Man: More than Machine

More Than Machine asks how much of what we do is actually our own, and it does not rush to answer. The show sits on the line between human and automaton, the routines we run without thinking, the systems we build that start running us back, the point where efficiency stops looking like progress and starts looking like something else. The question gets posed through sound and movement, and the audience is left to sit with it.

This show was designed for small bands to be successful. The score includes parts for all instruments, but there is significant doubling across those parts, so any combination of instruments, including less-than-ideal instrumentation, can carry the show in performance.

Randall Standridge's music forms the backbone of the score. Deus Ex Machina, Wrath of the Mechanical Monsters, and Me (reAffirmation) each bring a different color, running from mechanical and imposing to something more personal and resistant. Styx's Mr. Roboto is the moment the audience recognizes instantly, put to work for the concept instead of sitting there as a novelty. Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger carries the most explicitly electronic, machine-coded energy in the book, and reinforces the idea without spelling it out.

The percussion is written around a small section that lives entirely in the pit, which lets fewer students cover more instruments and gives you a wider variety of colors out of the front ensemble. One design recommendation, place that percussion section on the field behind the winds rather than out front, it helps with pulse control.

Every solo in the production is doubled across multiple instruments so you can cast to your strengths. The introduction opens with a solo in mellophone, alto sax, or tenor sax, followed by a flute or clarinet solo. The second movement has another mellophone, alto sax, or tenor sax solo, and that can be the same player or a different one, whatever your band is able to support.

The music:

• Deus Ex Machina (Randall Standridge)
• Wrath of the Mechanical Monsters (Randall Standridge)
• Me (reAffirmation) (Randall Standridge)
• Mr. Roboto (Styx / Dennis DeYoung)
• Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Daft Punk)

This show is rated Medium-Easy, which lines up with a concert grade of roughly 2 to 3. That's an approximation. A featured soloist or small ensemble moment can sit toward the top of that range, while full ensemble sections built around visual impact stay lighter on the musical demand.

The rating leans almost entirely on rhythmic and technical difficulty. Keys and meters are chosen to stay band-friendly and to line up with the phrasing the drill needs, and instrument ranges sit inside the grade window rather than pushing its edges.

Copyright clearances required: Deus Ex Machina (Randall Standridge), Wrath of the Mechanical Monsters (Randall Standridge), Me (reAffirmation) (Randall Standridge), Mr. Roboto (Styx / Dennis DeYoung), Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Daft Punk).