Notes

John Max
3 hrs
Hey Everyone,

It was great to see all of you at the April camp. I'm excited at the amazing progress that's been made since the January camp. Great things in store for this organization this year! As we gear up for the May camp, I wanted to post an outline of the show concept here, especially for those who were not able to make it for the show reveal at camp. We are still working on the show announcement, so make sure that all of this stays in house until we officially reveal the show to the public.

Title: Along Came a Spider

Concept: A show all about our 8-legged friends. In this show all the members ARE the spiders. We are not necessarily telling a storyline, but exploring all the different aspects of spiders: the scary, the beauty of their web, how they hatch from their eggs, as well as their somewhat playful nature. The show is broken into 5 segments:

Segment 1: Hatch
Repertoire: Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem by Andy Akiho
General Effect: Colorguard members and battery members (without drums) hide inside a series of 8 domes (pictured below). Black fabric will cover the domes and members inside will push against the domes as if trying to hatch. All other members of the ensemble will be in 8 pods around the perimeter of the field, covered in white fabric. Shakos will not be on during this. Horns will be set down on the field outlining the spider web. Electronic sound design builds as the percussion takes over. Members "hatch" from their pods which slowly builds into the first major impact of the show.

Segment 2: Arachnid
Repertoire: Shostakovich Symphony no. 8 mvt 3
General Effect:
Right after the effect we will restage the domes. This segment explores different characteristics of the spiders. The Wolf Spider jumps long distances, the daddy long legs...well...has long legs. With this we will explore different movement styles and members will be able to "act the part" to really personify each spider. For the low brass chunk with cymbals - cymbals will be holding fabric with one guard member on top to create the daddy long legs. Many solos throughout give opportunity for members to be in character.

Segment 3: Spin
Repertoire: Aha by Imogen Heap, The Original Spiderman Theme by Paul Francis Weber and Robert Harris.
General Effect:
Half the guard on rifles for this, getting the hornline on the domes and getting wrapped in the fabric. This movement highlights the playfulness of the spiders spinning the web. The whole movement is quasi tongue-in-cheek and playful in nature. Highlighting the idea of being captured in a web, members will use either kazoos or burps/mouthpieces to simulate flies being caught in the web. Once that moment is completed the whole ensembles breaks into a really hip fast swing arrangement of the Spiderman theme. This is the first time the corps has explored the idea of doing an in-your-face park and bark jazz impact, so we are excited about the possibilities of this movement.

Segment 4: Web
Repertoire: Water Night by Eric Whitacre
General Effect:
Exploring the intricate designs of the web. How can a creature build something so beautiful. Sabres will be involved by weaving the web. We will be utilizing the main white fabric to weave the web and create the beauty. Strong Colorguard focus as well as curved forms to show the beauty and lightness of it. Orchestration of Water Night will offer opportunity to showcase our amazing brass performers as well as cleanse the palette before we get into the more aggressive closing segment.

Segment 5: Widow
Repertoire: Lex from Metropolis Symphony by Michael Daugherty
General Effect:
Emphasizing the aspects of the black widow spider. The Matriarch of the show (color guard member) is revealed. The matriarch then manipulates the minions (the rest of the corps) to do her bidding. The hour glass figure is prominent in this segment. The very end of the show will be a down ending where the minions get sick of the black widow and swarm her. The itsy bitsy spider theme plays as they devour the black widow.

Below are some pictures of initial guard costume design, some flag design (including the spider eyes picture), a picture of the style of domes we will use as well as a couple screen shots of the opening drill to show you how the domes will be used throughout the show.

The design team is really excited about this show! We hope you are too. This is going to be a really fun one that will challenge us and still offer the opportunity to achieve at a very high level. If you have any questions feel free to comment below!