The Pitch Pipe - January 2009 - (Page 10) By Joni Bescos, RichTone Chorus, Region 25 QA & 10 January 2009 Q: At the recent international finals competition one of the performers did not include emcee dialogue as part of their routine. We were under the impression spoken dialogue was a requirement. Please clarify this for us. A: I also thought emcee dialogue was required. A revision to the Competition Handbook was just released, and I consulted this. Though “emcee” is listed as a component with each sample lineup shown, the word “required” does not appear. Had I been a member of the official panel I would not have given any bonus points for the performance. I believe that personal connection between audience and performer needs to be established, and that spoken dialogue is the best way to accomplish this. A bit of background, though. The original performance package concept was designed for quartets. Each year we crowned new champions, and the new champion quartets generally did a flawless job of singing contest barbershop. They lacked performance experience, particularly relating specifics about the group to the audience. Would you believe the average audience member doesn’t care how many kids, dogs, cats, birds, fish, or snakes, belong to which member(s) of the quartet, nor does the audience care what anyone does in real life. And they really don’t care “how glad you are to be there” — that’s a given. Giving personal information about chorus members is even more difficult. Recently we made a very subtle change — let’s see if you noticed. We used to call it the performance package. Now we call it the entertainment package. Here’s the idea: Everything that happens on the stage during that 10-12 minutes (quartet) or 12-15 minutes (chorus) is part of the entertainment package. Calling it a performance package was not getting through to the competitors, because many still seemed to make a distinction between contest songs and non-contest songs. Sometimes it seemed as if the performer was trying to get the contest material out of the way so they could entertain. Judging Q&A Melodeers Chorus generally does an excellent job of weaving the contest music into a neat package all tied up with a blue ribbon. One year they included snippets from 13 songs in their presentation — there was never any of that deadly component we call “white space.” Over the years there has been discussion regarding the fact that choruses are given more total time than quartets. I suspect that when the average quartet finalist finds the secret of entertaining the audience within the time allotted, the powers that be may be inclined to give quartets more time. Two quartets come to mind as stunning examples of groups that never won a contest but never lost a show — the PITTSBURGHETTES and the NORSE WINDS. Today’s quartets would do well to take lessons from them! Q: We were confused by the appearance on the contest stage of individuals and quartets that, to our knowledge, are not participating members of the choruses with whom they appeared. How did they work this out? A: We have an abundance of talented and creative people within Sweet Adelines. The dual membership option has opened doors that would previously have remained closed, because now I do not have to resign from my chorus in order to join yours — I can belong to both. Had I been in better health I would have competed with one of the choruses just to do it one more time! I was not a member of the judging panel in Hawaii, but any points awarded to these choruses because of the guest performers would have been limited to the 0-10 bonus points each judge has available and would have been based on that judge’s opinion of what, if anything, the participation of these individuals added to the performance. As a side comment, though, Marilyn Rose, certified judge in the expression and showmanship categories and former judge specialist in both, is a member of Spirit of the Gulf Chorus (the dog show). She was unable to attend the Hawaii convention because her doctors would not allow her to make that long flight. Betty Clipman is one of my dearest friends, and her participation as the “Hound” judge definitely added a touch of humor. However, had Marilyn Rose been cast in the same role I think even I would have been rolling on the floor with laughter! Q: Why do so many Queens recompete with a new group? Why can’t they just sit back, enjoy their medals and crowns, and let someone else have a chance to win the gold? A: The question seems to assume that every queen who enters competition with a new quartet will emerge victorious. Do you subscribe to “Keepin’ Score,” that wonderful little booklet chock full of information about every competitor that Pacific Sound Chorus publishes every year? If you don’t, you should. When mine arrives I immediately sit down and read it from cover to cover. I don’t use it like others do — I don’t take it to the contest and do any scoring. I use it to learn about the competitors. One of the categories of information I can find there is which quartet members are past queens of harmony. Some have suggested that International should make a rule saying who can and cannot recompete. There already is such a rule — no more than two members of a winning quartet, who were members of that quartet at the time of the victory, can compete again in the same quartet. So with “the BUZZ” we had two members of CITY LIGHTS (1992), one member of JUBILATION (1985), and one member of SHOWTIME (1994). One of the goals of the organization is to establish a musical presence outside our own little world. Should we have deprived the organization of one of its finest representatives simply because all four of them had previously won gold? That would be very short-sighted. To suggest that queens be kept out of competition merely so that someone else can win is to suggest that we should lower the bar rather than raising it. The best way to keep queens out of competition is to keep their quartets busy appearing on our shows. When was the last time Continued on page 36
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