The Wayne State College Color Guard team is set to have open auditions on April 13 in the Rice Auditorium from 1 to 4 p.m.  

Color Guard co-captains, Kylie Cautrell and Taylor Hartenhoff, will host the final round of auditions for the 2024-25 Color Guard season.  

“I think anybody that’s relatively interested at all, even if you just want to come to auditions to see what it’s about, should and could come,” Cautrell said. “Some good things to bring to tryouts would be a water bottle and comfortable clothes.  

“Just be prepared to meet new people and try new things,” Cautrell said. “An open mind would be the best thing you could bring.”  

Color Guard auditions will consist of two main activities. A small routine will be taught to whoever is auditioning, and an audition video must be filmed in which potential new members video themselves doing the routine with someone else. Decisions are based slightly on the audition process.  

“It’s more so what can you bring to the guard, how quickly can you learn the material, and do you have the time commitment to be a part of it,” Cautrell said. 

WSC Color Guard performs at a higher caliber than high school.   

“When I came in, I definitely felt like I had a lot of experience until I saw what we were doing,” Cautrell said. “I was a bit intimidated but after getting to know the people on the guard, they teach you everything you need to know.”  

Color Guard takes a good amount of time out of one’s schedule in the fall, especially at the beginning of the semester. Joshua Calkin, the band director at WSC, is the sponsor of the Color Guard.  

“He does a good job of supporting and advocating for us when needed,” Cautrell said. “We perform with the band during halftime at football games and before the games. We also have a couple of performances throughout the year at pep rallies and groundbreaking ceremonies, and we do field marching and parade marching.”  

Reagan Fries, a cheerleader on the WSC cheerleading team, highlights Color Guard and what it’s like having them apart of the campus community.  

“Both groups bring a visual to the game that allows excitement from the crowd,” Fries said.  

“I feel like as the pride of Wayne State, Color Guard is a big part of celebrations,” Cautrell said. “It’s something that Wayne State’s known for and it’s something that the community typically enjoys.”