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Post by vidal28rdg on Nov 20, 2021 14:52:49 GMT -6
I feel like my concept would necessitate a larger group and guard, as large as the figure that is the centerpiece of the show I have in mind is, in regards to the staging, a few large props depicting the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow to the East, the Eiffel Tower to the West…a very familiar story to many, the downfall of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, after the capture of Moscow. Centered around the main figure, Napoleon, the show begins ominously with striking flaming flags spanning around the Cathedral, to illustrate Moscow’s uncontrolled flame, nearly burning the city to the ground. The band would be representing both Russia’s fury, and France’s despair and lament throughout the show, while the guard would very much have times where they are halved to their particular sides, the Russian army chasing down the French retreat, while other guard members remain at Napoleon’s side as his enduring elite Imperial Guard, notably smaller than the much larger Russian force at this point in the disastrous invasion. Music selections at the moment for me aren’t clear and set yet for the whole show at the moment, but I would definitely want to begin the show with a unique take on a piece we’ve heard a whole lot in the marching band scene, 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, considering the subject matter, it fits like a glove, why not use it. Most often used as a closer to shows, I’d want it to be closer to the beginning of the show, upping the intensity of the situation as right after the flames of the fire are extinguished, and with Napoleon’s lament, using bits and pieces of the song “Never Enough” from the Greatest Showman throughout in a variety of ways. A motif or motivic device for Napoleon, could be done through solos, sung or through instruments, could be in smaller ensembles or with a whole movement of a show in a ballad. Lots of possibilities there. The “Napoleon” character could be taken in a direction in be self-absorbed and detached from the chaos happening on the field behind him, or actually acknowledge and be more involved in the scenes happening behind him, being startled for example when the music has a striking moment, depicting more French losses in their retreat. I know many people on here would enjoy seeing a show that goes very deep into those rose-colored Romantic Era sensibilities of deeper emotion, expression, and that kind of character work that a lot of people enjoy seeing the students get into. A show with that kind of guard integration as well being crucial in depicting each scene as that heavy militaristic presence, and the destruction that affected both sides in this story, along with an effective music program, which I am still ironing out at the moment, and any suggestions to complete the program in that respect would be great! A solid title would be great to have too, which I’m still working on thinking about. Fun question too, what band would y’all feel could really pull this off? Or is in their wheelhouse?👀 Edit: the story boarding is definitely not done, considering the musical selections aren’t all there, but I’ll have some help thinking about it!✨✨
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rickofavon
Senior Member
Never let the drumming die.
Posts: 74
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Post by rickofavon on Nov 21, 2021 19:22:25 GMT -6
Haven't fully fleshed out the show yet but the show takes place during a "rehearsal". There will be a mini band director tower with a drum major as the band director. Water jugs and instrument cases along the field. The announcer announces the band as we approach the glorious opening hit but instead, everyone is out of time, color guard looking a hot mess, the hit is laughable. The "band director" is throwing a tantrum and yelling "No! No! No!". He makes some corrections and they go at it again and it's the most amazing opening hit you've ever seen in your life. There will be a water break at some point in the show. Near the end, the narration speaks to the kids about their final performance and to put everything into it. The closer is full of emotion, power, and passion. The audience is crying. But in all seriousness, I could see problems with the show coming off too cheesy or pacing issues with the show design. kiski Area had a show in the 00s that had the process of going through a marching season in a similar vain. Not as meta as your idea Though.
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rickofavon
Senior Member
Never let the drumming die.
Posts: 74
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Post by rickofavon on Nov 21, 2021 19:28:19 GMT -6
So I’ll edit my post when I’m able to flesh it out more but we all know common tropes in shows and such and I’ve always wanted to do a deconstructed show that pokes fun at the activity. Figure some Zappa would do the trick musically. A little green Rosetta. It makes a marching show much bettah! Have a narrator that describes what’s happen. “Oh here’s the general effect, now we’re gonna hold. Wait for it, wait for it. Now there’s someone wearing a different color isn’t that nuts, folks? There’s an individual in a sea of conformity. I bet you can’t guess what’s coming next?”
It’s an idea. I never said it was any good.
More to come.
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Post by ilikeguard on Nov 22, 2021 11:30:50 GMT -6
So I’ll edit my post when I’m able to flesh it out more but we all know common tropes in shows and such and I’ve always wanted to do a deconstructed show that pokes fun at the activity. Figure some Zappa would do the trick musically. A little green Rosetta. It makes a marching show much bettah! Have a narrator that describes what’s happen. “Oh here’s the general effect, now we’re gonna hold. Wait for it, wait for it. Now there’s someone wearing a different color isn’t that nuts, folks? There’s an individual in a sea of conformity. I bet you can’t guess what’s coming next?” It’s an idea. I never said it was any good. More to come. I’ve also thought about this! I don’t know if it would work competitively but it’s a clever concept. Did you see PCEP this year? They played with this to a degree, but not all-out like how you’re suggesting. I really like narration when it feels like it’s fully integrated with the show and has a purpose (if you can do the same show without the narration, I feel like it’s pointless). I talk about this one a lot, but the idea reminds me of MC 2010. Now THAT was a show where the narration was necessary! If it isn’t too overbearing, the right amount of cheesiness can make it really enjoyable. I feel like there was a show at GN maybe in 2018 or 2019 that had a descriptive narrator but I can’t recall who! I think it was in semifinals though.
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Post by cp823 on Nov 23, 2021 22:24:27 GMT -6
Haven't fully fleshed out the show yet but the show takes place during a "rehearsal". There will be a mini band director tower with a drum major as the band director. Water jugs and instrument cases along the field. The announcer announces the band as we approach the glorious opening hit but instead, everyone is out of time, color guard looking a hot mess, the hit is laughable. The "band director" is throwing a tantrum and yelling "No! No! No!". He makes some corrections and they go at it again and it's the most amazing opening hit you've ever seen in your life. There will be a water break at some point in the show. Near the end, the narration speaks to the kids about their final performance and to put everything into it. The closer is full of emotion, power, and passion. The audience is crying. But in all seriousness, I could see problems with the show coming off too cheesy or pacing issues with the show design. Have you seen Cadets ‘07? They put a show on the field that sounds very similar to what you’re saying
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Post by Shroom on Jun 9, 2022 15:12:10 GMT -6
Something I've always wanted is an "America show" that more accurately reflects the country as it is now. I enjoyed BA 2018 and somewhat appreciated Cadets 2014 but 21st century American culture is more than John Philips Sousa and a 1950s Americana aesthetic. We're probably the largest exporter of music and pop culture in the world at this point and pioneered several diverse genres like rap, country and jazz, so it'd be nice to have this wrapped into a show instead of acting like the nation is still stuck in 1930.
I think it'd also be very interesting to see horror shows become more popular again, and a show based off the work of HP Lovecraft would be very interesting imo.
Last major thing that comes to mind that I'd like to see someday is a show based on that 90s Dreamworks movie "Prince of Egypt". It has a phenomenal soundtrack, and could pretty easily be adapted into a show if done by competent designers. Two tracks from the movie that stand out in particular to me are "Deliver Us" and "The Plagues". In Deliver Us I think replacing the female vocal solo with a trumpet screamer could be absolutely beautiful and replacing the brothers' back and forth in The Plagues with two baritones or mellos similar to what SCV did in 2018 during their ballad could make for a fantastic moment. If you haven't seen Prince of Egypt btw go do it rn, it's for the most part based on Exodus but you definitely don't have to be a Christian to enjoy it. Imo it's pretty close to a masterpiece and basically anyone can enjoy it
Deliver Us
The Plagues
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Post by fantasticalcloud on Jun 9, 2022 21:31:26 GMT -6
My idea of a show is in a similar vane to the way that BD2014 made a show about Fellini's wild and creative characters, however- it is a show based on the music of Peter Graham. While this would be pretty hard to pull of due to the intense writing of Peter Graham's pieces, it can be done. The pieces that would be used would be Metropolis 1927, The Triumph of Time and Phoenix.
MUSIC: The main storyline of the show would be in the standard 3 movements (Opener, Ballad and Closer + transitions) but they would have less stops and be more interconnected to show the strange quirks of Peter Graham's pieces.
The opener would start with the clicking of the metronome and the percussion to mimic the sounds of alarms ticking to their countdown (as it is used in The Triumph of Time). These clicks and ticks would build into a percussion build into the opening hit. This would be the first hit of The Triumph of Time and would lead into the following segment of Triumph of Time, however the euphonium solo and trumpet solo would be slightly changed and would have a mixture of constant crescendos and decrescendos from the woodwinds and tubas. This would all build into the next big impact of the piece. Following that impact, instead of the entire brass playing a collective massive run, it would be changed to the front ensemble. This would then be followed by the big brass and woodwind sustain that would mark the end of the opener. However, due to the strange nature of the show and how everything is interconnected- the band immediately would jump into the transition to the ballad which would start with the sound of the police siren from Metropolis 1927 that links to the sustain at the end of the opener. This would then lead into the slow euphonium solo (changed to an Alto Saxophone soloist with a mixed woodwind choir). As this is happening, front ensemble occasionally plays notes that reference the sound of a clock. As the Saxophone solo comes to an end, there is a brief pause before the transition is completed. The ballad would change the order but also draw from Metropolis 1927, and would start with the sounds of percussion, clarinets and flutes playing a beautiful mystical part from this piece (around 5:00 into the Black Dyke Band's full performance on YouTube). Eventually, they would be joined by a trumpet and Baritone Saxophone (changed from a Euphonium) who would trade off on different parts. While the main idea and bits of the solos are in the show, the piece is speeded up by reaching a building point (7:14 of the same recording) but it is changed from a small brass choir to split parts around the band. This would build to a big crescendo as the band plays more of the same part of the piece but as they reach the peak, the faint sound of the clocks and metronome reappears, but slowly fades out- along with the rest of the band. With a brief pause, that would mark the end of the ballad. The closer would begin after the brief pause by jumping in with a percussion feature. This feature would take from Phoenix and change the brass parts into runs on mallet instruments (Front Ensemble). The feature would start with percussion starting with the simple rhythm at the beginning of the piece, but it would quickly change into a more chaotic and spread out version of the main melody of the piece. The feature would end with the same buildup as in piece, and more instruments as they got closer to the drop-off point. This would lead into a few bars of a tuba soli, before the rest of the low winds would take over with the strong melody. The rest of the piece would be more sped up and would reach the final impact of Phoenix a lot quicker. However, the sound of a clock reaching 12AM can be heard, and the playing abruptly stops. The ringing of the clock stops and the clicking of the clock begins again. However, it is joined by the front ensemble playing the last portion of Metropolis 1927. More and more instruments would begin to join in, in the same was as in the piece- which brings out a level of chaos. Loud sounds of the clock reaching it's goal can be heard overlapping with the sounds of base drums and timpani as the winds grow louder. The winds grow louder and eventually, you can hear the sound of a crack ring out as the clock is broken leading into the massive finishing moments of Metropolis 1927. As they build to the final impact, they grow louder and more free. The final impact crescendos and as they reach the climax, the sound of a triumphant yell can be heard from percussion.
VISUAL: While I don't have as well defined of an idea with the visual as I do the music, I do know some basic ideas. The visuals in the opener and closer to the beginning of the show would be very rigid. Very calculated and pointed (like clockwork). When we reach the ballad, the movements become more fluid. We can see that the band is almost freed from the absolute and extreme nature of time. However, as they go into the closer, there is a strange disconnect through the band as some performers are very rigid (like the opener) while some are more fluid (like the ballad)- this is very similar to Cadets 2011 in a way. At the end of the closer, everyone is fluid with their movements and is "freed from the idea of contained perfection." I don't have an idea for Color Guard/drill at the moment, but it is in the developmental stage.
But yeah, it's a lot and it is my dream to write/march a show like this.
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Post by josephbandfan on Jul 17, 2022 22:26:38 GMT -6
I was just thinking about a show that shrinks everyone down and takes the audience through the human digestive system. Kind of like The Magic School Bus or anatomy park in Rick and Morty. A giant mouth prop where the teeth go up and down, large pieces of foods, intestines, and more all around the field. I'll let someone else decide how the show ends haha. Would love to know if this show has already been done.
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Post by jmike16 on Jul 20, 2022 11:26:57 GMT -6
Not so much as an entire show idea, although I do have a general show theme and then a closer. The show would be about how everything has an effect whether it's good or bad. Start of the show is mostly good and as the show progresses, the bad starts taking over, meaning that there is a less likely chance something good will happen. I got this idea from the following: John B. Alexander HS 2018, Phantom Regiment 2008 Pre-show, and Cavaliers 2010 Pre-show.
The closer would feature the song, "Message for the Queen" by Tyler Bates
There would be a flute soloist/singer slowly walking around the field, and as they are doing that, the rest of the band, who resembles the "good side" is scattered across the field. Some are laying on the ground to look like they are lifeless, some are in a sitting position, and some are walking around but in a "wounded like way". When the soloist would get done playing and then start singing, roughly 50% to 60% of the band would start playing facing the backfield while the rest would either still be lifeless or start making their way off the field, since they are "hurt" it would take them some time. During all of this, the guard would resemble the "bad side". They would still be terrorizing the band and then also start terrorizing the pit and then the drum majors. After the band stops playing, they also start making their way off the field, with some even carrying/dragging the "lifeless" band members, as that would mean that we are trying preserve those who are good and not let the bad take over them.
I really think this closer could trigger emotion from the Audience and also from the judges.
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