shawn craig Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 As a fan, not a current member, it just did not seem like a drum corps show without retreat. I miss the pagentry! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradrick Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) I was on volunteer support staff for SCV for four days in July. -In Dallas, SCV did an Encore. So other than shaving off the time it would have taken for each corps to get onto the field, listen to the scores and then play off the field and salute the competition winner, there wasn't much difference that night. They all had to stay in uniform (maybe not the pit. Not sure about them.) -In Houston, the corps was able to change out of uniform, pack up and eat their snack a little earlier in the parking lot before heading out. They were late enough in the performance order that the extra time was basically gained after the scores were announced due to no corps playing off the field. -In San Antonio (major regional), SCV got to reap the most benefit of the new system - due mostly to their lower than normal ranking from prelims. So this is probably the best example of how the change might benefit the corps that are in the logistical middle of the pack. SCV actually had time to go back to the housing site, eat a snack, shower, pack up and was well on the way out of town by the time the members begun to get text messages on their cell phones with the scores - as they were being announced at the stadium. This was a huge change from the days when I was in the corps. While there were some noticeable gains, the losses that were apparent to me were: -It was no longer possible to see other corps perform after you. Being able to see and appreciate the competition - in the flesh - for all their strengths and weaknesses is a huge part of what makes you grow as a performer, IMO. Especially when there is an inherent focus on scores in the drum corps activity. -Watching live drum corps is fun. I think seeing other corps performing their own unique and exciting shows, helped me get excited about performing. I wonder what it feels like to go through an entire summer busting your tail on your own show without getting a taste of what the excitement in the stands is like, from time to time? -This new system, IMO could easily result in each corps becoming more detached, self-serving and isolated from each other. The feeling of being "one big drum corps community" always helped (from my memory) make the whole summer ... kinda make sense. You understood that we were all there serving the long-standing tradition of the drum corps activity, as well as our own interests. Now speaking purely as a fan: It was tragically anti-climactic to go to any show and not have the entire drum corps experience - including retreat. I missed getting to hear all the corps songs and the whole retreat experience. For me as a fan, it cheapens or short-changes the experience. Edited January 10, 2006 by bradrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn craig Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) Now speaking purely as a fan:It was tragically anti-climactic to go to any show and not have the entire drum corps experience - including retreat. I missed getting to hear all the corps songs and the whole retreat experience. For me as a fan, it cheapens or short-changes the experience. tragicly anti-climatic is the exact phrase I was looking for. Edited January 10, 2006 by shawn craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phirefenix Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 -This new system, IMO could easily result in each corps becoming more detached, self-serving and isolated from each other. The feeling of being "one big drum corps community" always helped (from my memory) make the whole summer ... kinda make sense. You understood that we were all there serving the long-standing tradition of the drum corps activity, as well as our own interests. Precisely what I felt. In previous years, retreat was a great opportunity to meet anyone from any corps that was at that show. This year, we only really got to have that same interaction with the corps that did AOC with us. Yes, the parking lot is still where I did alot of my socializing with other corps. Though there was something different about meeting other corps members while in uniform. It was the great leveler so to speak. Any corps, any division, you could strike up a conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaSqueegee Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Did any of you members express your concerns to your corps director?? Just curious what type of responses were given. Unlike the amp issue...I believe the whole retreat vote was 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko the Wonder Llama Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 -This new system, IMO could easily result in each corps becoming more detached, self-serving and isolated from each other. The feeling of being "one big drum corps community" always helped (from my memory) make the whole summer ... kinda make sense. You understood that we were all there serving the long-standing tradition of the drum corps activity, as well as our own interests. It was tragically anti-climactic to go to any show and not have the entire drum corps experience - including retreat. I missed getting to hear all the corps songs and the whole retreat experience. For me as a fan, it cheapens or short-changes the experience. Couldn't have said it better. Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I miss retreat as a member. I know that a lot of the time I hated standing there and not moving, but it also gave me a chance to be in front of the audience withouth having to march a show. I could take in the experiance of being in front of so many people. And that is something you cannot really do before or during a show.` Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capregrookie05 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 It definitely gave us another hour or two of sleep on the floor most nights, which was nice. I'd love to see full retreats back at regionals though. Mixed arcs with other corps was definitely a good way to get to know other people since we didn't have the same time in the lot as we used to. Corps like SCV, BD, Cap Reg, and Crossmen were a blast to stand next to this summer. Same back at you guys. I think we did a total of 4 or 5 with the Bluecoats, hehe. I admit, I wanted full retreat, and sometimes we didn't even stay until the end of the show (only a few times) so it did affect us, but if we had full retreat we'd never have been able to do mixed arcs, which were equally cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rut-roh Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 As an audience member, I didn't miss retreat one bit. Didn't really care for it much as a performer, and as an audience member I was pretty indifferent to it to begin with. I go to the shows to watch the corps and to hear the scores. And sometimes I don't even stay for the scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornstar_101 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) This new system, IMO could easily result in each corps becoming more detached, self-serving and isolated from each other. The feeling of being "one big drum corps community" always helped (from my memory) make the whole summer ... kinda make sense. You understood that we were all there serving the long-standing tradition of the drum corps activity, as well as our own interests. I have to agree wholeheartedly... I sincerely hope that this change helped a few of the corps' it was meant to benefit. However, as a member of a corps that participated in AOC at all but maybe two shows and performed encore performances just as often, I saw very little difference in our schedule as compared to previous summers. We were always very late to leave the show site, like before, and were most often the last corps to pull out of the parking lot, just as before. Yet the nature of that last hour or so changed completely: most corps' were gone or on their way out before I could even get my uniform on the equipment truck. And by the time I strolled to the cook truck for snack, our buses were the lone beacon of activity in an otherwise empty parking lot. Though this scenario varied a little each night, with a few occassional drum corps neighbors in the parking lot staying just a little longer, the scene after shows was, well, lonelier than in years past. Without even mentioning the friends in other organizations whom I missed talking to after shows, without even mentioning the experience of twelve corps' playing AOC that I know many fans miss, and without even bringing up the fact that some members missed the opportunity to see family who sat through the show only to find their child or relative gone when they reached the parking lot... without even mentioning those things, the drum corps scene after shows was still lacking in a very deep, intangible, insubstantial way. Now, I understand that we were not amongst the corps' that were supposed to see positive benefits as a result of this change. Yet it was our lack of schedule change, our year-in-year-out consistency at departing late, that allowed me to really notice the drum corps experience changing around me. While I am not opposed to changing our activity in forward-thinking ways and while I understand this was somewhat of a "Hey, let's try this out and see how we fair" move by DCI, I for one would like to see retreats re-instated at regionals at least. Let us restore that indescribable and intangbile sense of community that was lessened when retreats were abandoned. Edited January 10, 2006 by hornstar_101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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