// Staff Bus — Show Design

Building the Show

Everything between "I have an idea" and the last show in October.

Last updated July 2026
Your Show Starts Before You Pick the Music
  • The 200-Hour Band: Designing for the Time You Actually Have
  • How I Know a Show Concept Is Ready
  • Competitive and Entertaining Are Not the Same Thing

Primary articles

More show-design conversations →

About the author

Dr. Ryan J. Williams (DMA) is a composer and marching band show designer with two decades in the band room and fourteen years in the U.S. Army Reserve. He has designed shows for programs of every size across the country's competitive circuits.

Want another set of eyes on your show?

Tell me what you're considering, what your band does well, and where you're worried the design may outrun the students.

Send me what you're planning →

Have another problem you're working on?

Tell me what is happening in your program. I read every submission. Questions that come up repeatedly may become future Staff Bus articles, videos, or resources.

From My Binder
Starting next year's show?

Tell me where to send the timeline and complete design brief. Fill it out before your first serious conversation with a designer, including me.

Show Design Timeline

How long the show design process actually takes, so you're starting that conversation early enough in the season instead of too late.

Download the Show Design Timeline →