Design Teams are meeting all over the country to make plans for next Fall’s shows, and I hope they all remember one of the most important rules for show design: Showcase Your Strengths (and hide your weaknesses)…or, to put it another way, “Use What You’ve Got!”

Every single band has special things to highlight.  Certain talented students, sections which are particularly strong, a dancer with exceptional skills…whatever the strength is, it’s the design team’s job to put it front and center.

I wrote an entire marching show one year around a first chair All-State Trumpet player.  My low brass section could barely get their horns out of the cases, but judges hardly noticed since my wiz-bang trumpet kid was featured throughout the show.

This winter I saw a performance by the Infinity indoor drumline from Orlando, FL.  Infinity’s show was smartly written with a design style that was well thought out and beautifully executed.  But what I mostly remember is the gymnast guy.  The drumline made brilliant use of a special performer who had the ability to flip across the floor, including his first trick where he performed a surprise front flip.  This performer and his unique skills were smartly integrated into the production, appearing at just the right moment to accentuate a musical phrase or drill effect, and then moving “off-stage” again.  He added greatly to the effect of their show, and was a terrific example of “using the special skills and performers that you have” to maximum benefit.

As you begin to plan your show, make sure and take stock of your top performers and special skills that your band has to offer.  Maybe it’s an exceptional art department willing to help, or a student who can sing, or yodel, or tell jokes…. Anything goes as long as you are creative!  Either build a show around these skills, or find a way to incorporate them into your existing concept.  The audience will remember the “specialness” and the judges will be so busy enjoying the effect that they just might not notice those weaknesses your hiding!  Good luck, and start taking stock of what your kids can do!