Kilgore College - Ranger Yearbook (Kilgore, TX)

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Opposite pageSome band members stop to discuss drills as others march. This page. top right,Instructor Jerry Hale directs students on the field. Righl:A resting instrument reflects the band’s performance. Abose:Assistant director Mike Turpin helps direct band members in practicing drills. 29

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Summer band gets back to basics Summer band. Back to basics. Put down the instruments and walk through the routine AGAIN. Get it right, get it timed and “get with it.” Ranger Band Director Jerry Hale, using hand gestures, barks commands with the electric horn, “Ok folks let’s try it now with the horns.” The rigors of beginning again wear on the experienced and inexperienced alike. Sweat rolls and wavy heat rises from their marching feet. Cheeks bellow and arms swing as the music helps the marchers keep in step. Occassionally, “l...2...3..”.can be heard in whispers from the crowd. When something docs not look right Hale lets them know. “Stop!” is the signal that usually means someone is not doing what they should. He tells everyone except a certain section to put down their instruments. Hale may require a group to go through the part or parts of the routine by themselves. After a problem is solved he says, “Everybody ready.” The director-mentor does not always look from ground level, however. He sometimes perches on the highest scat and hangs over the rail to get a blimp’s eye view from R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium’s highest scat. With his assistant Mike Turpin, Hale works with the mass to learn new routines. The routines are to be used at different events throughout the 1986-87 year. Along with playing at weekly pep rallies, the band marches through the streets of east Texas cities during many holiday parades. The Cotton Bowl Parade in Dallas has welcomed the Ranger Band along with the Rangercttcs for 38 years. The two performing groups have led off the Cotton Bowl Classic each time. In past years Ranger Band and Rangercttcs have performed in foreign countries and some of the largest U.S. cities. But, whether they are performing in Overton, Texas, New York City or Nice, France, the technical proficiency, the timing, the creativity and showmanship that has made them famous and popular must begin with the long, repetitive workouts each summer. 28

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KC Theatre Department Tragedy expolores self-doubt, ‘normality’ For their first fall play KC’s theatre department produced Equus. It was a tragedy that on the surface delt with a psychologically distrubed boy who blinds six horses and goes through therapy to discover his motives for committing the crime. However, it also dealt with the boy’s psychiatrist’s selfdoubt and society’s perception of normality. Randy Johnson, Rockwell freshman, played the lead role of the boy, Alan Strang. Strang was reared by a mother who is overzealous and naive in her religion and a father who is an atheist. Becuase of his parents, he begins to confuse his fascination for horses with his understanding of God. As a result , he transfers his passion and longings for the opposite sex to what he considers a valid substitute for a god. Alan’s mother, Dora was played by Diana Hardin, Longview freshman. Alan’s father, Frank, was played by Alec Stone, Geneva, Ala. sophomore. The audiancc learned of Alan’s first experience with a horse and later that he worked as a stableboy for Harry Dalton. Dalton was played by Don Fletcher, Dayton, Ohio sophomore. Jill Mason who works for Dalton was played by Terry Walsh, Humble sophomore. Hester Soloman, played by Royce City freshman Melanie Parker, is a juvenile court judge that takes the boy to a well-known child psychiatrist. Martin Dysart, the psychiatrist, was played by J. Adam Rogers, Pottsborough sophomore. Martin’s nurse was played by Kristin Spearman, Dallas freshman. The head horse. Nugget, was played by Jason Wooten, Geneva, Ala. sophomore. Other horses were palyed by Patricia Sexton, St. Augustine freshman; Shelli Walden, Longview freshman; Patrick Clark, Kilgore sophomore; Jack Lapham, Conroe sophomore; and Steve Morris, Rockwall freshman. Choosing Equus for the fall production was difficult for director Raymond Caldwell. “There is a limit to the number of ‘custom-made’ perfect plays such as The Miracle Worker or The Glass Menagerie which pleases everyone and offends no one, yet offer a real challenge to everyone involved in the production,’’ Caldwell said. 30