By MJ Johnson
Centerville High School Winter Guard told a beautiful story with their 2024 show, Irresistible. These performers captured audiences’ attention with a unique take on the irresistible draw of a moth to a flame—or should we say, light? We spoke with director and designer Jodi Fairbanks, who had nothing but praise for her students and staff.
When asked about the inspiration behind Irresistible, Jodi shared the story of a picture that she and her team had been saving and decided that this was the year to do this idea. This picture was of tall lamps with the bodies of the lamp depicted as gorgeous decorated mannequins. This was the inspiration for having the performers dressed as lamps and having lampshades on their heads. From there, the moth idea emerged. They were able to craft a concept of the moth following the light of the lamp.
“One of my staff members, Lola Flores-Holland, is a graphic designer,” said Jodi. “She was able to take some of our ideas and thoughts and really put them into play. She came up with our whole set with this one picture as the theme.”
Once Jodi and her team decided they wanted to have lamps, they began the search to find these props. Parents and Boosters donated old lamps, but most of the lamps you see in this show were thrifted. From there, the team began to workshop how to get lampshades to stay on the heads of students. Jodi shares that they had a couple of ideas but ended up with a headband attached to the lampshades and a Velcro under the chin. Due to the limited visibility of the lampshades, the performers had to rely on their spots and different markings on the floor to make their drill spots.
“Before they took the lampshades off, they had to be really sly and undo the Velcro right before they popped them off their heads. There were some challenges there and we thought that maybe we could do it in a couple places in the show; but once you realize they can’t really see anything, we started coming up with other ideas,” Jodi said. These other ideas included putting lampshades in all corners of the floor as props and smaller “hand lamps” towards the end of the show. The performers were holding the lampshades in their hands and this allowed them to create even more fun and interesting shapes and lamp poses.
Jodi shares that there is a moment she loves a couple minutes into the show. Where the “moth” comes down to a lone lamp down in the front-left corner of the floor.
“We named that lamp Slim Shady,” Jodi shares with a laugh. “The moth went down there, and that one lamp came with her, and she would turn the light off. While that is happening, the rest of the color guard is in the shape of a wing and the music gets really quiet, which was a really scary moment for us design-wise. Can we stand here and kind of do nothing? Is it thematic? And it turned out to be one of the most sensitive and neatest parts of the show. When the moth picks up her two flags and runs through the wings, the wings open, and she begins to spin. That was one of my favorite moments. I think I like it because, from a design standpoint, we were a little scared to do it, and we did it anyway. It paid off and that moment is special as a design team.”
Of course, a guard show is nothing without its performers. Jodi said that their students this year were great and fun to be around. The staff said “You’re gonna be lamps and wear lampshades!” and they said “Okay!” and went along for the ride. Jodi also expressed her appreciation for her team. Her team consists of herself, her husband, Tim Fairbanks, Alex Holland, and Lola Flores-Holland. “We don’t really bring anyone else in. We just have a great time all year coming up with ideas. We seem to work together pretty well, and it’s been fun to have the people that you’re doing the creative part with around you all the time.”
Looking forward, Centerville HS is excited to be moving into the Scholastic World Class. “The kids are a little nervous about it. Rightfully so. But with the direction we’ve been going and the kids we have, I think that we are going to transition into that class well. We’re excited to see what it looks like, and as an added bonus, it’ll be nice to perform later in the day!” Jodi shares.
About the Author:
Madison Johnson graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a BA in English Language and Digital Technologies with a concentration in Technical Writing. She currently works as a copywriter for a Software as a Service company in Charlotte, NC. She was a member of Étude Winter guard for five years from 2015-2019.
