MonorailMan is a bit peaved today.
I've been helping my friend on-and-off with his winterguards over the past 6 years in terms of music editing, floor/flag/prop design and occasionally drill/staging design.
Today this friend called me and informed me that my name will be on the WGI website as the person in charge of music and prop design. Here's the kicker.......I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR PROPS THIS YEAR.....or any other year for that matter!! Every time I design something for him something ALWAYS happens at the last minute....
Example:
I designed this floor/props for his guard a few years ago. They were doing a show based on Winnie the Pooh. Before designing it, I asked if any of the parents had access to power tools so that we could make trees out of plywood, to which I was informed repeatedly that there were SEVERAL parents who offered their services for doing this. I showed up at the warehouse where I was told I'd have about 7-8 hours to sketch out and paint the trees onto the wood. I soon notice that there's no wood to be found because all of the parents "dropped out". Instead there were white bed sheets sewn together laying on the floor. My friend came from behind me and put a can of spray paint in my hand and said, " You've got one hour", and laughed. We had to be out of the warehouse in an hour....and I had to spray paint bed sheets to look like trees. Needless to say, the props looked like an 8 year-old painted "stick figure trees"....and not in a good way. (I'm not a graffiti artist, fer gawd sake!) And, of course, guess who got credited for this.
On the day when we were supposed to paint the floor for this show I was told we had
4 hours (which wasn't a big deal considering we were going for a watercolor effect and had a big power sprayer). However....once again.....we only had an hour.
This garbage happens EVERY YEAR. This year, I wasn't even informed that they're using ugly giant gold mylar circles as backdrop props.....and yet he put MY name down as the one who designed them because
he doesn't want to take credit for them. No wonder no one will let me work with their guard.
I'm also the only one working for his guard(s) who never got paid, but the reason I keep doing it is because this is pretty much the only way I have access to helping with this activity. I went to an art school that demanded excellence and I just don't want my name associated with any of this because it's not only not up to my standard, but 90% of it isn't even my work.
Sorry....I just needed to vent.
The Bluecoats weren't even here at the show that they're usually always at. 
