Troopers director Mike Gough doesn’t hide his excitement about what his corps put on the field in 2021.
In his eyes, it’s clear the Casper, Wyoming corps was on a mission in its return from the activity-wide COVID-19 shutdown. No, there wasn’t anything competitive to glean from the abbreviated 2021 tour, but that doesn’t change one key belief.
Troopers made a statement last summer.
“I think we were all on a mission to prove something, that the Troopers really can be something special,” Gough said. “It can be aggressive, it can be in your face. I think the members and staff did their job extremely well, in terms of bringing life back to the stadiums, and I just think that it was a perfect storm of a lot of positive things.”
But Gough and corps program coordinator Tim Snyder are both in agreement — the best is yet to come, and it’s coming in 2022.
VIEW TROOPERS’ 2021 TOUR SCHEDULE
“Spinning off of the success that we had in 2021, and the popularity with the corps, we've seen pretty solid numbers for us in terms of our auditions, and I think we're looking to be in a really good position going into 2022,” Gough said. “I'm very happy with the direction we're in right now.”
The way Gough describes it, Troopers’ show design staff — led by Snyder — made a point in 2021 to create a production that spoke to the corps’ historic roots, while also engaging performers with a modern style.
The plan is to hammer that mix even further home in 2022. The corps recently announced the title and music selections of its 2022 production, “Voracious.”
As described by Snyder, “Voracious,” in essence, is about passion. It’s about the will to achieve; it’s about discovery and the hunger for more. The word itself means “excessively eager.”
On its simplest level, though, Snyder said, “It’s about oil.”
Much of the imagery and storytelling for Troopers’ 2022 program will be based upon oil drilling, predominantly harkening to the visual characteristics of the industry’s Civil War-era origins.
“It fits into our theme of what we want to be as a drum corps,” Snyder said. “The overarching thought is to embrace who we were with who we can be. It’s uniquely Troopers, and it’s totally fresh.”
Part of the show’s inspiration, serendipitously, came from a movie — lines from which are often quoted by Gough among Troopers circles — Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 film, “There Will be Blood,” which was loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel, “Oil!”
“We said, ‘You know what? We'll just do the show,’” Snyder said. “Since he likes to quote lots of things from the movie.”
According to Gough and Snyder alike — in a similar vein to how crowds responded to the corps’ 2021 show, “Unleashed” — the 2022 program’s opening statement is one for the books.
The second Snyder shared an audio file of the arrangement, Troopers’ director already had chills.
“One of the first things (Gough) sent back to me was, ‘I think this is the best Troopers opener ever,’” Snyder said. “And I think so, too. But you know, we'll wait for the crowd to decide on that.”
In all, “Voracious” features an eclectic list of music selections. The opening section is set to feature the traditional “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “Without Warning” by Stephen Melillo. The production’s ballad movement includes a unique combination of Morricone’s “Ecstasy of Gold” and Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” before a final sequence of Igor Stravinsky’s “Dance of the Earth.”
And among many things, musically-speaking, Snyder didn’t hide his excitement when it came to one specific caption — Troopers’ drum line. The group will perform original works by DCI Hall of Fame percussion composer and arranger Paul Rennick as part of the corps’ 2022 production.
“There's a lot of people out there who throw out a lot of platitudes, but I will put our drum line and our front ensemble up against anyone in the world,” Snyder said. “They'll hold their own very easily.”
“That section will be one for the history books,” he added. “Let's just say that.”
Troopers will be hosting "Troopers 2022: The Reveal," a virtual event on Thursday, February 3, to share inside info on the corps' 2022 production with supporters. Tickets cost $7, and all proceeds will support Troopers' scholarship fund.
Take part in "Troopers 2022: The Reveal"