East Coast Showcase -- Lawrence, MA -- 8/4

[jwillis35]

8 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

there's a big clue at the very end - the two members close the trunk & stare off into the future in their Garfield jackets NOT focused on the past, JMO but that's a clear design easter egg for 2022 = imagining what's next 

Yeah, I saw that. When they close the chest, almost as if to say "we have reflected on the past, but now we must move on" and then put on their Garfield jackets and walk to the door to stare into the future, you get the sense that the corps will be looking for the next thing. Whatever that it. It may mean moving away from the uniform. I would be fine with costumes every other year, or 2 out of 3 years, but I am hoping that at least once every 2 or 3 years we get the Cadets uniform. 

[George Dixon]

5 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Hey George, question on Cadets - towards the end of Appalachian Spring there's a horn player who kind of does a statue like pose very similar to what SCV did in Ballet for Martha and maybe even in years prior to that. Any meaning behind that? (again, if it's something obvious that I'm missing ala the right foot step off thing, my apologies )

 

Cadets 87 featured a solo dancer from Alvin Ally (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) dance studio in NYC they reuse several of his most vivid poses, as did SCV:

 

[OldSnareDrummer]

11 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

Cadets 87 featured a solo dancer from Alvin Ally (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) dance studio in NYC they reuse several of his most vivid poses, as did SCV:

 

Ah, interesting. Thank you! 

[Tim K]

1 hour ago, craiga said:

The Lynn show has always been hosted by the Beverly Cardinals Alumni.  This year, they either didn't want to host or couldn't, so BAC picked up the date. As for the venue, I don't think last night's crowd would have fit into the stands at Manning Field anyway.

I think the crowd could have fit in the stands at Manning Field. I’m not sure why there was no Lynn show. This is just speculation, but on Tuesday I heard someone complain there were no program books and the program book online was not complete, and the response was “DCI said no programs.” Since DCI gets blamed on everything, justifiably or not, and I only overheard the conversation and cannot verify the answer, I wouldn’t bet the farm, or if I’m not mistaken, you’re from Maine, I wouldn’t bet the lobster boat, on the accuracy.

I do know many folks who are involved with Beanpot and the two major money makers for the show are the program book and the concession stand. If program books were prohibited, and with the Covid restrictions that would impact the concession stand, there is no way Beanpot would make enough money to award the scholarships to marching members, and awarding scholarships is critical to those involved with the show. 

[Tim K]

30 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

Yeah, I saw that. When they close the chest, almost as if to say "we have reflected on the past, but now we must move on" and then put on their Garfield jackets and walk to the door to stare into the future, you get the sense that the corps will be looking for the next thing. Whatever that it. It may mean moving away from the uniform. I would be fine with costumes every other year, or 2 out of 3 years, but I am hoping that at least once every 2 or 3 years we get the Cadets uniform. 

I don’t expect the traditional uniform next year, and thought that the traditional uniform was for this year only. While I love the traditional uniform and do think it added a great deal to the program, I am just happy that it sounded like a Cadets  show, the marching was Cadets marching, and the corps is showing potential. With all that befell the corps in 2019, whether it be show design, financial woes, discord among staff and low morale among marching members, and a host of other things, all of which some believe were more difficult that the immediate aftermath of the departure of the director in 2018, and then a hiatus due to Covid, Cadets could easily have folded. While some may say alums would never let that happen, lots of corps were not going to fold, and with the exception of perhaps Southwind which did cease for a while, none are around today. As we saw with Glassmen, there’s only so much alums and fans can do to save a corps.

[LabMaster]

3 hours ago, George Dixon said:

Sign me up to "I hate the video screens" crowd - and I'm using the word HATE here. Very distracting, enormously prone to error, and high cost of ownership. Nothing but a design crutch IMO - I'd rather them save the $$ and reduce member fees - we already have way too many screens in our lives

Yikes.  Glad to know how you really feel.  No problem with that.  Just as an FYI, something like this has undoubtedly been discussed by designers, and now everyone can see what they can and can’t do. Give BAC some credit for stepping up and testing this for real versus it being an idea that is only on paper.  Never really knowing.  They’ve learned about error, which we’ve seen with amplification over the years and that has improved.  I wouldn’t view it as a crutch.  That infers they need it to get over the hump of never ending visual shortfalls.  That is not the case with BAC.  It is a look at increasing visual interest for the screen generation. $$ is not the issue as the screens are leased I believe.  They don’t own them. No one could afford these size screens.  A criticism has been their “distraction”.  Last night I found the moving of ramps in Lucy far more distracting.  I hardly noticed Cadets attic because I was so locked in on their uniforms.  I just look at it all as great shows performed exceptionally well.

[jwillis35]

I may be in the minority, but I love the video panels that BAC is using. I am excited to see what other things they can do with them and different ways they can stage them. It's definitely an experiment but certainly one that has been rumored to be in play by a few corps...namely Bluecoats. At least for now the idea of using these is not going away. Like other new ideas in drum corps, this one will take some time to find the right balance of size, placement, use, cost, etc. 

[ykw]

2 hours ago, jwillis35 said:

Yeah, I saw that. When they close the chest, almost as if to say "we have reflected on the past, but now we must move on" and then put on their Garfield jackets and walk to the door to stare into the future, you get the sense that the corps will be looking for the next thing. Whatever that it. It may mean moving away from the uniform. I would be fine with costumes every other year, or 2 out of 3 years, but I am hoping that at least once every 2 or 3 years we get the Cadets uniform. 

I've felt this season's "ShallAlwaysBe" show theme is another take on "The Unity Project" given the design freedom (i.e., no judging) allowed this year.   I think it was important for the current members to have an opportunity to "feel the love"  from so many alumni and fans.

 

 

[Poppycock]

4 hours ago, George Dixon said:

there's a big clue at the very end - the two members close the trunk & stare off into the future in their Garfield jackets NOT focused on the past, JMO but that's a clear design easter egg for 2022 = imagining what's next 

Exactly! It's apparent. The challenge is; If you're not leading you'll be staring at someone's backside. Cadets 2022 may be the biggest surprise of all. 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Poppycock

[IllianaLancerContra]

41 minutes ago, Poppycock said:

Exactly! It's apparent. The challenge is; If you're not leading you'll be staring at someone,s backside. Cadets 2022 may be the biggest surprise of all. 

In other words, 'Be the lead sled-dog.  All the others have the same view'.