I often find myself reminding directors and their staffs that this activity is supposed to be fun. So many times I have arrived for a clinic to find that the staff is so immersed in the drama of getting the show better that all the joy has been sucked out of the process. I will often say them, “Hey, we’re putting on a show!” It’s supposed to be fun.
Of course, this tendency to get weighed down by the “seriousness” of our efforts is completely understandable, and I’ve been there myself many times. We really DO care about the quality of the show and about our competitive outcomes. But this shouldn’t come at the expense of enjoying the process. This can be a difficult balance to learn and remember.
This highlights the advantages of having an “outside pair of eyes” look at your show. I often find when I’m in this role, I comment on the tone and atmosphere of the rehearsal as much as the content and excellence of the show they are working on. It can be helpful to have someone who is not in the middle of things to look at our show, our process, and our rehearsal environment.
I was reminded of this on a webinar recently with Jeff Young who talked about the smart process of teaching marching fundamentals online. (The idea of dripping this content out to new marchers over time where they can practice at home, rather than cramming it into their heads in a few days, makes a lot of sense!) I asked Jeff how he kept young marchers motivated to work on fundamentals at home (when they can seem a bit dry) and he reminded me that it is fun to be really good at something! Excellence is its own reward.
Barry Houser commented during the webinar: “Yes!!! This is so important…working hard and seeking excellence IS the fun aspect of what we do!”
This is part of the joy of marching drum corps which we all find so addictive and which creates such powerful impressions and memories that stick with us our entire lives. How many people in our world get to be a part of something that achieves such a high level of excellence, combined with the joy of music and motion and performance? No wonder it’s a life-changing experience!
Remind your students of the joy of excellence, the thrill of being a part of a group that performs at such a high level. There is joy in this, and we strive for this perfection. However, never lose sight of the fact that the entire process should be fun. We can still have strict rehearsals, hard work, lots of sweat, and long hours perfecting our craft. But we can do this with a tone that reminds us constantly of the joy of this process and the reward of the hard work.
It’s possible to keep the tone of rehearsal fun and joyful while working really hard! You can do this with your own group! Have this conversation with your staff and create this experience for your students.
Tim Hinton
October 2, 2020
