From: dugan@wpi.WPI.EDU (Robert Francis Dugan)
Newsgroups: alt.colorguard
Subject: General chatting
Date: 7 Jan 1993 23:46:08 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: wpi.wpi.edu

Hi there everyone.  I am quite pleased that the traffic has picked up
on this forum.  Good to know color guard people are out there!	

I know Ken marched Royal Guardsmen, what about everyone else?  
And what guards are you teaching?  My kids love to support other
guards (they are very social), so if we attend the same show 
we'll come support you if you tell us who you are!

Phil:  I started marching Admiral when they went Open, I never went
to Arlington High School.  But I think the person you are refering to
is a girl named Amy.  I can't remember her last name.  She stopped
marching when the guard went open.  And yes, tell me why WGI went 
non-smoking.  I always love a good story!  Where did you march and
are you now teaching?

Admiral did have a good time performing.  The staff had some very
strict rules of conduct for us though while we were at shows so people
tended to think we were "Rich stuck up snobs"  But it wasn't our
fault.  We had a "dress code"  and we were told not to socialize much
with other guards.  Our focus was supposed to be Admiral, not the 
guard social scene.  I never liked that philosophy much, but that was
the way the staff wanted the guard run so either you followed it or
left.

Bob Gaipo:  What High school do you teach?  Are you going to the
Boston regional?  I don't know that I can help you in budgeting or
recruiting as I have the same problems.  But I agree that I'd rather
have 8 kids who love it than 15 who don't.  I've noticed that two
things keep kids from marching. Money and time.  Since we are
independent, money is a big factor.  Our money comes from dues and any
fundraising we try.  And I don't have a parents support group either.
I tried to get one together this year, but only one parent would help.
And I have one parent coordinating sewing.  So money is a big concern.
Where are those corporate sponsors for us little guys, huh?  But the
other factor, time, I could fix.  I have kids whose parents mandate
they work but they desparately want to march.  So I set the show up
like a theater would.  Some kids have leading roles, some have
supporting roles and some are just chorus.  Then depending how much
time they can dedicate and talent and stuff I gave them a part.  It
seems to be working out well.  But it takes a lot of coordination on
the part of the staff.  We have the show broken down into scenes and
depending on what scene we are working on depends on who comes to
rehearsal.  I tried to get them all together for at least two hours
every week so they can "bond" somewhat.  This whole system has worked
well, especially since one girl got sick and I had to cut back her
role.  She took it well since she wasn't the only one not doing the
whole show.  
My biggest problem is in facilities.  Since we are independent, we
don't have a "home" gym, and very often have to pay for a space.  That
really shrinks your budget when it costs 20 dollars an hour!  Any
suggestions on facilites?  There are some empty warehouses around that
would be perfect, but I don't even know how to find the owners let
alone how to approach them.

Working with a small group is also tough when they vary dramatically
in ability and experience.  Any hints on how to make this work?
And how about how to write interesting drill for 10 people?

I have way too many staff members.  Sometimes that is bad (like when
they all want something to do) and sometimes that is good (like when
people get sick)  But I have a drill guy, and two flag technicians,
and a movement guy who helps write flag work and another "creative"
person who does a bit of everything (he is not supposed to but is
forceful and has an opinion on everything.  Don't get me wrong, he's
really great, but you try to find work for 6 people when you only have
10 kids)  Then there's me.  I write some of the rifle work.  I wanted
to do more but I pulled back so everyone would feel somewhat useful.  I get all
the paper work.  Thrilling.

In my humble opinion, you need to cover the following bases.  If you
have people who can fill more than one job, that's even better. But
never let the person who created the work clean the work.  The creator
should stand right next to the tech while things are being cleaned,
but the kids should hear someone else explain it.
Okay, here are the bases:
Paper pusher (get facilites, housing entry form etc)
Drill creator, drill cleaner
Movement person
Equipment creator, equipment cleaner.
I think you need at a minimum 2 people.

But that's enough of my thoughts.  

Mary C. Krembs
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The owner of this account is not responsible for that which I write.
I can receive mail at mkrembs@kgnvmy.vnet.ibm.com
I just can't post from there...
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