WGI 2009 Winter FOCUS

wgi winter 2009

Adventures on the

TECH EDGE

focus the ofďŹ cial news of wgi sport of the arts

Helping Hands:

How Dedicated Volunteers Keep Winter Guard Going

How to Think Theatrically

Cheshire Hits New Heights BUILDING A SHOW From the Groud Up

wgi

Directions

focus the official news of wgi sport of the arts

WINTER 2009 Volume 23, Issue 1 Winter Guard International Ron Nankervis Chief Executive Officer Bart Woodley Marketing Manager Aaron Jenkins Marketing & Communications Coordinator Published By: In Tune Partners, LLC

Recession and Expansion With all that’s going on in the current economy, it’s logical to wonder how the winter marching arts might be affected. Will there be less participation in competitions? Will attendance go down?

As the board of directors faced this revised financial picture, they set a deliberate course to provide more services while reducing some fees and assisting our event sponsors in producing regional contests that continue to excel. The color guard Power Regionals are expanding, and the Regional A Class is being reintroduced into some of our events, bringing local color guards into the world of WGI. After a few years’ hiatus, Minnesota welcomes back its percussion event, and a new color guard regional in Oregon breathes new life into the competition calendar. Although it is true that groups are reducing travel, the core of our activity remains strong, with new color guards and percussion ensembles emerging every day.

2009 will also see a sea change in technology for our organization, as improved online video streams and live World Championship webcasts bring WGI to anyone within reach of a computer. Judging commentary will go “all digital,” making it easier for instructors and judges to share information. We are truly beginning to hit our stride in providing the most stateof-the-art services for performers and fans.

As we stand on the precipice before diving into a new season, let us all acknowledge the journey that has already begun and the finish line in April that seems so far away. It will be here in an instant. The cycle has a beginning, middle, and end, and we should all enjoy the all-too-brief ride. See you on February 7th!

Irwin Kornfeld CEO Will Edwards President Angelo Biasi Publisher Mac Randall Editor-in-Chief Jackie Jordan Creative Director Robin Stein Production Director Don Helsel Operations Director Joan Ferrara Business Manager Contributing Writers: David G. Hill, Scott Markham, Jose A. Mendoza, Melinda Newman, Michael Reed Photography: Jolesch Photography, Robert Cawthorne, Julia Higbe, Dan Scafidi, Linda Unser, and Sid Unser WGI FOCUS is an educational publication of WGI Sport of the Arts. Its purpose is to broaden communication within the family of color guards and percussion ensembles. FOCUS is published three times per year.

WGI FOCUS is a free publication with a circulation of 14,000 copies and 12,000 online readers.

All members of the WGI family may submit articles for consideration. WGI reserves the right to edit all submitted material.

If your address has changed, please notify the WGI office. Failure to do this could result in the loss of your WGI FOCUS subscription. We don’t want to lose touch with you!

For advertising information please contact Aaron Jenkins; phone: 937-247-5919; email: aaron@wgi.org

Ron Nankervis Executive Director WGI Sport of the Arts 4 WGI

www.wgi.org

WINTER GUARD INTERNATIONAL 2405 Crosspointe Drive Dayton, OH 45342 937-247-5919 office@wgi.org www.wgi.org

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wgi

focus the official news of wgi sport of the arts

Volume 23 Issue 1 Winter 2009

28

Aimachi uses dramatic exercises to get into the right performance mood.

INSIDE 9 ENSEMBLE A design challenge for The Band Hall ... Watch WGI on YouTube ... Event judges go digital for the new season ... Sabian takes the mystery out of shopping for cymbals ... The fans vote for their favorites on DVD ... and much more!

14 CLOSE-UP Cheshire High School has been rising up the scholastic ranks for years, and its emotional performance in the 2008 SW Finals suggests that it’s heading for the top.

9

16 SPOTLIGHT The 2009 season marks a technological sea change for WGI, with new developments coming to the Web and the judges’ table.

20 A SHOW COMES TO LIFE How do designers get ideas for shows, and how do they go about turning those ideas into reality? We asked four top designers to explain their creative process.

25 VOLUNTEERS Every season, hundreds of people perform countless important tasks at WGI events—and they don’t charge a cent for it.

20

28 CLINIC Two principals behind a Tony Award-winning show give tips on thinking theatrically.

30 SCHOLARSHIP As North Coast Academy percussionist Steve Dailey hangs up his uniform for the last time, he reflects on what being an accomplished drummer really means.

34 WHAT’S YOUR WGIQ? Find the differences between two photos from the 2008 Finals.

Cover photos, clockwise from top left: Redline, Cheshire HS, Music City Mystique, Pride of Cincinnati.

30 WGI FOCUS 7

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Ensemble NEWS FROM THE FLOOR AND MORE

Y R O T IS H S E K A M L L A H D N A THE B FOR MUSIC CITY DRUM CORPS The uniform designers at The Band Hall certainly faced a challenge this year. Among their assignments for the fall of 2008 was the creation of a uniform for a new DCI drum and bugle corps, located in the company’s hometown of Nashville, Tenn. This new ensemble, called the Music City Drum & Bugle Corps, is unusual in two respects. It’s only open to high school graduates, and its executive director happens to be The Band Hall’s president, Keith Hall—which raises expectations for the quality of its uniforms.

Luckily, the design process went smoothly.

“Many of the people putting this corps together have been thinking about it for many years,” Hall says, “but once it became a reality and we started designing the uniform, it came together in a few days.

We’ve had great fun starting with a clean slate and putting a great deal of thought into every aspect of what we want to accomplish and how we want to be perceived.”

With Hall pushing for a corps image that communicated “excellence and integrity,” Tommy Keenum, head designer at The Band Hall, leaned toward a traditional look (see sketch). “Tommy said working on this uniform design rekindled his love of subtle details and a ‘less is more’ approach,” Hall reports.

“As with any great design, editing is just as important as having a lot of ideas. This is a uniform that could be worn forever.”

For more on the Music City Drum & Bugle Corps, visit musiccitydrumcorps.org; for more on The Band Hall, go to thebandhall.com.

November 2008 auditions for the Music City Corps and (inset) the proposed uniform

CALCULATING SOUND WITH SABIAN

NBC PHOTO: CHRIS HASTON

A new feature on the Sabian Cymbals website can help percussionists in what’s often a laborious, time-consuming task—selecting the right cymbal for their ensemble. The Sabian Sound Calculator (pictured) simplifies the search for band and orchestral cymbals by presenting users with seven basic fields: cymbal type (hand or suspended), timbre, volume, balance, sustain, size of ensemble, and type of ensemble. Once the user has filled in these fields, the Calculator provides suggestions, paired with audio recordings of the models suggested.

Go to sabian.com for more information.

www.wgi.org

WGI on YouTube WGI now has its own channel on YouTube, featuring special montage videos and performances that are available to subscribers. Fans can also share their original content with other viewers.

To become a subscriber, visit youtube.com/user/ WGISport OfTheArts.

WGI FOCUS 9

Ensemble

GUARD FOCUS Travel Easier With a Super Day Pack

WGI judges adopt the new digital standard

EVENT JUDGES GO DIGITAL As WGI ventures further into a high-tech future (see Spotlight, pg. 16), the judges at its competitive events are getting with the program, retiring their old cassette tape recorders and replacing them with slick new hand-held digital recorders. The two most popular models in judging circles are made by Sony and Olympus; both have a USB connection that makes it easy to link them to a computer or MP3 player, allowing judges to upload their audio commentary without extra cables.

These new recording devices won’t change the judging process but should greatly improve the way judges respond when team instructors have questions about an evaluation. Instead of mailing a cassette tape to the chief judge, instructors can now email the digital file commentary along with their questions or concerns. Also, chief judges will have access to any judge’s evaluation, something that just wasn’t possible in the analog cassette era.

“With tapes, it was a long process to get the info to the judge,” Color Guard Regional Director Lyera Hammons explains. “The unit instructor would have to find a way to dub a copy of the tape, then mail it to the judge administrators. Then they would have to sit, listen, and talk it over, rewinding and fast-forwarding the tape to get the dialogue they were discussing. This was sometimes a two-week process. With digital media, situations can be addressed immediately after they have come up if necessary.”

Guard members on the move appreciate a bag that won’t weigh them down, and this Super Day Pack, available through McCormick’s, is a smart choice for either traveling with your unit or just getting everything to practice and back. Made of 600 Denier heavy-duty nylon with PVC backing, the bag measures 19” x 11” x 10.5” and features separate compartments for shoes, outfits, makeup, a water bottle, and a cell phone. It comes with a shoulder strap and a choice of four colors: yellow, royal blue, black, or red. Go to mccormicks .net for more information.

PERCUSSION FOCUS Specialty Drumsticks Offer Unusual Look and Sound Want something new for your percussion arsenal?

Look no further than Pro-Mark’s SMAX specialty drumsticks. Although from a distance they may look to the untrained observer like miniature rakes, they are in fact sticks, whose fan-shaped tips are made of high-impact polyvinyl. (The stick handle is premiumgrade American hickory.) The tips make a distinctive slap when they connect with the surface of a drum; just how distinctive depends on which one of three texture variations—soft (SMAX), medium (SMAXX), or hard (SMAXXX)—you select. These variations help the sticks produce a wide range of sounds, from light and delicate to sharp and aggressive. For more information, go to promark.com.

A REVOLUTION IN TIMPANI Portable timpani may seem like a contradiction in terms, but Adams Musical Instruments has made the idea a reality with its new Revolution Series Timpani. The base and bowl of these drums easily separate without tools; once separated, the base folds and locks, which allows it to be transported using a built-in handle—a great benefit for hardworking percussionists. Adams Revolution timpani are distributed by Pearl. For more information, go to pearldrum.com.

10 WGI FOCUS

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Ensemble FRED J. MILLER PARTNERS WITH UNDER ARMOUR A WGI event can put great physical demands on its performers, and so it’s important to maintain comfort and control at all times. That’s why Fred J. Miller’s recent distribution arrangement with Under Armour is good news for both color guards and percussion ensembles. Founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, Under Armour makes shirts that wick perspiration off the wearer’s skin instead of absorbing it, helping to regulate temperature and enhance performance. Among the Under Armour products now available through Fred J. Miller is the UA Heatgear Loose Tee (pictured), made from lightweight, loose-fitting micro-pique fabric. To find out more, go to fjminc.com.

S NEW FANS’ FAVORITE W DVDS AVAILABLE NO

November 4, 2008 was an election day in more ways than one. As U.S. voters elected their next president, winter guard fans also had their final opportunity to vote for which classic WGI performances would make it onto the next round of Fans’ Favorites DVDs. With thousands of fans casting early ballots, this was the most competitive race WGI has seen. Here are the results. Go to wgi.org/store to order your copies today.

Fans’ Favorite Percussion Volume 3: Aimachi 2003, Avon HS Percussion 2002, Black Knights 2003, Blue Knights 2003, Capital Regiment 1998, Centerville HS Percussion 2005, Everett HS Percussion 2005, Father Ryan HS Percussion 1994, Mission Viejo HS Percussion 2004, Music City Mystique 2004, North Coast Academy 2004, Rhythm X 2005, Riverside Community College 2002, Spirit 2001, Thunder 1998.

Color Guard Fans’ Favorite Volume 6: Blessed Sacrament 2003, Crown Guard 2002, Emerald Marquis 2001, Fantasia 2002, Flanagan HS 2005, Franklin Central HS 2001, Freedom HS 2005, James Logan HS 2003, Northeast Independent 2003, Paradigm 2005, Pope HS 2002, Pride of Cincinnati 2004, Shaktai 1998, Stoneman Douglas HS 2004, Trumbull HS 2004.

Thank You To Our Partners and Sponsors Presenting Sponsors

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World Championship Sponsors

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12 WGI FOCUS

www.wgi.org

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Close-Up

Cheshire High School:

Patience Rewarded Hard Work and Emotion Lift Guard Into the Top Ranks

By Jose A. Mendoza

I

f there’s one person in the world who understands the importance of patience, it’s Mickey Kelly. Twelve years ago, he became one of the central designers for the Cheshire (Conn.) High School color guard.

Despite the guard’s humble beginnings, Kelly has loyally stuck with the program, helping to turn it into a formidable competitive unit. Over the past few years, his patience has paid off. In 2006, Cheshire became Scholastic Open champions; in 2007, the team made the World Class finals. And then at the 2008 championships, Cheshire stunned audiences and judges alike with its emotionally charged show Reflections From Within, landing a fourth-place finish.

“The show was based on two ideas,” Kelly explains.

“The first was that it was meant to serve as a reflection on life, using mirrors to convey this in both a literal and abstract matter. The other, however, wasn’t unveiled until after the kids had their Finals performance. One of my friends who taught with me at Cheshire had passed away from cancer, so I wanted the show to serve as a tribute to him. From there we extended the idea to encompass what the kids thought of the show, so we had them keep

We belie ve in th e

journals to write about their experiences and reflections on the season. There were so many beautiful entries we read, and I was glad the show developed into something more poignant—something deep and personal.”

Kelly refuses to take full credit for his group’s recent success. Instead, he praises his students for their hard work, and adds that his talented staff is one of the primary reasons Cheshire continues to develop in terms of quality and kinship.

“These guys have been with me from the get-go,” he says. “Each year they deliver consistent instruction in how to move, how to dance, how to effectively hone equipment skills. I’m very fortunate in the respect that I work with talented individuals who help me in formulating these programs and taking these kids to the next level.”

Noted for their equipment technique this past season, Cheshire now stands proudly alongside giants such as Avon, Center Grove, Flanagan High School and Miamisburg HS—a feat most would consider daunting given the competitive nature of the activity, especially within World Class.

“For us,” Kelly says, “it’s never about trying to design in terms of what the class requires, or worrying about who we’re competing against. We trust in the quality of the composition, and most of all, we believe in the kids.

[We don’t] underestimate their potential, because kids will do whatever you ask of them. The idea is to make them the best they can be, and we intend to do the same this season. We don’t have a feeder program and we do most of our stuff from scratch. But as long as you’re patient and understand these kids have a lot on their plate, everything will fall into place.”

kids.

We don’t potential underestimate th , bec eir do whate ause kids will ver you a sk of them .

14 WGI FOCUS

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Spotlight

Adventures on the

Cutting Edge

WGI Uses New Technology to Improve Accessibility for Fans

You can watch more groups like Redline online this season.

By Scott Markham

W

inter Guard International is no stranger to technology, but 2009 promises to be a landmark year even for this forward-thinking organization.

For the upcoming winter season, WGI has made an unprecedented commitment to rendering all facets of the activity available to the public. Fans will have open access to virtually every Regional and World Championship via the Internet. Also debuting will be a digital recording system that enables instructors and judges to share evaluations at WGI contests, as well as expanded cellphone and Internet access to scheduling and contest information.

In 2008, WGI recorded over 1,800 subscribers for rePlay, an application on wgi.org through which fans can watch videotaped performances from regional competitions. Now rePlay’s regional videos will be just a portion of the WGI Fan Network, which will include archival footage from past years and access to all prelims performances at both WGI Color Guard and Percussion World Championship weekends. This footage will be available for subscribers’ viewing pleasure during the winter season.

At the competitions themselves, instructors and staff will have a new way to review judging commentary. Tapes and CDs have been eliminated; each competing drumline or color guard will receive a “mini-shuffle” MP3 player to capture comments from each caption judge. Comments will be downloaded to the device, and once the player is returned, those comments can be easily emailed between staff members. The MP3 devices are included in

16 WGI FOCUS

For the u pcoming WGI has winter se made an ason, commit u n p receden ment to ted renderin of the act g all face ivity avail ts able to th e public. the cost of entry, and will be distributed prior to competing at the groups’ first regional. The same player will be submitted at each of the subsequent regionals and at World Championships.

Cellular phones and mobile Web browsers have become very important communication tools. With the debut of its brand-new mobile Web application (m.wgi. org), WGI plans to give fans and instructors one-touch access to scheduling and scores on their mobile devices.

WGI has also been improving its visibility through social networking sites such as MySpace (myspace.com/winterguardinternational) and Facebook (facebook.com/pages/ Dayton-OH/WGI-Sport-of-the-Arts/47099405525).

As Bart Woodley, WGI’s Marketing Manager, puts it, “Winter Guard International has a strong belief that one of the fundamental responsibilities of the organization is to remain on the forefront of technology, deliver cuttingedge media resources, and to provide the best forms of communication to fans, instructors, and judges.”

www.wgi.org

Performance photo by Jolesch Photography www.jolesch.com

YOUR GUARD’S SUCCESS IS WITHIN YOUR REACH…

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Not sure exactly which direction your group should take? Our friendly, free design service can provide you with just the right colors and costumes to give your guard the perfect look.

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a Show

! m a b

comes to life

Four of WGI’s finest designers take us inside their creative process By David G. Hill new WGI season means a new show, for color guards and percussion ensembles alike. But when it comes time to create that new show, where do designers turn for their ideas? And once they’ve arrived at those ideas, how do they get put into practice? Depends who you ask.

We recently asked four of marching art’s top designers to go step by step through their creative process, and we’ve made an important discovery: It’s the chicken first. No, it’s the egg.

“Our most successful years come from finding the concept first, then the music,” explains Shane Gwaltney, visual designer and battery arranger for threetime PIW champion Music City Mystique. “Both work great, but most movies have a soundtrack after the movie’s been made. If you pick the music first, you’re limited in finding a concept to match.

For instance, if you like the music played in a baseball game setting, you’re not going to put a visual idea of outer space on the court, unless Babe Ruth is flying the ship!” num The Band Hall’s Tom my Kee Heroes. for es tum cos the on worked

20 WGI FOCUS

Gwaltney and his team collaborates with uniform designer Tommy Keenum at The Band Hall to “find or create a look or color scheme to get the idea across.”

Here’s how last year’s striking comic book-themed Heroes show was brought to life, in Gwaltney’s words.

“We didn’t want to use the same characters that everyone knows, so we came up with our own. We kept the background a subtle outline of a comic book page that was empty, and let the colors of the uniforms and the members’ personalities pop off the ‘page.’ We wanted to get the idea across that the members were [coming] alive out of the pages. As we did this, we were able to use the environment of the floor shapes to help create the storyline of the staging [see photo]. We also used the props in the back to help the imagery of the story come to life. As the picture in the back turned, we tried to replicate the idea on the court.”

THE MEDIUM IS THE CREATION Asked about how he creates a show, Santa Clara Vanguard’s Jon Vanderkolff sighs: “As I am sure you can understand, to talk about one’s creative process is a difficult thing. It is so much easier to do than to talk about.” But he valiantly tries to talk about it anyway.

Conceptually, Vanderkolff adheres to three tenets in color guard design: First, www.wgi.org

The background art for Music City Mystique’s Heroes show looks as if it was torn from the pages of a comic book.

abilities.

Devlin says designs have to be based on performers’ Blessed Sacrament at the 2008 Finals. Director Ed

find a concept that the performers, designers, and audience can relate to. Second, make sure the concept translates into the medium in which we create. Third, make sure the concept is not too big or small for the time and parameters of our medium.

Vanderkolff says he’s worked on shows that began with music and shows that began with imagery, and “I truly don’t think it matters. What does matter to me is that there is a strong and honest connection between your concept and the sound that accompanies it.

“Once you have a concept that seems worthwhile and interesting to explore, the next phase is what I consider problem solving. You look to connect the dots between your concept and the environment you are exploring, which means connecting that thought to the soundtrack, set design, costume design, and choreography.”

WAIT FOR IT TO COME For almost 20 years, Mike Jackson has created productions for Mission Viejo High School’s percussion line. “I don’t have a formula,” he says. “I wish I had a formula.

I have no drawer of show designs to pull from.”

The co-caption head and battery arranger explains that the school’s creations “rarely come from a piece of music, a gimmick, an effect, or a prop.

I wait for something to inspire me in some way, mainly real-life things, like a family event.” Take the line’s 2006 production Home, for instance.

“My aunt and uncle had a 50th wedding anniversary during which they renewed their vows,” Jackson recalls. “It was like a family reunion, and I was in charge of putting together the slide show: photos from the ’50s, their favorite songs. We watched two people grow together from teenagers to being older. You live life and sometimes [a correlation] hits you.” Jackson had found 22 WGI FOCUS

his show theme for the year: “Everlasting love … home.”

Arriving at a theme certainly doesn’t mean the show’s a done deal, though: “We don’t try to cram the concept into a box; we let it grow and become what it wants to be. We work sort of ‘on the fly.’”

FIT AND FUNCTION

Leave it to 18-year Blessed Sacrament design veteran and director Ed Devlin to pull no creative punches. It’s about the performers, he insists: “The design process actually starts with understanding your performers’ abilities. Your choices need to be appropriate to the talent level of your particular group. You need to find a good ‘fit’ for the performers.”

Fit becomes function, Devlin explains, as the production develops: “Selection of soundtrack is highly important; does it have the emotion, interest, and accessibility for the performer and audience? Does the soundtrack support the concept or does the concept support the soundtrack? Then, floor design, costuming, equipment, movement—these all fold into the mix We don’t try to cram of the design process. Does the the concept into a box. costuming work with the conWe let it grow and cept and floor design, even the movement design?” become what it wants But Devlin would not be to be. We work sort the medal-winning designer of “on the fly.” he is by adhering to a strict set of rules. When you are designing, he advises, “keep both ‘process’ and ‘evolve’ in mind. While there are certain elements of a show that are decided upon and set, it’s important to keep your mind open as the show starts to take shape, capitalizing on the mood being set or certain connections made with the audience.”

Ah yes, an open mind, perhaps the most crucial element in the design process. With it, no matter which comes first—chicken or egg, concept or song, fantasy or real-life inspiration—you can let that all-important creativity flow. www.wgi.org

THE FANS VOTED. GET YOUR NEW FAVORITE SHOWS.

Visit wgi.org/store Color Guard Volume 6 & Percussion Volume 3 Now available!

Bette Brown

A volunteer from the Dayton Ambassadors

Heather Wolfe and Mark Ackerson

nybody who has attended WGI World Color Guard and Percussion Championships has seen them. They are the people standing out in the rain making sure the performing groups have what they need when the bus pulls into the parking lot. They are among the first people to arrive at the contest site at the crack of dawn, and the last to leave after midnight, long after the last spectator has left the arena. They get a few hours’ sleep, and rise the next day to do it all again. Most of them will happily come back and do the same thing next year. And they don’t get paid a dime.

Who are they? They are the men and women who volunteer their time checking in units, providing security, selling WGI DVDs, and performing myriad other important duties www.wgi.org

that make WGI World Championships happen. Without their services, the fantastic event that most of us eagerly look forward to every April simply would not be possible. WGI volunteers don’t put in long, hard days for money, glory, or any other reason besides a love of the activity and a willingness to do whatever they can to help the performers and spectators create memories that last a lifetime.

How does one become a WGI Championships volunteer?

The first step in the process is going to wgi.org and completing the online volunteer sign-up form. All submitted forms are reviewed. Selected applicants need to be available for the entire championship weekend (Wednesday through Saturday). WGI provides lodging (with roommate), shuttles, and meals for championship volunteers, but arranging WGI FOCUS 25

Allan Acosta

Howie Mogil helps pick a 50/50 winner

Tim Gallagher (right)

transportation to Dayton is the volunteer’s responsibility.

Organizing this army of 200-plus people can be a daunting task, but WGI Volunteer Coordinator Mark Ackerson has been up to the challenge for the past fi ve seasons. He began volunteering at WGI finals in 1996. In time, he was invited to join the Championship Committee; he assumed his current role overseeing the entire process in 2004.

Ackerson is responsible for reviewing submitted applications, gathering feedback from surveys sent to volunteers, and making sure all areas where volunteers are needed are staffed. Among the hundreds of duties championship volunteers perform are unit check-in, unit movement, warmup, judge security, video and program sales, tabulation, and checking sound.

During championship week, the volunteers assemble for a meeting on Wednesday to cover logistics and assignments.

This is also a time for renewing old friendships, as an estimated 85 to 90 percent of championship volunteers return from year to year. After a good night’s sleep on Wednesday, the volunteers are up bright and early for competition days, usually taking part in meetings at the WGI Headquarters hotel between 6:15 and 7 a.m. before dispersing to the event sites. Many do not arrive back at the hotel until midnight.

A large percentage of the championship volunteers were once performers themselves; others have been involved as boosters. A few are neither, but fell in love with the activity and decided to contribute their time and energy to it. If a person is interested in becoming a WGI championship volunteer, Ackerson suggests first getting involved closer to home. His advice to a volunteer candidate is “go to a local show and talk to the people running the contest there to get a sense of what it entails.”

One of the most successful facilities at hosting local contests is Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind. The school has hosted numerous marching band, winter guard, indoor drumline, and show choir competitions.

Last year, the school drew on its experiences over the years by hosting its first WGI Percussion regional. While a local 26 WGI FOCUS

circuit show or WGI regional is obviously not as massive in scope as a World Championship event, many of the same elements that go into the big show in Dayton are needed on a smaller scale, and just as volunteers perform essential functions at a championship event, their efforts are every bit as necessary in local competitions.

Franklin Central band director Dan Fyffe says that organization and planning helps the volunteer experience at his school be “a win-win for all involved.” For each essential event function, there’s a committee chairperson who contacts volunteers, with a number of people returning in subsequent years to perform similar duties. Fyffe explains that when a given area has enough volunteers to be fully staffed, any additional people may be steered toward other areas where help is needed. The music students at the school are also encouraged to help. In order to ensure things run smoothly on contest day, a full walk-through is done the day before the event with both adult and student volunteers. “We talk through every job. This helps the volunteers to understand how the entire event works,” Fyffe notes.

As Franklin Central’s track record shows, having clear delegation of authority and thoughtful preparation allows the people who are donating their time to feel a sense of ownership in the event, and makes the experience something that parents and alumni will want to help with again. After all, whether you’re organizing a huge championship event or a local circuit show, it’s much easier and more efficient to have a returning experienced group than to start from scratch every year.

Volunteering is a rewarding experience, and allows those who have been touched by the activity to give something valuable back in return. The behind-the-scenes efforts of these men and women are the lifeblood of any pageantry event. When you attend a WGI event this winter and you see those people in the WGI shirts at the video booth, selling 50/50 tickets, or keeping spectators out of the judges’ area, take a moment and thank them for doing their part to make the activity what it is today. Theirs is truly a labor of love. www.wgi.org

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Santa Clara Vanguard Percussion Section, PASIC 2006

Clinic

Thinking Theatrically

Is A Blast!

Tony-Winning Show’s Example Can Inspire Performers’ Sense of Drama

By Melinda Newman Pride of Cincinnati, one of several groups that work with Blast! choreographer Jim Moore

W

hile it’s difficult enough for most of us to walk and chew gum at the same time, members of color guard and percussion ensembles are expected to multi-task to a dizzying degree.

And as routines become progressively more complex, some ensembles are looking to heighten the experience even further—through theatrics.

For inspiration, directors and performers need look no further than Blast!, the Tony-winning show that took marching music off the football field and onto the stage. Not every independent or school ensemble may be ready to tackle “Medea,” as Blast! has, but there are dramatic elements that any group can add to boost the power of their performance.

“The main thing is [finding] the truth of the moment,” says Blast! acting director/choreographer George Pinney, who is also head of music theatre for Indiana University’s department of theatre and drama. “It deals with the human condition. Why is the performer running across the floor? Why are they leaping when the sabre goes up and hits the hand?

What is the dramatic impact of the moment? It goes beyond the technique and into performing the drama.”

Jim Moore is a choreographer for Blast! who also works with a number of independent guard units, including the award-winning Santa Clara Vanguard, Pride of Cincinnati, and Japan’s Aimachi. Although he doesn’t make his team members take acting lessons, he very much believes in what such exercises can do to enhance routines. “If you want to put on something theatrical, [you need to] get them

to express more through their bodies and faces,” Moore says. “Even if you’re not trying to tell a story and are just trying to get a feeling across—angry or happy or sad—there are all kinds of exercises to get them in the mood.”

When training performers, Pinney starts with movementbased exercises, including a physical warmup that gets the arms, face, and eyes in motion. From individual exercises, he moves into pairs as a way to build trust. For example, two teammates may hold hands and lean back, relying on the other to keep from falling, or communicate solely through gestures: one shrugs a shoulder, the other answers by lifting his or her eyebrows, and a non-verbal dialogue will ensue.

Pinney also encourages improv, such as acting out going to the mailbox and finding a letter that tells you if you’ve been accepted to college … or not. Then he begins adding props, such as sabres and flags.

For percussion units, Pinney suggests exercises that incorporate the hands. “If they’re holding an instrument, they use their hands so much [already], so I use that as the key to get them moving,” he says.

“From drumming we can do exercises that will take us up to full-on body dancing.”

Pinney recommends that all color guard and percussion ensembles incorporate acting skills into their repertoire: “It’s good to look at it as cross-training. An acting class is cross-training into the performance level, like a ballet class is cross-training into the dance aspect.”

Who knows? Maybe the next Meryl Streep or Denzel Washington is in your group.

“An acting class is

cross-training into the performance level,

like a ballet class is cross-training into dance.”

28 WGI FOCUS

www.wgi.org

Scholarship

It’s the Journey, Not the Destination In Drumming as in Life, the Reward Is in the Work

By Steve Dailey

I

can remember a 13-year-old version of myself watching my first WGI show. This young Steve Dailey was quite different from the one that recently aged out of North Coast Academy and the Cavaliers. He wasn’t inspired by music yet, didn’t ever practice, and had never touched a pair of drumsticks. He was still a saxophone player.

In the years following this first exposure to WGI, I would regularly steal my brother’s practice pad and ask him, “Hey, am I playing these flam drags right?” His wise reply would always carry a hint of sarcasm: “Maybe you should learn how to play triplets before you try to put a flam and a diddle in there.” I didn’t care. I was hungry.

I remember seeing Jeff Queen at Championships one year. Hoping to reveal my passion and potential, I formulated what I thought was a well-constructed question: “How did you get so good?” He politely replied, “I just played a lot, man.” I walked away, feigning enlightenment, but this wasn’t the answer that I was looking for. I was seeking the secret insight that would turn my hands into certified drumming machines on the spot.

Now I’m at a point in my life where I’ve been asked similar questions: “How often did you have to practice?” or

“How can I learn to play like that?” I almost feel guilty when I give people the same line Jeff Queen gave me. But in that nugget of sometimes discouraging truth is the secret to becoming an accomplished drummer.

I used to think that the reward in drumming was being good. However, as I grew up I began to realize that what I enjoyed about drumming was getting good. In my 16 seasons, the most satisfying praise I received wasn’t for what I was doing well, but for what I had worked on to do well.

Aging out and putting your drum away for the last time is a moment that’s seldom talked about, but it’s the last thing you’ll do as a WGI performer, and it’s not very glamorous. At that moment, there won’t be any medals conferred or scores awarded. There will just be you and your drum.

Strangely, it’s often the most dedicated drummers who can walk away without regret. It’s not that their passion is any less; they simply know that the sum of their work is more than one final performance. I hope that when your time comes, you’ll be one who hangs it all up without regrets, in drumming and in life.

I will graduate from Michigan State University in May with a degree in music education. Upon graduation, I will be looking for a position teaching instrumental music. Regardless of where my career takes me, I will certainly stay involved with percussion. WGI has provided When famed percussion teacher, arranger, clinician, and judge Dennis De- me immeasurable opportunities and I Lucia was inducted into the WGI Hall of Fame in 2006, Yamaha introduced a want to make sure that young percusscholarship in his name. The Yamaha/Dennis DeLucia scholarship, awarded sionists have the same chances for sucevery year to one deserving percussion student, is both a way to honor cess that I did.

DeLucia’s contributions to marching music and a continuation of Yamaha’s long history of supporting the study of music. “Supporting music education Steve Dailey was chosen to receive the activities is part of the corporate mission of Yamaha,” says the company’s 2008 Yamaha/Dennis DeLucia Scholarship. percussion marketing manager Troy Wollwage. “For a music instrument Visit www.wgi.org/about/scholarship for manufacturer to not provide such support, we believe, would be wrong.” more information.

THE DeLUCIA SCHOLARSHIP

30 WGI FOCUS

www.wgi.org

MQT-60234 in Silky Silver

WALLED LAKE PERCUSSION DEPENDS ON YAMAHA. “WLP is a 'music to make people' organization. We teach our members to be independent, self-sufficient human beings and how to work interdependently with others.

I thank Yamaha for providing us with such high quality instruments so we can make this vision happen.”

-Nick Pourcho, Director

QUALITY

.

SUPPORT

©2009 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved • www.yamaha.com

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PROFESSIONALISM

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VALUE

TAKING THE FIELD WITH COLOR

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What’s Your W

WGIQ?

34 WGI FOCUS

Time for a WGI Focus photo hunt! At first glance, these two photographs of Riverside Community College’s percussion ensemble at the 2008 Finals look identical—but they’re not.

There are six differences between the shot on the bottom and the shot on the top. Can you tell what they are? To find out your WGIQ score, go to www.wgi.org/multimedia/wgiiq.php

www.wgi.org

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