A long-awaited victory came to fruition this year for one of the oldest drum and bugle corps in the nation and founding members of Drum Corp International. For the first time in their 85-year history, the Boston Crusaders earned the DCI World Championship title. Artistic Director, Keith Potter, a highly regarded program designer throughout the marching and pageantry arts, spearheaded the corps’ efforts in their winning production of “Boom,” which proved to be a perfect parting present as he bids farewell to the Crusaders this year. Countless colleagues and performers of his voiced their gratitude for the impact he’s made in the activity and admiration for his creativity, style, and pure artistic talent. He and the corps’ design team have spent the past nine years together, culminating in a stellar 98.425 scoring performance at Lucas Oil Stadium and a crowning achievement for the organization.

Collaborating with Keith were two familiar colleagues who have worked closely with him throughout the course of their careers – Drill Designer, Leon May, and Color Guard Director, Michael Townsend. The trio have developed a strong working relationship over the years, sharing an importance on synergism and a teamwork mentality. Leon May, a prolific drill designer, is sought after by the most elite groups across the country and the Pyware Team has been fortunate to watch his success through numerous visual and general effect awards, BOA Grand National Championships, and now a second DCI World Championship.

“Leon and I have been designing shows together since the mid 1990’s. Our process is collaborative as I try to offer conceptual development and flow of events regarding integration of the sections, props, and contour. Pyware has been critical in our development as partners and designers. We started writing long before we had access to this wonderful tool but Leon’s quick mastery of the software, combined with his artistic vision, has helped us problem solve and dream 4 or 5 steps ahead of the next ideas in any given song or production. Pyware is a game changer in just about every way possible; design, productivity, and instruction,” Keith said.

Leon shared with us his current favorite design tools, the props and uniforms Pyware’s Art Director, Jesse Mercer, created for the show, and the support system the Pyware team was able to offer.

“My current favorite tool among several is the spot swap tool. It lets me get the right people in the right places for future events. Honorable mention is the group, like the secondary count button in the glue tool function. They have certainly contributed to and elevated the design. Jesse did an amazing job putting our prop idea into Pyware. It was so awesome to be able to have them as a part of the design so early in our process. And of course, Dustin Merrell (Pyware’s Application Systems Director) is always so fast with a helpful response and a calm demeanor during a drill emergency.”

Keith’s vision of an explosive, “booming,” retro-futuristic show was certainly executed, every piece coming together to create an unexpected, exciting performance that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. There is a reason he is one of the most esteemed program directors in the marching arts. He praised the talented performers, explaining there were no boundaries on imagining the design of the show – if he could dream it, they could do it. Roughly 165 performers demonstrated a journey through time and space, illustrating a reflection of the past, the present, and optimism for the future. The number one goal for Keith was that all members of the organization, from the top down, to enjoy the experience. And the relentlessness and hard work the staff and performers poured into the season paid off in spades, capped off by an eruption of applause from the thousands of fans cheering them on.

The Pyware team would like to congratulate the Boston Crusaders on an incredible season, caption awards for Color Guard, Percussion, and Brass, and their first gold medal in program history.

Watch the opening clip of “Boom” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp24jcHGajM