Color Guard

Fall 2024 Audition Registration

About The Guard

Color guard is a beautiful performance art form and activity that combines pageantry, theatre, dance and the use of equipment.

The Mead High School Color Guard is a group of talented, bright, and active students that enjoy the friendship, tradition, excellence, travel, and family environment they experience.

The video speaks to the special qualities of this activity - Please enjoy!

Meet Our Coaches

MICHELLE MARSURA

Color Guard Director

Michelle graduated from Mead High School in 2007, where she had been a member of the school's winter guard program for two years. After graduating, she attended Western Washington University where she earned her B.A. in mathematics and chemistry for secondary education. In 2009, Michelle was a member of the WGI World Championship open-class gold medalist group, Rhapsody Winter Guard. Rhapsody is based out of Seattle, WA and Michelle spent a total of four years performing with them around the country.

Michelle's coaching experience started in the summer of 2007. Since then, she has been a choreographer for programs in Washington and Arizona, and an instructor for multiple organizations including Thunder Drum Corps, Camp Rhapsody, and various high schools. This is Michelle's 14th year as a coach for Mead High School and her 12th as the Color Guard Director.

Her favorite part of color guard is the community created when a group people with different skills and interests come together to achieve a common goal around their shared passion of color guard.

HOLLY SCIUTO

Color Guard Coach

Holly graduated from Mead High School in 2011 where she was a member of the colorg uard and winter guard all four years of her high school career. After graduation, she spent two years at the University of Washington and one at Cascadia Community College. During that time, she performed with Rhapsody Winterguard in Seattle, WA for five years where they were World Championship Finalists in 2013.

Holly began her teaching experience in the summer of 2011 with the Spokane Thunder Drum and

Bugle Corps and has continued teaching since then. She spent five summers teaching the Columbians Drum and Bugle Corps, two summers teaching the Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, and has choreographed for, and taught at, many high schools around the state, including Hanford High School and Naches Valley High School. She also continues to teach clinics, workshops, and camps all over Washington.

Holly is currently teaching at Rhapsody Winterguard where her tenure began in 2016, and is coaching at Mead High School which began in 2018. Additionally, she continues to work at Starbucks and is obtaining a B.S. in Family and Human Development through Arizona State University.

She is a huge Disney fan, a proud Slytherin, and her favorite part about color guard is the second family gained through the activity.

KRISSY SEFTON LIPSCOMB

Color Guard Coach

Krissy's color guard career started in 7th grade when she joined North Sound Prep, and the year after she was honored to join Rhapsody A in 2008 for a season before entering high school. Krissy attended Kamiak High School and was a member of their colorguard/winterguard program for 4 years. While in high school, Krissy got the opportunity to perform with a World Class Drum and Bugle Corps, Pacific Crest, during her summers and went on to march with them for 6 years until she aged out in 2016. After graduation, Kristen continued her winterguard career with Rhapsody winterguard from 2012 - 2014.

This will be Krissy’s second year with the Mead Colorguard, and she is excited to continue sharing her knowledge and skill set with this group of amazing and talented students. She hopes to bring an experience as fun and challenging as she received in her years of marching.

Professionally, Krissy is a certified veterinary technician and has worked in several animal clinics, including Seattle Veterinary Specialists. Krissy currently works for Rover.com as an Operations Specialist and runs Northwest Wolf Photography as a freelance photographer.

In her free time, you are most likely to find Krissy hiking up a mountain with her husband and loyal husky, Akela, or at any of the Disney parks around the world.

Performance and Rehearsal Information

Beginning in the fall of 2020, the color guard program will be exclusively an extra-curricular activity. Our hopes are to provide a fall, winter, and spring season that will include marching band season, winter guard/recital season, and spring parade season.

Performance opportunities include travel to marching band competitions, varsity home football games, school assemblies, winter guard competitions, stage performances, special event trips, and community events.

In August the group begins rehearsals for the fall production. This includes an overnight retreat, and a couple of weeks for two-a-day rehearsals also know as "band camp". There are required after school rehearsals that take place during the months of September and October. The group also rehearses on a couple of Saturdays in the month of September and travels to competitions throughout October.

In late November, or December, our focus shifts to the winter season. We hope this will look like a traditional winter guard season with 2 to 3 rehearsals per week, some weekend rehearsals, and travel to winter guard competitions throughout the Pacific NW in late February and March. We have also used this time to prepare for special event trips. Special event trips occur every couple of years and in recent years those have included trips to Disney World, Disneyland and Vancouver, B.C.

Our spring focus will typically be lighter in terms of the demand of the schedule. It will include auditions, a few parade rehearsals, the Lilac Parade in Spokane, WA., and possibly a special event trip.

Rehearsal Dress Code

Shirt straps must be at least 1" thick
Shorts must be longer than your fingertips when your arms are resting at your side
Sports bras are preferred
Hair must be up, this includes bangs pinned up.
Tennis shoes must be worn to every rehearsal. The shoes must tie or velcro. Please use athletic or work out-type shoes. Do not wear slip on shoes or flip flops.

Items to Bring to Rehearsal

Water - and lots of it! Most people find the gallon size insulated coolers to be the best!
Any equipment that you have checked out in your name, otherwise we are not guaranteed to have enough for everyone.
Sunscreen - We will be outside most days for extended amounts of time.
Sunglasses, hat and/or visor. Squinting in the sun is not a good look for anyone :)

Items to Purchase

There are a few basic items needed in addition to the season marching band fees (travel, provided food, warm ups, etc.). Additional information about season fees is released at the annual information meeting in June.

Guard Specific Items - Please obtain the following items on your own:

Black Jazz Shoes. These can be purchased at Empire Dance in downtown Spokane or most dance shops online.
A roll of electrical tape. If your last name starts with A thru L, please buy white electrical tape, M thru Z buy black electrical tape.
ASB Card - One time purchase each year. This covers any activity that requires and ASB Card such as school dances, athletic events, etc.
Rifle section members need clear strapping tape as well.

The following items will be ordered by the school as a group:

Warm ups - New students to the guard will need to purchase guard warm ups. These will be used as the weather changes in the Fall and act as an alternate uniform; most commonly used as a group at competition awards retreats. Warm ups will be charged to each students ASB account at the school.

The following items are recommended items:

Weapons Gloves (rifles and/or sabres) - Nude or Flesh colored Fingerless weapons gloves
- Popular brands include FJM, Blade Runner, Style Plus.
- Can be purchased online at the Bandshoppe, McCormick's Band Supply or Fred J. Miller Inc.
Weapons Equipment - These make great birthday or holiday gifts :)
- Sabres - We use Excalibur Sabres that are 36 inches in length.
- Rifles - We use Elite Rifles that are 36 inches in length with black straps and black bolts.
  - Can be purchased online at the Bandshoppe, McCormick's Band Supply or Fred J. Miller Inc.

Mead High School Band and Color Guard