“The Hamilton Project”

The Tarpon Springs Leadership Conservatory for the Arts (TSLCA), as with all other performing arts programs in the nation, was greatly impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic due to so many cancellations of events for the safety of our students and their families. The Hamilton Project was an advocacy initiative created to encourage the continuity of the Conservatory in a safe environment that brought hope and inspiration to our Tarpon Springs school and surrounding communities in the program’s most ambitious undertaking in its history.

The purpose of The Hamilton Project was directly related to preparing the students to become the best versions of themselves by hard work and perseverance. This allows the students to put into practice a wide variety of leadership skills while maintaining a high level of competition. The project, which lasted 40 minutes with 2 acts, was inspired by the Broadway musical and gave students the opportunity to perform safely and involve their communities by sharing their talents through this production. It gave the students, families, and members of the surrounding communities a sense of normalcy and celebration when all else appeared to have stopped in the performing arts.

Although many surrounding communities became a part of our focus after we were prepared to share our show, the initial target audience of our advocacy initiative was the Tarpon Springs Outdoor Performance Ensemble, which is the name given to all the student performers and staff that are a part of the marching band in the TSLCA. The performers include both musicians and color guard members. They were the focus because we wanted to provide continuity for the program while we saw that our annual events and competitions were canceled. Our focus was to provide this opportunity to students in a year that was not only challenging, but also unstable in a variety of ways.

The timeline for the Hamilton Project was approximately 6 months, which was the range of time that we would normally have for our marching season from summer to the end of fall. This included 3-4 months of practice time, which continued as we began performing for audiences. The performance lasted about 3 months as well, which included 2-3 performances a week.

The staff of the TSLCA, led by Director Kevin Ford, was involved in the planning of The Hamilton Project along with a group of talented instructors. The TSOPE has a very intense schedule, meeting 4 times a week for practice, for a total of 26 hours minimum per week outside of their regular school schedules. The Band Booster program, which is the non-profit organization made up of all band and guard parents and guardian volunteers, also provided an incredible support to the project by building the props and stage used for the show, as well as the costumes, fundraising, first aid, chaperones, ticket sales, promotions, and more. The Band Boosters would spend a minimum of 26 hours a week in various roles. The Project also incorporated new members from the TSLCA’s choral and theater productions, which was an incredible addition to the show.

The TSLCA has their facilities located on the Tarpon Springs High School campus, but also has a warehouse space as part of their Band Boosters program where the volunteers build and store all props and other materials used in their program. In addition, the Band room also has a separate uniform room where costumes and band uniforms and accessories are stored. The auditorium was still under construction the year of The Hamilton Project, so our practices and all our performances were held in the football stadium, which is an open, outdoor field. The instruments in their majority are provided by Pinellas County Schools. Precautions for COVID-19 were written into the design of the production using all CDC and Pinellas County School’s guidelines.

TSLCA had a great publicity opportunity with Tampa Bay’s ABC Action News, as well as Tampa Bay Newswire, where they interviewed our Band Director, Mr. Kevin Ford, and talked about our program and The Hamilton Project. There were also several student leadership members that expanded the promotions into YouTube and Social Media, driving great interest and aiding in the selection process for the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, where we were selected to and will participate this year.

As a parent booster volunteer, I do not have access to this financial information for the year 2020.

The challenges and obstacles were abundant, since we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several students that got sick and had to quarantine. This proved to be a challenge for other performers, where they needed to adjust to fill in those gaps during the show. Florida has very inconsistent weather as well, which proved to be an obstacle as we needed to practice in harsh conditions. It is important to note that TSOPE followed all COVID-19 guidelines during all times, which minimized student and staff absences during the season.

The Hamilton Project was a huge success that can be measured in multiple ways. There are currently over 3.5K views of the show on YouTube, as well as the many in-person sold-out shows we hosted on campus. We were selected to and will participate in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade because of this project, where we will represent the great state of Florida.

The Hamilton Project was a critical factor in the selection of the TSOPE to participate in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It also provided an opportunity for our students to continue with their music education and leadership skills without interruption. Every performance was sold out during the entire season, providing funds for our program, as well as strengthening the relationship between our community and our school. The Hamilton Project was a show that was necessary in a time where there were so many venues that were closed and programs that suffered many losses. It taught the students about empathy, patience, and, most of all, perseverance and grit through difficult times.

Our advice would be to involve the Band Boosters, as it provided direct parent/guardian support for the program and is a critical part of any student led program. It is also very important to involve the community by providing opportunities to share the program through multiple exciting events.