Traveling would not have been a problem had we been able to remain in one place for more than one performance. To reduce the loss of time and expenses involved in setting setting up and tearing down the show, It was obvious that Brass Theater needed to be performed in one theater over a prolonged period--Star's summer home. With two exceptions, cities do not have large enough audiences in summer to justify the expense of establishing a permanent place to perform. New York theaters are too expensive, so the one place left was little Branson, Missouri. It has a year-round audience, and theater costs are not prohibitive.

For those of you who have never journeyed to Branson, the town is instant culture shock complete with traffic jams and every reason to not exist. Branson is there for only one reason -- vaudeville and musical performances. In this small town of 3,500 permanent residents, there are over 50 theaters and 30,000 hotel rooms. The place is geared to entertain the very young and the 'big spending' Blue Hair Set. Branson comes alive before 7 a.m. and goes to bed after the end of the last show at 11 p.m. Vacationers have choices to see shows, fish, or drive through the Ozarks. Virtually every Las Vegas show ends up in Branson -- familiar stars, some over-the-hill, some young arisin'. It is a town of contrasts.

Jim Mason and I decided that performing in Branson would give us an opportunity to stay in one place in order to save travel costs and to develop Brass Theater into a legitimate professional show.

Corps members lived in rented apartments, four to an apartment. They performed two times a day, six days a week, for 5 weeks at the 3,500 seat Grand Palace Theater. I got to see the show only 20 times during our two-year stint. Over the two-years, the Brass Theater repertoire was not changed much. Wizard of Oz and West Side Story were the bases for the two acts.

Learning and performing 2-hour drum corps type shows, presented twice a day, is no easy task. The members were dedicated and seemed excited to perform each day, but at the end of the tour they were happy the regimen was over. Virtually all of the corps returned in 1998 except for age outs.

These two summers were successful in determining how to perform Brass Theater better and what it takes for each member to become a professional performer. Corps members were motivated by the actual performances; audiences, at times, topped 3,000, but most of the shows had an audience of 1,000 or less in the evening and 500 during the afternoon.

Media in St. Louis, Springfield, and Kansas City gave Star excellent reviews. The cards filled out by the audience were fantastic -- they loved the show.

Summing up these past two years, I can say that the members enjoyed doing Brass Theater and they performed the show beautifully. The staff learned many things about Brass Theater that will be incorporated in future performances. We also came to understand that if Brass Theater was ever going succeed, it would need a sophisticated audience and a venue that has a large audience pool.

STAR OF INDIANA AFTER DRUM CORPS
When Star of Indiana was born in the Fall of 1984, it was began as a drum and bugle corps. At the time, the primary objectives of Star at the time were to provide the drum corps experience to young members, aged 15 to 22; to entertain; and to be competitive. Along the way, entertainment and competition conflicted with each other because rules of competition for a major corps gets our way of entertaining.

Problems with trying to compete while entertaining the audience are rooted in the judging system where general effect criteria preclude the use of many vehicles for entertainment. Levels of difficulty in all of the drum corps captions makes simple, entertaining music almost pass . The major drum corps of the 90s are continually faced with the problem of finding challenging music that will standup under the general effect criteria. Marching and drill are also impacted by general effect. Corps caption heads look for new moves, new guard effects, and new music in order to fulfill the requirements in the so-called judges top box.

Star's last year in active competition was spent performing a 11-1/2 minute show based upon the works of Barber and Bartok, hardly household words to the drum corps fan. We learned so much in 1993 by performing Medea --a rather obscure piece of music enhanced by visual and marching captions. Suffice it to say the music bombed but one thing is for sure, many, many people remember the frenzy, the rage, and the excitement it created.

It is ironic that Star s greatest moments on the field was not winning the 1991 DCI World Championship in Dallas but performing Medea in Jackson in 1993. A further irony about the summer of 1993 was that we knew that the corps would not be performing again as a drum and bugle corps.

What happened? Simply put, we knew that the corps had to return to entertainment by leaving competition. We had to improve the musical experience for the talented members by converting to conventional brass instruments. And we had to rethink how dynamic music can be performed by a precision marching unit. In the spring of 1993, we accepted an invitation to perform with the Canadian Brass starting in the summer of 1994.

The title of our new genre was Brass Theater but we didn't learn what Brass Theater was for three years. In 1996, we performed West Side Story and the members and staff said together -- that's Brass Theater.

So what is Star of Indiana today? We are still a precision marching unit that relies upon tradition for strength. We are a pare-military unit dedicated to playing music while enhancing it with visual elements. Star uses a large stage while performing without restriction for lighting or props. With the teaching of the Canadian Brass and the staff, the level of the performers has risen each year. In the best sense of the phrase, we are amateurs performing as professionals. The members have learned that two hours of motion and music can be learned every year and that excellence is created by practice and determination to achieve.

The question about Star is also asked -- what does it take to make the corps? Any young person with better than average ability, determination, and desire for work can make Star. Desire for work and determination are more important than ability because ability stems from practice.

Another question is -- do Star members have fun? Yes, when time permits they do. Being a member of Star is not for everyone. We demand a lot but our justification is results. For example, it is not unusual for Star members to be with the corps for six or seven years and it is not unusual for our members to be a little more serious. We try to give everyone an pleasant experience they will never forget. We all work for the pleasure of the work itself and yet, we want to enjoy ourselves and what is accomplished.

The final question -- could Star still be competitive in drum corps and will it ever return to the activity? None of us can say when, if ever, we will return to drum corps but I, for one, can say that it makes little difference. Whether Star performs Brass Theater or is performing in drum corps, we will try to do our best. If we are in the business of entertaining, we will entertain but if we are in competition, we will to compete to win. Objectives are different but achieving the objectives are the same -- hard work and talent achieve the desired results. The members and the corps are still capable of competing in drum corps and if we ever do compete again, it will be to win.