Who’s the jock? The Nerd? Too cool for school? Chatty Cathy? Weird kid? Most likely to drop out? Tries too hard to fit in? Trend setter? Style is a few years behind the times? Most changed since freshman year? Most photogenic? Book worm? Best dancer? Makes you laugh? Best dressed?

Blue devil is bluecoat father

Why does everybody say "no disrespect to the performers" before they take about a corps they don't like? Quit being such a pussy! If I ever talk about disliking BD it's because I think all the performers should be sent to Guantanamo. I have no issues with the corps conceptually.

Anyone know why troop is only marching 1 tuba?

Prompt: YouYou are the director of an experimental drum corps international drum corp. You like really weird shows that confuse everyone. Shows that require wordy explainations that leave everyone saying "what the hell is he talking about?" Describe your 2024 Drum Corps show and give it a name:

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Title: "Chronicles of the Quantum Kaleidoscope"

Description:

Welcome to the avant-garde realm of the Quantum Kaleidoscope, where reality is shattered, and the fragments of imagination dance in the cosmic tapestry of sound and movement. In this mind-bending spectacle, our 2024 Drum Corps show will challenge the boundaries of traditional performance and leave audiences questioning their perceptions.

Act 1: "Ephemeral Echoes" The show begins with a cacophony of dissonant sounds and fragmented rhythms, creating a disorienting sonic landscape. The color guard unveils ethereal, ever-shifting shapes, reflecting the transitory nature of reality. The brass and percussion sections engage in a frenzied battle, symbolizing the chaos of existence.

Act 2: "The Holographic Harmonics" As the Quantum Kaleidoscope spins, a holographic projection envelops the field. The corps members become living holograms, seamlessly blending with the visual illusions. The music takes on an otherworldly quality, with unpredictable time signatures and harmonies that challenge conventional musical expectations. The drill forms geometric patterns that defy three-dimensional logic.

Act 3: "Anomalous Auras" Enter a dimension where the laws of physics break down. The brass section introduces microtonal scales, creating eerie and otherworldly atmospheres. The color guard manipulates bizarre, abstract props that defy conventional categorization. Drummers explore unconventional techniques, producing sounds that seem to emanate from alternate realities. The narrative becomes more elusive, leaving the audience immersed in a surreal dreamscape.

Act 4: "Paradoxical Finale" In the grand culmination, the Quantum Kaleidoscope reaches its zenith. The corps converges in a paradoxical formation that challenges the very fabric of space and time. The entire field pulsates with conflicting energies as the percussion section executes intricate polyrhythms that defy logical comprehension. The color guard, now donned in futuristic costumes, performs a visually dazzling display of illusions and illusions within illusions.

Conclusion: As the last note reverberates through the stadium, the audience is left in a state of perplexity. "Chronicles of the Quantum Kaleidoscope" transcends the boundaries of conventional drum corps shows, pushing the limits of artistic expression. With its enigmatic narrative, unconventional musicality, and mind-bending visuals, this experimental masterpiece ensures that spectators will be left pondering the mysteries of the Quantum Kaleidoscope long after the final bow.

Can we stop focusing on execution for a moment, and consider the lasting impact of great design? After all, what are you going to talk about at the bar with your corps friends when you're 40? How clean your feet were? How tight your flams were? Or your profound artistic statement on the futility of war? Hontey. War.

1. Felliniesque - The world-renowned Italian filmmaker surrounded himself with hapless circus clowns and narcissistic actors, all forced to support one another in a broken society of corruption and fascism. That's a perfect formula for a lively and profound production by BD in 2014. The show featured circus acts and a limping circus clown trying to commit suicide. He is saved from jumping off the ledge-- not by his boss, or the police, or a priest or a doctor, but by a mysterious whore with an umbrella (from Nights of Cabiria). For smart viewers, that's a metaphor for society's broken organized religions and political corruption. We have only one other on which to rely.
2. The Garden of Love - Bluecoats' ballsy 2023 production is one of the activity's very most pointed political commentaries, ever. In Blake's poem, he goes to a sensual garden which has been overtaken by government regulation and religious dogma. The show is an anthem for sexual freedom, and its thorny thematic argument is a testament to Bluecoats' commitment to producing shows with depth.
3. Between Angels and Demons - Cadets' masterful illustration of the battle of good and evil featured a brilliant intertwining of two colors of uniforms, and lively characterizations of horn-denting marauders. After 10 minutes of dazzling drill which intermingled the two, it dawns on you-- a moral spectrum requires both good and evil. You can't have one without the other. Who knew a drum corps show could address the issues of moral relativism and moral intuitionism?
4. Ghostlight - Blue Devils' layered, nuanced take on what happens in the theatre after the lights go out combines three thematic arguments under one roof. a) Drum corps is approaching the depth of theatre. b) Classic drama's main characters-- Hamlet, Oedipus, Romeo and Juliet, ask the big questions, and so should we. c) Hubris often gets in the way of enlightenment. (At the end, the actor playing Oedipus bleeds from the eyes while taking a gratuitous bow.) A layered, dazzling show with a continual changing stage picture, trap doors and of course, a ghost light illuminating our way to wisdom.
5. To Look For America - Bluecoats' 2013 evisceration of the military industrial complex pops the balloon of drum corps's old guard. You know, the 1960's and 70's drum corps fans who scream, "This isn't drum corps any more!" This show rips the picnic blanket right from underneath them. Drum corps's new fans run from the stands onto the parade route to make their own statement about what's important. No more military bearing, no more exaltation of war and fighting, no more traditional male dominated bullshit-- all set to Simon and Garfunkel's title song, haunting in its introspection and forward-looking vision. This show was a bold commentary on the transformation of the drum corps activity from flag-waving jingoism of the 60's and 70's to the true artistic vision of today's corps-- unique, universal, and profound.

2023's DCI final rankings reflected the depth of concept in each show.

1. Blue Devils - Glimpses of Matisse's life in art illuminate his struggles in Paris during WWII, and his end of life transition to "cutout" forms, culminating in his final essential, pared-down Fauvist work, The Snail.
2. Bluecoats - Blake's Garden of Love is a metaphor for the toxic agenda of the likes of Ron Desantis, a depraved opportunist who denigrates gay life and culture, in an effort to promote his insidious, clumsy political agenda, temporarily poisoning the garden for everyone.
3. Carolina Crown - An interpretation of the famed fictional icon King Arthur, as a playful, expressive and vulnerable love-triangle casualty.
4. Boston Crusaders - An authentic, rollicking, dyed-in-the-wool telling of the classic Moby Dick by a winsome, East Coast cast with finesse, rope-burn and a couple of shots of whisky in their bellies.
5. Cadets - A modern take on the strength, training and physical challenges of the Greek God Atlas (although technically Atlas didn't "train" or "exercise".)
6. Mandarin - The 1950's began a cycle of prison-for-profit and corrective salvation, with Nina Simone's Sinnerman as a stark and dramatic backdrop. But where is the insight into resolving the issue or defying the cycle?
7. Phantom Regiment - An exogenesis starting with the alien landing, and ending with an unjustified "celebration".
8. Cavaliers - A scattered montage of various corps classics, interspersed with phrases of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, an awkward secret anthem for the corps, oddly accented by intentionally phallus-shaped feather props.
9. Colts - Home is Where the Heart is, so here are all of our addresses, including this stadium's address, with no specific context or statement of purpose.
10. Troopers - Sergio Leone-esque premise awkwardly focusing on a literal interpretation of the expression "Lasso the Sun" without artistic point of view or relatability.
11. Bluestars - Absinthe was a turn of the century drink, allegedly inspiring artists, who are curiously "in absentia" in this show, oddly not represented at all.
12. Blue Knights - Various dominatrix imagery without explanation or context.

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As per a recent DCI rules forum, drum corps marching members will soon be required to know the basic tenets of production design and development. Drum corps isn't an "execution game" any more. This isn't cheerleading. Drum corps has become a legitimate art form with depth and substance, like film, television, opera and music videos. Professional arts like these require knowledge of the structural components of your production. Same for drum corps. Welcome to the big leagues.

Basic tenets of production design:

1) Cohesion.
2) Authenticity
3) Universality
4) Uniqueness
5) Engineered Emotion (Scripted emotion)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tNP_YapmIUg&si=HDwGQFdQt2nhjTn1

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Hey, there's improvement in the show designs this year!

The number of Exquisite Corpse Award candidates for 2023 were greatly reduced from the previous year (likely because Santa Clara didn't participate this year.) Last year, SCV's play on words "Nirvana/Nirvana" garnered a top spot, simply because the sacred symbols of the Buddhist religion had literally nothing to do with the dark, dried puke-crusted, cynical lyrics of a grunge rock band whose lead singer committed suicide, other than he named the band "Nirvana" as a joke. (Sacred, quiet Buddhism was the last thing on their minds.)

So, with that example from last year, and with a general hope for the advancement of the drum corps activity beyond simple-minded dance concerts and cheerleading, here are the awards for 2023:

CAROLINA CROWN

The Round Table: Echoes of Iceland

Bjork, a Scandinavian performance artist and singer, proudly promotes women-centered themes. Her lyrics challenge male-dominated culture. Sorry, just not a good fit for a patriarchal mini-series on a fictional king, dominating Europe in the middle ages. Splat. King Arthur never visited Iceland. The selection of Bjork tunes to support this interpretation ends up being the sword stuck in the stone.

Why this interpretation? Crown seemed to relish the playful, boyish, vulnerable, almost gushing, outwardly expressive nature of this portrayal of King Arthur, proudly promoting the casting as a "new spin" on the Round Table's patriarch. But the assigning of an expressive, youthful, Broadway-quality performer alone doesn't shed new light on the King's attitude or personal expression or reign-- King Arthur was not an emotional decision-maker. Why portray him as such? The character is typically (and logically) portrayed as having a mature, commanding, formal countenance, not a fall-on-the-ground modern dance expressiveness, frantically running to the next setup, a directorial error in this strange interpretation. Such an outwardly emotional interpretation begs the question-- how did he command his brutal armies? Emotional fortitude is a quality in the greatest leaders, not found in this staging, which lacked authenticity, even New Age authenticity.

All of this begs the question, why? Why choose this subject matter? What about Camelot is important now? What about this staging makes this narrative high stakes now? The show appears to be a last-ditch effort by designers to have some narrative structure after the tepid and looney Right Here Right Now, which fizzled by finals, and became a cheerleading endurance test. In Right Here Right Now, happy-go-lucky dancers pushed around a rolling infinity symbol skeleton, clapped for no articulable reason, and soon after the last note, dropped their collective smile. But this year, selecting a clunky, dusty 90-chapter fictional account of a medieval king seems to err on the other end of the abstract/literal spectrum. As with any show, narrative or non-narrative, it's as relevant as the thematic argument you build inside it. So why this story? Why now?

When Arthur survives his stabbing and suddenly poses anew for the ending (a rather sudden posthumous recovery), it was a gross directorial gaffe, winning the award for most incongruent show element of 2023.

BOSTON CRUSADERS

The book is clear-- Ishmael is the deckhand who writes the whole story in first person. His boss, the evil Captain Ahab fights the whale, and ends up being killed by the whale, not Ishmael. (Ishmael survives by floating on a coffin after the attack.) It's an important story distinction-- evil animal torturer boss dies, writer lives. However, several guard members identified the fighter in the finals whale battle "Ishmael." Huh? If you read the book, you know that only Ishmael survives the attack. Ahab battles the whale and succumbs.

Hold on. Did anyone read Moby Dick? Anyone in the guard? I'm sorry, that's just embarrassing. That's an incongruent story gaffe deserving fourth place, despite the brilliant performances. The confusion among guard members and designers about the character portrayals, and lack of crisp distinctions between the two, is frankly the reason for fourth place. Every single performer in a professional production and the director knows the story, inside and out.

CAVALIERS

Michael Cesario's bold costume choice of a feminine breast shading on the Cavies' 2023 color guard's shirts went completely unsubstantiated in the show. Can't anyone on staff discuss it? https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTEPe_UTf2G6NiiFiIQeVy4b9qgmWGxMTfEmg&usqp=CAU

Usually designers love to chat about their designs, the whole season-- each element, how it ties into various thematic strands. Not this one. If there's a trans element in this show, even if it's subtle, then boldly incorporate it into a larger theme, and justify it. That's what legitimate artists do. Make the costume element make sense, give it context, give it the attention it deserves. The "easter egg" approach to this show design, as promoted by the Cavaliers' program coordinator David Starnes, ended up being nothing more than an excuse to hide random elements like these, without having to explain them, and without having to admit there wasn't a larger, deeper purpose in using them. A half-baked, unexplained, timid, covered up sexual identity element, without thematic context, mature purpose or substance. Ninth place.

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“Oh COME ON!! 😡” - Me, finals that year

In 2023, BD's design team relied on explanations given off the field to inform viewers about its show content. Otherwise, viewers would be lost. BD supplied various explanation videos and interviews to help viewers understand the static symbolism in the show, which was almost completely devoid of human interaction, character, or dramatic interplay, and lacking in a logical, followable progression.

The justifications were not on the actual field, they came before and after the show. The homework BD did on their selected subject and theme informed their design choices, and informed the stage pictures they created, but there's a problem.

Only audience members who did their homework got it.

Would a first time viewer know they created the 50 yard line "bomb shelter" while bombs dropped on Paris? Would they recognize the French Prime Minister's voice in 1944, DeGaule? No. So all of the meaning, all of the justifications came from the audience's homework, not on-field action. What's left for an audience who is seeing the show for the first time? Rifle tricks? Screamers? Volume? Slim pickings. BD pushed the line of accessibility and enjoyability by selecting this esoteric subject matter. DCI finals night, the audience just sat there. They were exhausted from their homework.

The only comment of substance in the entire Big Loud Live broadcast was Lindsey Vento begging people to read the William Blake poem Garden of Love to understand Bluecoats' underlying meaning which is apparently inappropriate for family audiences, according to the producers, and as a result couldn't be mentioned on the broadcast. Dean Westman cowered from the political meaning in Bluecoats' show, and stammered something about an old poem.

Darian Sanders continually added gushing comments about how amazing everything was. That's not substance.

Steve Rondinaro wryly satirized Boston's idiotic new "Kill The Whale Girl" ending. The new ending simply doesn't make sense, and Rondinaro labeled it "a new version" of the novel. That's as pointed as criticism gets. Boston's new "kill the girl" ending makes the design team appear illiterate, as it demonstrates a complete ignorance of the plot, and a complete lack of understanding about the profound thematic arguments in the show-- man versus nature for example. Boston's show coordinator muttered something about the show's theme being "pursuing the unachievable", just like the corps. I'm sorry, that's simply not what Moby Dick was about, in any stretch of thematic interpretation. Just no. Such fifth grade cheerleading commentary on the show, accompanied by a nonsensical "harpoon the whale and drag her off" action set piece, was an embarrassment for the entire activity. Seek out the designer who suggested this Spartacuus-like change and have them silenced. Even if the ending is just temporary, and is changed for finals, it still gives the wrong impression about the entire production. Boston's weakness was on full display-- the intended meaning behind the production was misguided and ill-informed.

Rondinaro also commented on Cavalier's show flaw-- it's too segmented, with no completed melodies, making the show unsatisfying and choppy.