Cheslee Morgan is member of the Santa Clara Vanguard color guard and the independent world class guard Invictus. We got the chance to ask her a few questions about her career in guard and what it has meant to her.

FloMarching: How did you get into color guard?

Cheslee Morgan: Honestly I joined color guard because of my brother Riley (still one of my biggest supporters today). He was going to be a senior in band and I wanted to do something that we could do together to hang out and bond. Plus, I had watched all of his marching shows prior to me joining and I only ever really watched the color guard because I could never tell which one he was. So I decided to try out for the color guard at my high school. 

My first day of auditions was so incredibly fun that I came home at around 9 PM. It was completely dark outside, but I wanted to show my parents what I had learned because I thought it was just the coolest thing ever. Granted, I probably wasn't doing any of it correctly. And from there I fell in love with the activity more and more.

Where have you marched and why did you select those ensembles to audition for?

I marched four years at Claudia Taylor Johnson High School (2011-15) and three summers at the Santa Clara Vanguard (2015-17). With two more summers left, I filled a hole in 2016 at Spirit Independent and Invictus 2017 and 2018. 

I originally auditioned at Bluecoats in 2013 and didn't receive a spot. After that point, I felt really discouraged and I didn't really want to audition for drum corps again because I didn't want to feel failure again. But then that same year in the summer, I went to watch my friend Sam at SCV rehearse in San Antonio, and just one rehearsal chunk gave me goosebumps and I knew after that moment that that was where I needed to be and where I needed to go. 

So the following year and a half I practiced three-plus hours every single day and started to take basic dance classes because I wanted to be there so bad. I auditioned and received a spot in 2015, and it's been my home ever since.

After the summer of 2016, I felt kinda lost. I didn't really want to do color guard anymore. I lost the passion I once had for it. But I heard that there was a new winter guard opening in Austin, and a bunch of my friends were going to the auditions, and I knew all of the staff, so I was like "why not?" I had no intention of marching. I just thought that I would have some fun with my friends and try to make my "last" color guard experience a fun one. 

I wish I could fully explain how magical that weekend was. I remember getting really emotional because I had rediscovered color guard again. I was in love with the program as a whole and I knew there was no way I could turn down a contract if I received one. And I received one! And the reason I am still here at Invictus and still marching is that it's just right. I feel like this is the place I fit in the most.

Tell us about what it was like for you to perform Pure last year with Invictus?

Performing Pure was such a different experience. It was honestly pretty amazing. It was another-worldly kind of show to perform. We'd pull out the floor and I'd hear the crowd cheering, and then after that I wouldn't remember any reaction from the crowd until we finished the show. It was so weird to be 100 percent involved in everything I was doing and forgetting that other people are there watching me. Adding the water to our show added a whole other level of focus to the show. Not only did you have to think about the color guard aspect, but you were focused on keeping your balance and whether or not your equipment was going to slip out of your hands.

After we got in the car accident on the way to Dayton, performing the show together meant so much more than tossing and catching. It was our way of saying to each other how glad we were that we were all OK and that we were all alive and nothing could ever take away what it was like to perform it for the last time. We even said to each other a couple hours after it had happened that we had come too far to tuck our tails and run. We had gone through so much together and we just needed to put the period at the end of the sentence and perform the show.

What was going through your mind the first time you tried a run using the water?

I remember very specifically the first time that we used water in rehearsal. Why? Because I was the first one to face-plant (yes, literal face-to-bench action) into the benches and bruise my ankle and shin. We were told to be careful and just see what it felt like to be in the water and I was trying to go full out to see what I could do and obviously that didn't work out well in that situation. That is always the first thing that pops into my head when someone asks me if it was hard to perform in the water.

What are some of the differences between performing in DCI vs. WGI?

One of the biggest differences in performing in DCI versus WGI is the feeling of "the real world." In drum corps, you're there for three months, doing the same thing every day. The only thing you really have to worry about it keeping your flag in time and what they are going to feed you that night. You never have to really think about anything outside of drum corps. So it's nice because it's like going on vacation for three months where you get really skinny and tan. 

Winter guard is different because you only get to go to your "fantasy world" or "vacation spot" on the weekends. You have to focus on other real-world things during the week like school and grocery shopping and your job and stuff like that.

What's your favorite piece of equipment to work with and why?

My favorite piece of equipment is hands down flag. People always make fun of me for saying this because I always end up getting put on weapon but flag is my piece of equipment. I feel way more expressive and I love how the color and design of the flag adds to the show concept. It is my go-to piece of equipment if I just want to play around.

If you aren't "feeling it" during rehearsal, what do you do to pick yourself up?

When I'm not "feeling it" during rehearsal, it's hard for me to pull myself out of it by myself. Invictus is such a great place though, that the people pull me out of my rut — without fail, every single time. Again, we work hard and we play harder. Just looking around and being with the people I love, and laughing with the people that I love instantly gets me out of any bad mood that I'm in.

What advice would you give the young guard performers out there about practicing?

The advice I'd give to young performers is don't give up. And I know that sounds cheesy and cliche. But seriously, if I gave up when I wanted to I would have never made it past my second year in color guard (I'm in year seven now by the way). It's going to be frustrating sometimes — trust me I know. But never let that break your spirit. Fighting to get something keeps building and building onto your character and your skill sets follow. 

Sooner or later, you'll be able to do everything you go out and try to achieve. If you ever think, "Oh, I won't make it here," or "Oh, I'm not good enough," you're only holding yourself back. The more time you spend telling yourself that you won't be able to do something, the less time you spend actually doing it. And maybe you won't make it somewhere. That's OK! I would have never found my home at Invictus and at SCV if I never got cut from Bluecoats in 2013. Anything is possible if you want it bad enough. Go get it!