When the bell rings at 3:40 p.m., junior Kelly Curry rushes to her car to go to Marching Pride Practice at Lawrence Central. She is one of the drum majors and has to set up before practice begins at 4:30 p.m., depending on the day. She has to get out the podiums and the sound systems and speakers. They also make sure everything is unlocked for the directors.

Because of her position, it’s important that Curry get there early to fulfill her responsibilities.

“Since I am drum major, we have to set up 30 minutes in advance, so that’s kind of rough for me sometimes because I’m here (at LN) and most of the time our practices are at LC,’’ Curry said.

Curry is one of three drum majors managing around 160 members in total. Holding such a high position, a lot of responsibility hangs on her shoulders .

“You are the time. Basically, we are what they look at though every show, like time in the back when we rehearse, but when we perform they have to look at us or they’ll either fall behind or just tear the whole show . We just have to make sure we’re on our A-game and make sure if someone slips, we catch them and make sure they get back on time,” Curry said.

The practices usually last two to three hours after school, on weekends for about seven hours. Throughout the summer, they average around 15 hours a week. During their practice, they work on their formations, make sure they’re in beat with the songs, and make sure everything flows together.

“They’re pretty hard. We’re doing physical activity nonstop, and when we’re not,we’re inside playing our instruments the whole time,” senior Anna Warnke said.

Starting in June, summer practices are integral to the basis of the show. Followed with nearly 14 hour weeks in July, these practices are where the bulk of the work is done.

“We get most of our stuff done during that time, so the practices during school aren’t as long, but we’re just trying to make sure we perfect what we’re creating,” Curry said.

To ensure the best show they can put on, the long hours are put in use with the intention to continue making improvements. According to MPLT, practice makes perfect.

“We need to be the best that we can be, we just need to be constantly improving,” junior Patrick Allison said.

This year, the band has a jazz-based theme inspired by New Orleans 1920s era. In comparison to previous years, the theme is unique to anything they’ve done before.

“It’s unique. No one has ever done a jazz theme show before. Everyone usually does, classical, nothing out of the ordinary,” Curry said.

With the shows inherent uniqueness, it also offers a special challenge when perfecting the performance and expressing the theme to the best of their ability.

“I feel great about it. I feel like it’s something very unique that we can test our abilities on,” Allison said.

The MPLT members and staff have spent many hours together and have formed close bonds.

“We’re all like a big family. There’s some conflicts but we have this sense where we all just work together to achieve a common goal,” Warnke said.

For many, MPLT acts as a home outside of home. The close relationships built under the marching band make the long practice hours and lengthy competitions all worth it.

“I love it. I meet new friends, and I wouldn’t be living the life I am now if it wasn’t for Marching Pride,” Allison said.