DCI 2018 Design Staff Interviews

Once again this year the Marching Roundtable, in partnership with Marching Arts Education, is presenting video interviews with design staff members of some of the top corps in the world.   Find out how these amazing shows are created, where the ideas originated, and how the shows changed and grew as the season progressed.  Watching these discussions will help YOUR design and instructional team create more effective and successful productions.  Learn from the best and make your own group better!

Watch Now!  Free Access!  Drew Shanefield, the artistic director and brass designer for The Cadets, talks about this year’s show and the special challenges the corps faced this season.  Topics include how the show “feels like the Cadets,” the costume, the show concept, changes made just before the season, the use of the singers in a new way, and how the props are used as part of the show concept.

Carolina Crown Creating Beast

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Rick Subel and David Starnes discuss the design process of creating “Beast.”  How music, visual, and primal energy combine to showcase the real beasts, the corps members themselves!  Hear about the costumes, the props, the music choices, that gorgeous ballad featuring the female hornlike members, and all the concepts that make this show so effective!

Blue Devils Bring Nighthawks To Life

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Scott Chandler, the Program Coordinator and Choreographer for the Blue Devils, shares inside information into the creation of “Dreams and Nighthawks.”  He discusses how the show deconstructs the painting and then puts it together during the show, how this informs the deconstructed costumes, how the time period of the show lends itself to classic Blue Devils jazz sounds, and how the variety of music gives something for every audience member to enjoy and relate to.

Boston sends out an SOS

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Keith Potter, the Artistic Director for the Boston Crusaders, shares information to help you enjoy their show even more!  He discusses the origin of the show concept, the hard work to create the props and environment to capture the right look and mood, and how the idea of “lost and found” became this thrilling production.  Plus, learn about the new ending and the challenge to make it work correctly.

Mandarins Take us To Life Rite After

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Key Poulan, Mario Ramirez, Ike Jackson, and JW Koester talk about the creation of this popular show.  They share inside information about the creation of the show concept, the music which tells the story, the giant rotating stage, the elaborate costuming, the stilts, and those light up rifles!

Cavaliers bring madness and creativity

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Daniel Wiles and Richard Hinshaw discuss this show about letting your inner creativity shine through, the complexities of the musical book, why the corps looks so great in those hats, and they share tips on their great success at guard and prop integration.

Santa Clara Vanguard on Building Babylon

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Michael Gaines (Artistic Director / Drill Writer), Michael Rosales (Choreographer), Andy Toth (Visual Coordinator) and Scott Koter (Program Coordinator) give us inside information about how they put this amazing show together.  Hear about how intricate the design was for the use of the props, the dense close feel of the drill within this “cityscape” and the challenges that presented, the huge variety of elaborate choreography within that staging to tell the story, how they matched the movement to each individual performer, and how everything in the visual program has a specific purpose for the story they are telling.

Bluecoats

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Jon Vanderkolff & Michael Raiford give us in on why this show seems so honest and authentic.  We hear about the design process that led to the chairs, the 150 different costumes used, the color choices, the use of the singer, the front ensemble’s look and placement, and how all of these choices were driven by the show concept.  (Did you notice the singer never touches the ground?  All the purple in the show?  Tons of great insider info!)

Bluecoats Uniforms

Watch Now!  Free Access!   Greg Lagola takes us into the design process of creating 150 different looks for the 2018 Bluecoats corps and guard members.  Careful choices of colors, patterns, and design made this special production a success.  There’s great advice here that YOU and your staff can use when making choices for your own shows!  Recorded live in Indy on August 10, 2018.