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4/14/03: Memorable performances at WGI
World Championships!!!
“Stand
Up”
… And stand up they did the
evening of WGI finals, performers and audience alike. Receiving one of
the heartiest ovations WGI has seen in the Independent World Class in
a few years, and the silver medal, the members of Pride gathered their
belongings and blew one last kiss on their way out the door. That kiss
sealed the memory of 2003 in our hearts and minds.
From the title, “Stand Up” one
could tell that this would be a call to action. We laughed, we cried,
(it was better than ‘Cats’.)
Pride took the spectator on an emotional rollercoaster that resembled
what stand up comedians experience. While it may seem to be all laughs
on the surface, behind the scenes is a different story. A lot of work,
a lot of life experience, a lot of hardships, discrimination, love, and
passion go into creating the ideal personality for a stand up comedian,
and the ideal material for their act. The same elements went into making
this color guard production the incredible uplifting experience that it
was.
"It’s a weird internal exploration, but that’s what
becoming a stand up comedian is, it’s a exploration into the self.
You must explore and define yourself."
— Jerry Seinfeld as quoted in Stand Up 2003.
Taking ten members from the previous year and fitting in 20 new ones took
some time, but it all fell together as the members learned the valuable
lesson of loving the people around them. Watching the members grow as
performers as well as individuals each week showed there was someone else
rising to the occasion, taking a stand, being their true self. Each week
someone else decided to step into the spotlight and “Stand
Up.”
As any performer understands, the pressures of being on stage in front
of a live audience are immense. It takes incredible courage to stand alone
in the spotlight before the microphone. That courage comes from an intense
desire to entertain - a desire that was shared by every performer in the
2003 Pride of Cincinnati.
Hats off to the performers and staff of the 2003 Pride of Cincinnati
on job well done!
Click here for scores
3/16/03: Mideast Regional Full of Emotion...
by Bart Woodley
After a short week recovering from Vegas, Pride pulled it back together
and had a successful weekend at the Mid East Regional. The intimate setting
of Miamisburg High School allows the audience to be drawn in by the performer
and the ease in which they are approaching their show.
The Saturday performance had an electricity to it that seemed to push
past the tight walls of the gym. Some additional sabre work in the opening
portion of the show added new challenges to the performers.
Sunday's run was full of emotion, but contained more individual errors
than some of the previous shows. Pride now has two weeks of rehearsal
before competing in the Tri State Championships on the road to WGI!
Thanks to everyone for their kind words, cheers, tears and overall support
at all of the WGI Regionals this season. A special Thanks to Third Edition
for their help in Vegas and Dayton with the tarp!
Mideast Scores
3/09/03 Viva Las Vegas!!!
by Bart Woodley
Smooth sailing (with one small glitch in from our “Kentucky Crew”
catching a connecting flight, there and back) would describe the trip
on Thursday out to Las Vegas for the 2003 Pride of Cincinnati. A few members
even conquered their fear of flying (which they later admitted almost
made them consider not marching the guard to start with).
Friday consisted of some intense rehearsal time, which allowed the members
to begin to refine the program which had been completed the weekend before.
Suddenly everything began to click.
The evening was glamour filled with the Buffet dinner at the Flamingo,
and off to see the Cirque du Soleil's , “O”. Truly an amazing
production which dazzled and inspired.
At the regional competition, a truly touching performance of a brand new
ending had the audience to their feet both shows. Each time “Stand
Up” is performed, the characters come to life a little more and the
nuance of the show begins to shine.
The Pride of Cincinnati would like to give a special thank you to the
members and staff of Fantasia for their kindness in welcoming us to the
regional, as well as helping with the floor!
Also a special Thank you to Charlie for working so hard to make the weekend
a huge success.
What an incredible weekend. A true “Pride” experience that will
live in the memories of all involved for many years to come.
Las Vegas Scores
2/22/03 Nashville Regional...
Adding another portion of the program to their performance, the guard
performed really well in both prelims and finals. The one day regional
format is exhausting on both performers and audience members, but that
did not stop the guard from doing two wonderful perfomances, and that
did not stop the audience from giving the guard an incredible reception
in prelims AND finals.
Both the staff and performers were gratified by the
numerous compliments received and were amazed to see several people in
tears after the show. The Self Esteem Rant by Margaret Cho is quickly
becoming a favorite part of the program by many people.
On Sunday, after a few hours of sleep, the guard woke
up and practiced while still in Nashville, and was able to complete the
staging for the remainder of the program. This coming weekend will be
a great opportunity to fine tune the show before the fun trip out to Las
Vegas!
Final Nashville score: 86.1
2/10/03:WGI Indianapolis Regional...
The Pride of Cincinnati performed twice over the weekend, and were named
the Independent World Class Champions of the Indianapolis Regional.
The guard achieved a whole new look this weekend while performing in costume
for the first time in public. The various shades of blue looked great
with the blue tint of the spotlight. Look for the addition of a new flag
or two at the guard's next regional performance in Nashville on February
22nd!
In prelims, the guard performed about 4.5 minutes of their program, went
back to rehearsal, and prepared another 30 to 40 seconds of the show.
They then decided to perform it for the audience on Sunday. This portion
of the show displayed the entire color guard on rifle, with the exception
of one person. Margaret Cho's self esteem rant was the narrative for this
part of the program. Stand up comedians are not only about one liners,
but also have helped society come to grips with feelings of hate and fear.
This part of the program presents a powerful monologue on society's fear
of those who are a minority or are in some way different from the norm.
Look for this emotional portion of the show in its entirey at the Nashville
regional!
Finals score: 84.2
1/28/03 First Show weekend results:
"Stand Up" was given an enthusiastic reception from the audiences
at both Ryle HS and Miamisburg HS. The performers gave a good performance
at the Saturday show, and stepped it up another notch for Sunday's performance.
The guard performed approximately 3 minutes and 50 seconds
of their program, which in its entirety will be over 7 minutes long. With
only half of the prorgram being performed, the show's concept was still
clear, leading the audience through the different aspects and pressures
of being a stand up comedian.
One of the unique aspects of the program this year is
a 30 second solo by one of the members trying to illustrate how difficult
it is to be onstage by yourself. The pressure of being in the spotlight,
and doing everything you can to impress not only the audience, but the
judges as well, can be both intense and humorous at the same time.
The judges rewarded Pride with excellent scores for their first weekend
out. 79.1 was the score at Ryle, and the judges at Miamisburg HS gave
the guard a 79.7.
Pride goes into a camp next weekend to continue developing the show, and
looks forward to even better performances at the Indianapolis Regional
on February 8th and 9th. See you there!
1/12/03 The 2003 Pride of Cincinnati program....
Stand Up!
A week before their exhibiton performance, and two weeks
before their first competition, the Pride of Cincinnati is excited to
announce the 2003 program title: Stand Up!
Pride will be exploring the world of the Stand Up comedian,
with a soundtrack featuring interviews with actual stand up comics, as
well as clips from their various performances. The show will focus on
comedians that worked their way up through the comedy club circuit.
As any peformer understands, the pressures of being on stage in front
of a live audience are immense. Will they laugh? Will they boo? Pride
is seeking to take the spectator on a journey through the emotional rollercoaster
that stand up comedians experience in their performances. While it may
seem to be all laughs on the surface, behind the scenes is a different
story. A lot of work, a lot of life experience, a lot of hardships, discrimination,
love, and passion go into creating the ideal personality for a stand up
comedian, and the ideal material for their act. And yet, no two are the
same.
One thing is for certain: it takes incredible courage to stand alone in
the spotlight before the microphone. That courage comes from an intense
desire to entertain - a desire shared by every performer in this guard.
"Would you please welcome....."
The Pride of Cincinnati 2003!
9/30/02 The 2003 Pride of Cincinnati color guard is
set!
After two camps of auditions and call-backs, the members
of the 2003 Pride of Cincinnati were chosen. Both the director and the
staff agreed that this was probably the toughest audition process that
this staff has been through. The talent was simply amazing.
Between 60 and 70 people auditioned for the 2003 guard.
The callback camp had about 40 people in attendance, all of whom were
talented enough to be in the guard! Unfortunately, the staff could only
choose 30.
Carolyn Perry (our choreographer) was at camp with plenty
of pictures of her beautiful new baby, Riley. We wish her all the best
on her new experiences as a Mom!
15 men and 15 women will make up the guard this year.
It was an eventuful weekend. One person caught a sabre
in between his fingers and had to get 5 stitches (he's doing fine), one
person twisted her ankle in the final audition dance (she was dancing
again by Sunday a little bit), and assistant director Bart Woodley ran
out of gas enroute to rehearsal on Saturday. Click
here for a photo!
Congratulations to the new members of The Pride of
Cincinnati, welcome back to the members from previous years, and to
all those that auditioned, we hope to see you again next year!
7/27/02 Pride's first 2003 staff meeting full of excitement!
Director Charlie Gumbert gathered everyone together
in Indianapolis for the first official staff meeting of the 2002 - 2003
season.
In attendance were Mike Gaines, Keith Potter, Tommy Keenum, Rosie Miller,
Charlie Gumbert and Bart Woodley.
Not in attendance (because she is about to have her first child) was choreographer
Carolyn Crumpton - Perry. Also not in attendance was Andy Toth. Andy will
be playing a larger role with the organization this year, trading weekends
with Carolyn in movement instruction as well as lending his expertise
in equipment.
Many things were discussed including the schedule for the upcoming season,
lowering of the members dues payment to ($500) and last but certainly
not least...the show for the upcoming season. (No..that information has
not been released....but get ready for some fun!)
2003 Here we go!
For news from previous seasons, click on the appropriate
year:
To read news from other seasons, click the appropriate
year below:
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
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