Private Eye

Dark rooms with sunlight slicing through Venetian blinds, alleyways littered with garbage, abandoned warehouses where dust fogs the air, rain-slickened streets, and seedy detective offices overlooking bustling streets: this is the stuff our ‘Private Eye’ film noir is made of.

The first movement, "In Walked Trouble," opens as so many film noir stories do: with a client walking in from a pouring thunderstorm. The slam of the PI's office door and an opening blast from the winds leads into the main theme that runs through the entire show. The second movement, "The Nightclub Stakeout," alternates between two distinct styles: a solemn chorale portraying the stern duty of the on-the-job detective, and the lazy jazz of an after-hour’s club. Chaos breaks loose as the client suddenly springs a trap in "Double-Crossed," while the final movement, "Case Closed," is a fiery, driving reprise of themes from the opening movement that brings the show to a thrilling end.

One idea for your theme is to recreate a black and white movie complete with voice-overs. Many of the movies from this era started with a detective sitting behind a desk asleep while a voice-over is heard. A sample dialogue would be “She walked into my office looking so beautiful she made Mona Lisa look jealous.” You could create backdrops like the inside of an office building with a “door” in place for your characters to hide when not performing.

It is highly recommended that you lay out a couple different ideas (gangster, private eye, bank robbery, perpetrator and/or victim) and research each one for possible costumes, backdrops, and/or props. Then, after meeting with parents (and possibly student leadership), you would select the theme that best suits your band program.

The auxiliary could be the femme fatale of your show (if all female). Or, another idea would be for the guard could start the show in a trench coat look-hence they are the primary suspect – do they steal a painting or briefcase? They would then change to a sultry red outfit for Part Two to throw the audience off the case! Then they would change once more into either a retro gangster or mobster look for part Three – uh oh, the chase is back on. The main premise is that they are constantly changing but still remain the primary suspect. You could add a surprise ending with one auxiliary member doing one last costume change (perhaps into a police officer outfit and a pair of hand cuffs) or pulling out a prop (the stolen piece of art from the beginning of the show). You could also have the pit outfitted as the villains and the field commander as the detective. Or you could add extra performers to carry your story line. If using actors, make sure they are able to carry their character all the way to the top of the bleachers. You may also want to consult with your school or civic theater department to secure props and costumes for your show.

Other Options for “Private Eye”:

1) “The Mission” How about creating your own spy thriller. The show could start with a voice over such as “This CD will self destruct in 7 minutes!”. With this theme, the entire auxiliary could be outfitted in black thief-type outfits (black turtle necks, pants, wool cap) and a briefcase or CD player could be passed about during the show. The pit could be either the detectives or law enforcement.

2) Cops and Robbers – Use the theme of a bank or jewelry store heist as your theme. Carry your audience along from the planning, to the heist and through the escape. Do the robbers get away or are they caught in the end and carted off to jail? You decide how to end your story!