My wife and I attended a regional WGI competition this past weekend. What is WGI? Short answer: an international association of color guard units that have several large regional competitions leading up to a world final usually in Dayton, OH. If you’ve ever been to a drum corps (marching band on steroids) show, these are the visual units from those shows – movement, rifle, flags, sabres, etc.

So why am I posting about such things here? Well, Matt and I both are huge believers that music is a basis for almost everything, and that good design follows musical guidelines as well. In that same way, you should be looking for design inspiration from everywhere – not just the obvious places.

Two things I took away from this weekend:

Stained Glass

1. I had some discussions with folks in the music/guard scene, and they were relaying their concerns when it comes to budget. Clearly everyone is affected by the economy right now, and the arts (visual, musical, and technical) are among the hardest hit. But in spite of that there were 65 performing groups that attended this weekend’s palooza, and each had a story to tell. In years past where you may have seen elaborate sets and multiple pieces of equipment for each performer, many groups showed up with a drastically simpler approach. The shows were no less effective. They did require more effort by the performers, since the only overall effect available was what they brought in performance and ability. Sounds kind of familiar, no?
2. 

   Giant Birdcage

   What groups did bring some scenery met all the same requirements the church deals with weekly. They had pieces that were cheap to build, quick to set up and tear down, and all fit through a double door. Hey! Just like most of us!

These groups make great use of the same things we should: use of existing items, re-purposing things that may have originally been intended for use elsewhere, and filling large spaces on tiny budgets.

Printed Floor

On a side note, I was reminded of a largely overlooked part of scenic design in the church – the floor. The floor is visible in a LOT of spaces we work in, and is almost never treated as a scenic element. Do something to the floor! Even if all of your room cannot see the stage floor when seated, it’s likely that some can, and cameras almost always do. From the simple area rug to a full-scale painted surface, the floor can give you incredible visual bang, for relatively low cost. These performing groups generally bring a large vinyl cover in with them that is painted or printed to go with their show. Clearly the design of a gym space makes the floor the ‘backdrop’ – but think about how much of the floor in your space could be unused canvas. It could make a great difference!