

But this makes sense when he's pushing organizations to engage the audience and be true to their identity.  It's like saying 'be free to be you... you won't get penalized for being fun and being you'.

I am not at all convinced that there was remotely a contentious relationship between program designers and Cessario.  It seems to me that more groups have been afforded far better input since this arrangement started.

[garfield]

48 minutes ago, cfirwin3 said:

But this makes sense when he's pushing organizations to engage the audience and be true to their identity.  It's like saying 'be free to be you... you won't get penalized for being fun and being you'.

I am not at all convinced that there was remotely a contentious relationship between program designers and Cessario.  It seems to me that more groups have been afforded far better input since this arrangement started.

Exactly.