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How to Run Successful Winter
Guard Auditions, Part I
Congratulations! You
are the lucky band director or guard instructor who is able to hold auditions
for the selection of your color guard. You have many kids to choose
from and you'll be able to select a qualified group with lots of potential.
In these times of decreasing music program spending and participation,
you are in the enviable position of being able to make decisions on the
composition of your group. This article will talk mainly about color
guard although much of this information will be applicable to other groups
such as musicians, majorettes, dance squads etc. In order to ensure
a fair shake for the students and avoid as many conflicts as possible for
you, let's take a look at the details of a typical audition.
PREPARING FOR AUDITIONS Your first job is to make some decisions regarding the judging panel and the audition details including where it will be held, when auditions practices will be held and what will be required of the auditioners. You may want to consider interviews with the students and also mandating a dress code. Let's look at each of these items individually: Judging Panel
The Band Director - as the head of the entire marching band/color guard program, the Band Director has every right to sit on the panel. However, if you would like to take yourself out of the equation so that you can say, "I had nothing to do with the outcome; our group of impartial judges had complete autonomy", you may want to bow out. Color Guard Instructors - Ditto above. They know best the technique, style and type of performance required. Outside Music Instructors - Consider asking the Choral Director, your sister school's Band Director or the junior high Color Guard Instructor to sit on the panel. These choices are also more likely to be, and to be viewed as, more objective by the auditioners and parents. Other Ideas - Consider tapping
the Cheerleading Coach, the Drama Coach or the Dance Instructor to serve
on the panel. These people will have a very good idea of basic body
control, unison work and proper performance technique even if they do lack
specific color guard experience. And, as in the case of the outside
music instructors, they are more likely to be viewed as objective judges
by both students and parents.
Never under any circumstances ask a band parent to sit on the judging panel. I don't care if he marched guard in Cadets, Blue Devils and Sac and has instructed championship guards for 99 years; he can't be, nor can be viewed as, objective when it comes to making decisions about his daughter and those against whom she is competing. I would also strongly caution against asking recently graduated students to sit on the judging panel even if they are currently serving as color guard techs or instructors. They are probably still too close to many of the marching members and cannot be asked to be impartial. Choose your judging panel carefully and then be prepared with each member's qualifications so if questions arise, you are ready to defend your decisions. This may sound paranoid but auditions are a very heated situation and our society can be very litigious; cover your bases.
How Long?
If the turnout for auditions
(determined by the sign up sheet posted on the band room door and advertised
through announcements at both the senior and junior high schools) is high
and the requirements complicated and exacting, you may opt for a multiple-day
audition. In this scenario, schedule 2 or 3 pre-audition practice
sessions to introduce the basics, marching, and a routine to the students.
This will allow for shorter practices and also give new members a few days
to assimilate this new discipline and everyone a chance to practice the
moves on their own. Scheduling Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday practice
sessions and then a Friday audition works well. The free Thursday
allows motivated students to get together to work on their moves.
The Friday audition allows those who did not make cuts to have a few days
to compose themselves before returning to school and it allows everyone,
in general, to go home for a few days after the stressful event.
And yes, this is a very stressful event for those kids. In this scenario,
review everything but never teach new work on the day of auditions.
What do We Ask For?
It is also not uncommon to ask the students to adhere to a certain dress code. For example, white sneakers, black sweats or leggings and a white t-shirt. Or perhaps you would prefer leotards, leggings and dance shoes if your group is to work on dance. This uniformity allows you, the judge, to concentrate on what the students are doing and how they are performing rather than what they are wearing. The tighter clothing in the second instance allows for a better view of the body and inspection of technique. A uniform dress code at auditions will also help you to pave the way for a uniform dress code during regular rehearsals. Perhaps your group will be considered ambassadors for the school and you would like to evaluate personalities. It is perfectly acceptable to require an interview. In any case, when selecting guard officers, I consider an interview mandatory. You might provide a list of possible questions at the first pre-audition practice to allow the students a chance to think about their answers. This, however, might result in your receiving a "canned", parent-instructed answer. Alternately, you could simply inform the students that there will be an interview as part of the auditions but not provide the specific questions ahead of time. I think a combination of the two results in both well thought out responses and candid, fresh responses. Later we'll discuss specific interview questions.
See Part II for the conclusion of this article.
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