2/8-2/10 Rehearsal Weekend Journal Entry by Becky Finch

Hello to all the Phantom Phamily and Phriends! My name is Becky Finch and I marched in the Drum Corps in 2003 and 2004. I moved from England to Michigan in 2005, and now down to Georgia to go to school, and of course march in the wonderful Phantom Regiment Winterguard.

This weekend was extremely eventful for the PRWG, as we wanted to get the show completely finished and begin getting comfortable with parts before our first regional this coming weekend (Feb 16th & 17th in Nashville, come see us!)

On Friday night some members got to rehearsal early to work on a new ‘idea’ for the opening section of the show. I can’t give too much away, but it looks extremely cool and is very much in keeping with our show theme. We also had ‘Old Uniform night’ where we basically wore any old colorguard uniform that we had lurking in our closet. It was so funny to see each other in uniforms from shows we may have watched from the stands, and it was also a great way to learn about each others ‘colorguard past.’ We took a few fun photos, and then changed into rehearsal gear ready to get learning.

On Saturday, our main focus was the middle section of our show. We re-staged some sections and re-learned work going in and out of our infamous ‘flag trick’ that Adam Dalton mentioned last weekend. It took a while to work out the right groups doing the right work at the right time, but eventually it all came together and the staff seemed much happier with the result. The only major disaster was not involving flag work, but involving one of our members! One of the girls, Merrell Holmes took a hit to the mouth with a flag pole and actually broke the bone above her two front teeth! Colorguard is easily one of the most dangerous activities I know, and we have actually been very lucky this season with injuries. So poor Merrell was shipped off to hospital by fellow PR alum, Joe Huls, with her two front teeth pointing at some strange angle. She is getting surgery, and is looking to be back in the show by this weekend. What a trooper! She is a perfect example of the dedication each member has toward the show, the organization and to each other. We love you Merrell and can’t wait to see you this weekend!

Saturday night was extremely important to every single one of us as we had our PRWG orientation. Having been through the drum corps orientation, I can safely say it was done in very much the same way. It was another wonderful opportunity to grow closer to each other, learn more about why we all came to the PRWG and of course learn the meaning of SUTA! After orientation, we ate and hung out for a while before collapsing into bed after an extremely long day.

Sunday started with a wonderful stretch block with Jonathon, followed by review of the changes we had made on Saturday. We tweaked a few things and solidified others. At lunchtime we were treated to another fabulous improvised performance by the ‘Crown contingency’ of the colorguard, which was hysterical. After lunch we ran more chunks, clarified more counts and set up for a run. We screamed our first SUTA of the season and then did 2 run-throughs. Overall it was a great weekend and the members are working together so well. We all care for each other and the organization very much and hope that you can come and see us at some point this season!