By Emily Ward
Storytelling is one of the most important aspects of putting on an entertaining and enticing color guard show that truly draws audience members in. Collage Winter Guard out of Akron, Ohio, knows exactly how to tell a story, especially a haunting one, with their 2024 program entitled “Ghost Train.”
Collage’s show tells the tale of a group of train passengers involved in a terrible accident while traveling. Everyone aboard the train perishes, although their spirits remain attached to it. Show designer James Gabonay spoke about how each athlete takes on the role of one of those train passengers.
“The performers told a story of a soul who is still grappling with what happened. Angry that this happened to them and feeling helpless and trapped on this train for what feels like an eternity.” said Gabonay.
To find the inspiration for the team’s show, Gabonay said he simply took a walk outside while listening to some music on shuffle.
“One day while taking my daily walk, the song ‘Vivace’ by Tom Hillock came on, and in that same moment, I was coming up on the train tracks by my house, and ideas flooded my head,” said Gabonay. “I looked up ‘trains’ to see what could inspire me, and that’s when I saw ‘ghost trains.’ I knew it would be the perfect show for Collage.”
From the moment the show’s theme was announced to the team, every member was elated for the opportunity to portray such a unique character.
“Collage is known for doing shows that evoke strong emotion, exploring all of the spectrums that a person feels,” said Gabonay. “When the athletes heard they would be playing angry ghosts stuck on a train, the veterans and the new members lit up with excitement, as this kind of show is exactly what they came to Collage for.”
Gabonay knew he had to use Tom Hillock’s song “Vivace” in the actual show, but it would need to be combined with another song to fully capture the feeling of those passengers’ souls being trapped inside the wrecked train. He decided that the song “107 Steps” by Bjork would be the other song crucial to telling the show’s story.
“It not only has sounds that are reminiscent of train cars on a track, but we were also able to use the sound of Bjork counting to tell a story of the Ghosts endlessly walking up and down the train, counting their steps,” said Gabonay.
When creating movements that would go right along with the show’s immaculate props and music, the choreography staff for Collage utilized as many train motifs and frantic moves as possible.
“The choreography team focused meticulously on creating frenetic energy as a train has while traveling,” said Gabonay. “The team explored using sharp choreography when the soundtrack asked for it and more lyrical when the feelings shifted. With a show with so many types of feelings, it was important to represent those feelings in both their body and equipment.”
The show opens with a dancer moving across the floor in a tattered, brown costume while holding a lamp encased in white, see-through fabric to resemble a light that one would see inside of a haunted house. Lining the back of their floor were huge, red props with images of train windows plastered on them, creating the visual of the railroad car spoken about in the show’s music.
“The props played a huge part in setting the scene and telling the story,” Said Gabonay. “We had ten train carts that on the front side had fabric where the performers could pass in and out of, just as a ghost would be able to. The props then turned around to show the inside of the train, which included a train seat. With this, the performers explored the feeling of never being able to leave this train and the mundane life of a wandering ghost. The props were able to be moved around the floor to create different textures and staging opportunities.”
Toward the end of the program, the athletes perform their flag feature while screaming the words “Help us” for part of the time, enthralling the audience. Athletes then throw their flags out, away from them, each athlete falling to the ground, minus one in the center of the group of flags who makes their way to a prop in the corner of the floor. The prop is still turned around to show a single empty seat remaining, leaving the character with the choice to detach their soul from the train forever or take a seat once again. The show concludes before the ghost decides what to do. Gabonay said this choice was a purposeful one.
“It is up to the audience to decide: did the souls finally escape or is this an unfortunate and endless cycle,” said Gabonay.
With three stunning performances at the WGI World Championships back in April, Collage Winter Guard took home fourth place in their first year competing in Independent Open class. We can’t wait to see what journey Collage will take audience members on next season.
About the Author:
Emily Ward works as a content creator for OneTouch Direct in Tampa, Florida. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications with a concentration in broadcast programming and production. She also minored in psychology. She began colorguard her junior year of high school, and was a captain of Sunlake High School’s Open Class team and has since spun for the University of South Florida.
