Design Thoughts on Part IV – Solid
Scott Kurtzweil
One of the major challenges of doing a thematic show is . . . well frankly . . . sticking to the theme. Up to this point in the design, we have attempted through drill elements and guard equipment and vocabulary, to stick to a fairly literal interpretation of the movement titles. Vapor was more porous with smaller elements, liquid had a very fluid texture to it and Freeze began to introduce solid form elements. Transitioning to Solid seems like a no-brainer. Just stick to solid form development and all will be good.
The challenge for me here is was two fold. First, it’s difficult to maintain solid form drill for an extended period of time without looking like the 1942 Racine Scouts. The second challenge came in the harmonic texture and velocity of the fourth movement. It doesn’t always sound “solid” to my ear. Since I’ve already established a highly referential approach to the overall drill design, I had to find a way to stick with solid forms but still have it carry the velocity and counterpoint of the music book.
The remedy came in two ways. The first was to use solid forms in only certain important voices while supporting that focus with curvilinear movement in the counter melodies. This is an obvious technique in the first few pages.
After restaging the winds to realign voicing in the first two sets, the brass carrying the primary melody is pulled into a solid wedge and then pulled down stage. The woodwinds, who play a secondary role as a rhythmic pulse, are pulled behind in a follow-the-leader.
Restaging the winds
Brass to wedge
Brass pulled downstage
The wedge then rotates back into a solid block that incorporates the color guard. This sets ups the first major impact of the pieces and to pick up that, the drill uses internal contrary motion in the rings of the block. Basically, each ring of the block rotates in an opposite direction. This makes for pretty easy drill to teach and clean, has very little impact on the individual performer but has a huge GE impact by creating extreme velocity.
After this impact, the music book settles into one last transition before the final push. To keep with the solid theme but also pick up the transition, the block is broken into smaller solids that move independently of one another but will transition back to one final solid form.
We’re now in the home stretch. For the final push, the drill simply flexes the block and then rotates to a final, tighter form. My initial thought was that this movement would be too slow to pull off at the end of the show but after it was written, I found that it worked quite well. It progresses logically with plenty of internal motion and the movement of the guard and battery behind adds to the overall velocity. I also like this “slower” movement demand because it gives this young horn line and chance to worry less about its visual demands and focus on putting good air through the horns.
The final set pulls the band proper into a nice tight form right smack in the middle of the field and forward of the hash. This staging of the winds especially will really help with dynamic impact, a more unified sound as well as lesson the chance of phasing. Since the final guard equipment has not been established, they were pulled to fill the field behind the band. This will balance the tight form down stage as well as make an equipment change possible if the guard staff deems it necessary.
OK. So now the creative part of the show is complete. We have all of the dots on the paper. The staff is hard at work teaching the performers the drill, parents are busy sewing flags and costumes and of course the music and guard rehearsals that prepare the students for the field. Now the fun really begins. We need to put all of the “ideas” together into one cohesive production that will both wow the home fans and impress the judges. Next week we start to clean.
