By Tori Godwin

Each year, Band and Color Guard students mentally and physically prepare for an audition. This audition could possibly open doors to long hours of work and dedication, but also to new-found relationships and memories. That audition is for the Plymouth High School Winter Performance Ensemble.

Depicting one section of the costumes, the members of WPE get to show their "outrageousness" on their lockers. Photo by: Kent Kosky

Winter Performance Ensemble, or WPE for short, is a band program for select students only. These students will learn music for a show and work on putting this show into place. This show will be performed in front of an audience and a judge will score each group based on accuracy and performance. Junior Rinda Scott describes WPE as “a group of the best percussionists and best Color Guard that come together to put on a performance that will shock an audience.” Once accepted into WPE, members will enter a two day camp that runs from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. during Winter Break. After Winter Break, regular WPE practices are scheduled. Practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This can be a lot to handle, but these members stuck through the difficulties and are ready to put on a shocking performance.

It has been decided that the show for this year is “OUT-rageous.”  To give the audience the “outrageous” feeling, towering props were made and funky costumes were prepared for this twist of Looney Tunes.  Also, the audience will not be able to see the faces of the performers due to the costumes. As for the music, it is very fast-paced and goofy.  When asked to describe the show, sophomore Shelby Haisley said, “It is simply out of this world!” With their first competition in about two weeks, all of the material is being perfected to make this show truly “outrageous.”

For a numerous amount of people, this seems like a lot of hard work. These members, however, are dedicated to making this an eventful season. This dedication also comes from a reason to want to be a part of this program in the first place. Junior Daniel Johnson said that he decided to audition for WPE because “I wanted to improve my musical talent.” Freshman Colleen Scarborough auditioned because “I love Color Guard and I decided [to audition for] WPE because I like to be challenged.” A lot of challenges are given due to WPE, but the rewards are worth the effort.

In WPE, many events happen. There are new experiences, new relationships and, of course, many fond memories. Being able to look forward to everything that will take place can drive a student to be fully devoted to this program. For Scott, competitions are what she is looking forward to because “our show is very different form any other show anyone has ever done before.” Scarborough said, “Learning new and harder work that I never would have seen myself doing, like tossing a rifle.”

The first competition for Winter Performance Ensemble is on February 4 at Dekalb High School.