Watch It Again Today
I received some great advice I’d like to share with you.
I had the great privilege of talking with Scott Chandler recently. Scott is the Program Coordinator and Choreographer for the Blue Devils and is our activity’s most successful designer. You can see my interview with him HERE.
We had the great fun of talking about various drum corps and winter guard shows that Scott was a part of creating. I would mention certain shows that were very special or memorable to me, and Scott then shared behind the scenes stories from his memories of those groups. It was really fun for both of us!
During the course of the conversation I mentioned that there was one Blue Devils show which had always really challenged me. It was 2010 “Through a Glass Darkly.” Scott found this interesting, and in the course of sharing stories about the use of the mirrors and putting the show together, he suggested that I watch the show again today. He wondered if I might have a different reaction to it today than I had back in 2010.
Brilliant advice! (From a brilliant man.)
So I watched the show again. And he was right, I did have a different reaction. I still found the music challenging, especially the final segment. But I didn’t have the same visceral reaction I remembered. I was able to watch the visual design from a more current perspective and enjoyed it in a way that I had not before. The Blue Devils were clearly ahead of their time, as they often are, and I could now process and appreciate the show in a new way.
On this most recent viewing I was more able to appreciate the use of the mirrors. The designers of this show did what you are always supposed to do…use the set pieces in every way you could imagine, and then a bunch of other ways you did NOT expect! The mirrors allowed the performers to disappear without the set pieces (mirrors) holding a lot of weight (or perhaps ANY weight in this case!). And the show is full of innovative and imaginative drill effects, performed effortlessly by the hornline. Add in great choreography and mirrored guard work by the color guard and this brought me to appreciate this show in a way I could not before!
If you have any shows that you struggled with, or have written off for some reason, I encourage you to watch them again. Like me, you may have grown and expanded, learned some things, and had more experiences which could contribute to how you react.
Thanks again to Scott for a fun and thoughtful conversation. And watch for my upcoming interview with Michael Gaines on March 4!
Tim Hinton
February 16, 2025
