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Hey everyone, it's Labor Day, and you know what that means – the staff announcement moratorium is about to lift! As staff changes loom on the horizon, our team decided to have a little fun creative exercise. If we had the power to make changes for the top 15 corps, just for the hell of it, what would we do? This is the second of two parts, and Part One is available HERE! We wrapped up with the Colts, so next is the…
CAVALIERS
Cavaliers, the answer here is probably the obvious: Now is the time, the time is now. Go Co-ed. The arguments against going co-ed have all become more invalid as the years go by. “Being a man” means different things to different people, members still get involved in relationships, and trans and non-binary members already exist in the Cavaliers organization.
By excluding an entire demographic of people, you also are limiting yourself to the potential you have as far as prospective members go as well. Opening your talent pool can only help you. There has never been a corps that has been hindered from having more auditionees. Logistics would obviously be slightly different, but to open the Cavaliers experience to anyone who wants to be a Cavalier would make it worth it.
Imagine the daughters of former Cavaliers becoming second-generation Cavaliers, when they previously would have never had the chance.
PHANTOM REGIMENT
It’s been a long decade for Phantom. After getting third in 2012, their placement started to slip, until they almost fell out of finals in 2019. After a pretty hard reset in design philosophy, they rediscovered their old identity in 2021 and built on it while adding new dimensions in 2022 and 2023. This is another group that needs some time to cook and see where they go. We’re going to go with the consultant route so that we don’t shake up what’s going right in Rockford.
One thing that Phantom did really well last year was keeping their general vibe while doing something a little new. If they want to push that forward and stay firmly rooted within the “Classical” world, bring in a composer who knows a ton about that, someone like Nico Muhly. He’s been a huge name in the contemporary classical scene and has even gotten some play in the DCI world. When the Bluecoats performed “Saro” in Session 44, the version it was based on was actually an arrangement of Nico Muhly’s.
He can push their designs forward in both arrangements and electronic designs while keeping them very firmly rooted in their classical tradition. This is a new era of Phantom, and if they make a call like this, they’ll be contending for a medal, or even a title, in no time.
MANDARINS
The Mandarins were the breakout corps of 2023. Full Stop. They had a fantastic summer, gained even more fans, and connected with audiences across the country, but also faltered down the stretch both last year and this. How can they take the next step?
Let’s take a page out of the book of a neighboring corps’ playbook. The Santa Clara Vanguard are another group that plays a lot of familiar, contemporary music, has a very strong corps identity, and consistently looks to push their audience, while still providing something enjoyable. How about we bring in Scott Koter as an Artistic Director? He’s very familiar with how to make the right changes to maximize a show, so he would be a great resource for the already killer design team to lean on to not just come out of the gate with a great product, but continually enhance it over the course of the season in ways that the fans and the judges both love. With his experience and Becca Anderson’s creativity, combined with how rock solid that staff is from top to bottom, the sky is the limit for that corps.
CADETS
Well, we’ve gotten to one of the most interesting corps on the list. A group that’s dealt with some huge identity crises since 2015, losing pivotal staff, being rocked with revelations, the reverberations of which still echo around the activity, and a few years spent trying to reassert who and what the Cadets are in this day and age. Last year was all about emphasizing the athleticness of the corps, and the Run-and-Gun style the now Erie, PA-based group is known for.
Let’s take that to the next level. There’s one person who’s known for the visual style that the Cadets perfected since he joined their design staff in 1995, leading to some of the most iconic visual designs the activity has ever seen. He did leave following 2016, but Jeff Sacktig, it’s time to come home. The Cadets are ready to take the next step, and we want to see the drill that they’re known for, along with any of the absolutely crazy things you can dream up.
BOSTON CRUSADERS
The Boston Crusaders have achieved a 4th place finish for the first time in their history! Unfortunately, this is coming the year after their first medal, and many were fully expecting a championship. They made many excellent changes down the stretch and almost slid into a medalist position. The issue, of course, is that it means they started the season less successfully than they wanted during a year they thought they could challenge for the Founders Trophy.
This is the sixth show we’ve seen from this design staff, led by Keith Potter. Their placement since this team took over has been constantly two steps forward, one step back. There have been so many positive changes since the Boston of the early 2010s, and this staff at all levels have been responsible for that. That said, one can argue that Boston has had the most talented members in the activity over the past few years, but those members have not been given a vehicle to elevate.
Boston’s productions have all been executed at very high levels, but the designs have been fairly inside the box and safe, other than the absurd guard work that’s made the Zingali Award buy an offseason home in Massachusetts with how often it ends up there. There’s nothing wrong with that, don’t get me wrong! If you’re looking to get to the top of the mountain, though, sometimes you have to take some risks.
How about this? What if Boston brought on Daniel Wiles to take over as Artistic Director? In this situation, Keith Potter stays on as Program Coordinator, keeping him more involved with the day-to-day, while adding another expert voice into the design room. Daniel has worked with various groups, most notably the Cavaliers, as well as consulting with the Colts this past year. What we want him for, though, is his time with Avon (IN). One of the country's most successful high school programs in both BOA and WGI, Avon has cultivated a particular style, thanks in part to one Daniel Wiles. That aggressive style translates very well to Boston. Hopefully, the shift in Coordination will correct their pacing issues, among other things, and help the Crusaders finally conquer their White Whale.
CAROLINA CROWN
For the past 11 or so years, Carolina Crown’s greatest strength has also been its greatest weakness. If you have a hornline that has won *checks notes* seven Jim Ott Awards since 2011, it makes sense to show that section off a lot, right? The problem is that your percussion can get left behind a bit. Despite solid drumlines and a pit that was beloved enough to earn the moniker of The People’s Front Ensemble in the early 2010s, God’s Hornline overshadowed the rest of the corps for years, and that was reflected in the music writing.
With the addition of the Broken City team, that seemed to change this year. There was a much more balanced approach to the ensemble writing, leading to a much more enjoyable product for many than they’ve had since 2016. Additionally, with Jeff Sacktig taken by the Cadets in our little thought experiment, that happens to leave a visual design vacancy. Let’s keep the former BK/current Broken City theme going and pull James Gow in as the new Visual Designer. Will this be mid-2010’s BK with a stronger hornline? i don’t think so, because this team is just so damn good. Just sit back and enjoy the great event. Hopefully, the changeover doesn’t lead to much of a fall, but the rise will be remarkable.
BLUECOATS
Okay, Bloo. You’ve been doing pretty alright over the last few years, huh? You’ve been outside the top three once since re-entering it back in 2014, you’ve got the fans on your side, and you’ve pushed the activity in many fascinating ways, especially regarding costuming and electronic design. That said, after you won in 2016, despite doing very well, including almost topping BD in 2019, you’ve just gotten your third straight silver, and it feels like you need a little something no one else is doing to set you apart.
How about this? You’ve done some spectacular work on field design, but it’s felt a little stale since 2019. If you used this year’s field design in The Bluecoats or Lucy, that could easily come across as “Yellow Submarine” inspired. Last year’s Cadillac Ranch efforts are a bit different, don’t get me wrong. Still, it’s from a similar era, and a massive Dennis Hopper in the back is a little terrifying to small children and anyone who saw the original Super Mario Bros. movie.
To augment the field design, let’s bring in Rachel Hauck. Who’s Rachel Hauck, you may ask? Well, she’s the Tony-winning Scenic Designer for Hadestown. Go big or go home, right? What can she do on a football field? No clue, but hopefully, she can get away with hiding some of Bloo’s props and set pieces up in the rafters of Lucas Oil for the biggest finals week surprise Lucas Oil has ever seen, and maybe we can finally get a DCI corps to use the back curtain as a projection screen!
BONUS
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
It’s been a long year since SCV announced they wouldn’t perform this past summer. Coming off a self-imposed season off due to financial difficulties, one of the many struggles for SCV to come back in the top 6 will be attracting top-tier talent. For percussion, that won’t be a problem. The best and brightest will show up because Paul Rennick (percussion) is reportedly returning. For the brass, that’s a bit of a different story. In 2021, both the arranger and instructional staff were new. In addition, almost the entire visual instructional team has turned over. Right now, there aren’t many strong ties pulling the few remaining vets or attracting new talent.
Let’s do this. How about bringing in Michael Klesch? Going out and making a big splash by getting Klesch, along with retaining Michael Gaines (drill) and Rennick, instantly locks SCV into 5th place at worst. They will get LOTS of vets from Crown following their staff, plus many recruits who want to be in a Klesch hornline. And with Klesch coming over from Crown, maybe the Vanguard can secure the services of one Matt Harloff?
With a team like that, the sky is the limit for a corps that wants to show everyone that not only are they back, but that they’re back with a vengeance.