STAR TREK
Creation Entertainment's
Official STAR TREK CONVENTION
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY
March 7-9, 2007
In spite of (or maybe because of) a complete lack of Star Trek on TV (and Battlestar Galactica being on extended leave), my involvement with the Zhang Heng, including the Web Page, graphics and other associated stuff, had me seeking out more involvement in fan related activities. At some point I started looking for conventions, and found this one, a little more than an hour away from me. Nice place to have some fun and show off the Zhang Heng to a (presumably) appreciative audience. I had not been to a Star Trek convention since 1995 so I was pretty hyped.
Friday
I went for the Gold Package: upfront seating, first in line for autographs, Friday evening cabaret, Saturday dessert, etc. and arranged to stay in a nearby Holiday Inn Express. I arrived noon on Friday, just as the weather started to take a turn for the worse.
There were about 1500 seats in the auditorium. Those narrow seats that are made for sitting around round banquet tables, all shoved right next to each other, probably 16 inches of sitting space. If you were next to a person of size (I was) it was a bit uncomfortable. If you were between two of them you would probably suffocate. Gold passes took up first twelve or so rows.
Robin Curtis
First up was Robin Curtis (Saavik from ST Motion Pictures III and IV). She was barely recognizable, larger in appearance than on the screen (usually it is the other way), long mousey brown hair. She is now longer into acting. She said she was never very good at selling herself as an actor, and that nothing she ever did as an actor left her with a feeling of having done something great. She described the process of being directed by Leonard Nimoy in acting Vulcan. Always "less." "David is dead."
She is now a real estate broker in upstate New York. She has spent some time over the past several years working on a sort of autobiographical monologue on sexuality. She read a couple of the non-X-rated portions. I had her autograph one of my flyers to give to one of my colleagues at work whose daughter has renamed herself Saavik. I am not really into collecting autographs, or memorabilia (toys or props that I can use on the Zhang Heng excepted-see below), so even the relatively short waits were not something I planned to do extensively.Max Grodénchik and Chase Masterson
Next up were Max Grodénchik (Rom from Deep Space 9) and Chase Masterson (Leeta from DS). Chase was dressed in a SHORT skirt with fishnet stockings and a revealing, to say the least, neckline. She was HOT. And she knew it. Max opened by asking "How many of you are looking at me?"
They each talked about their present projects. Chase was in a noir/Sci-Fi movie called Yesterday Was A Lie which is now on the festival circuit. Max is involved with a number of projects, none of which I can remember (I was looking at Chase). I did look at Max enough to see how some of his movement, e.g., the way he walked, showed through the character of Rom.
In response to a question about how he felt about how the character of Rom became more lovable as the series went on (he loved it) he describe how the writers after a while would pick up on aspects of the actor's characterization and develop those into the scripts.
Someone asked Chase if there was anything that she kept from the set of DS9. She told of how there was a party on the last day of shooting that went lat into the night. By the time the party was over, Paramount ("the ultimate Ferengi") had already completely disassembled the set to make room for the next project. Everything was gone. One of the staff however located, sitting behind something else, Dr. Bashir's medicine cabinet. They were able to sneak it off the lot, and she took it home. She left it outside on the stairs of her apartment and the next morning her landlady banged on her door, alarmed that something dangerous was outside, and that she had called 911. There were bottles labelled "Toxic Alien Serum" and similar things on the stairs!
I skipped the Ronald Held presentation on "Sublight Propulsion for Relativistic Interstellar Travel" lecture. Have to take some breaks, and I can hear that kind of stuff whenever I visit my daughter, presently an astronomy major at Ohio State University (Where did she get an idea like that?).
I went to the Vendor's area. Probably 20 or so vendors, about half of them selling action figures. Card collections, and autographed photos were the next most frequent, and individual collections of other stuff, including some rather impressive ship models of various scale. The first table when you came in through the door was occupied by Natalia Nogulich (Admiral Alynna Nechayev from TNG), who was there at her own booth, selling autographs and knitting. Next to her were the tables for autographs of the speakers.
The next table behind her held a varied selection of collectibles, mostly one only of each item. My eye caught something that I did not know existed and always wanted: from the campfire scene of Star Trek V: Spock's Marshmelon Replicator.
I snapped that up like a kid in a candy store. I picked up a few other things that I did have on my shopping list like a collar pip, and some Tribbles (cheap homemade ones that squeak when you squeeze them.
Brent Spiner was sitting at his own table selling and autographing his new CD "Dreamland" which I picked up and had autographed for a present.
Dominic (Trip on Enterprise) made a few jokes about how far their careers had fallen that they were now doing Star Trek conventions in New Jersey and talked about his present and recent projects, including Beowulf. In response to a question he described the whole process of motion capture that was used in that film, at least the actor's part of it. He discussed Enterprise a bit, and said that if its demise was to be blamed on someone, that someone would be Rick Berman. He felt that Rick's vision had narrowed, and a lot of good ideas were shot down. He told a joke about being invited to a charity run for spastics and the blind. After much consideration he agreed, thinking "I could win this one."
Richard Arnold (Gene Rodenberry's assistant for many years) spoke next, giving a rundown of most of the major actors' present and recent activities.
Dominic Keating and J. G. Hertzler (Martok from DS9) did some Dudley Moore readings including The One Legged Actor audition. J.G. did a brief Shakespeare monologue.
Max Grodénchik and Armin Shimerman (Quark from DS9) mostly did duos of stuff that Max had written. Armin stated that one of the ways they survived the lengthy Ferengi makeup sessions was listening to Max make up funny Ferengi songs. They sang a few like "Rubber Butthead" in which Armin is looking in the mirror at Quark and lamenting his fate, "Wouldn't It Be Brotherly" which is Rom wanting to displace Quark, and "The Shimerman Can." Max has a CD called Max Tonight which is a collection of these. Very funny for any DS9 fan. I picked up the CD the last day. Armin did a couple of performances from Shakespeare, including the part of Richard III.
Armin closed the show with Puck's closing speech from "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The second day began with J.G. Hertzler. He talked about his family (mostly actors) and his present career teaching acting, mostly to non-theatre majors at Cornell. He moved there from California, and is seriously hating the snow. He talked about the difficulty of delivering famous lines, such as the "All the world's a stage . . ." from As You Like It. Keeping the meter, the historical context, making references understandable to present day audiences, the precedents of prior performances, the space in which you were speaking, as he quoted Patrick Stewart, "made you feel like your head was exploding."
Asked about practical jokes on the set, he said there was not much joking on set of DS9, in contrast to TNG. He felt this was a reflection of the lead: Avery Brooks was all business.
Armin Shimerman talked about teaching and performing Shakespeare. He had tried musical theatre in the past but felt he really couldn't sing. He said that you can see part of his Richard III performance in the character of the Ferengi he played in the first season of TNG. He joked that Shakespeare was easier than musical theatre.
He described one of the worst working conditions he experienced, on the set of The Ascent (Episode 507). Working at altitude the rubber in Ferengi headgear makeup crushed his head and contributed to altitude sickness until he passed out and needed first aid. Complicating that was the fact that, unlike Odo's headgear, it could not just be peeled off in pieces, but had to be carefully removed for re-use.
Rene Auberjonois (Odo, DS9) said although his makeup could be pulled off after each day, he could not eat solids while in makeup. Otherwise there would be more time to repair the makeup.
He talked about his character in Boston Legal. He said he was put there "to make it look like a real law firm" with a crotchety old guy who would come around periodically to enforce order. He and the producers mutually decided to decrease his involvement since the character was not much more than symbolic. Rene will however be in four more episodes of Boston Legal this season.
He said that after the filming of M*A*S*H, he was offered the part of Father Mulcahy on the TV series. He declined because he felt it would seriously curtail his career opportunities to make such a long-term commitment.
He spends time working on wire sculpture among other things.
He did something together with Rene Auberjonois, but I can't remember what it was. I recall it being funny.
During the question period Brent Spiner appeared in the question line, asking in retarded voice parody of a fan: Do they actually take apart your molecules in the transporter or is that some kind of effect?" He brought the house down.
On all three days, the appearances of the actors was separated by music videos, auctions, trivia quizzes, etc. The music videos were of varying quality. They also showed the original Star Trek Bloopers, which I had never actually seen before. The auction items included lots of autographed photos and all the large banners in the place, with a deal to get them autographed. The big banners on each side, autographed by everyone went to $1000 together, though auctioned separately they were bought by the same guy. The hottest items were a framed photo of the five captains, autographed by all five. One went on each day for close to $1000 each. On Saturday there was what looked like a drawing, won by a woman and a man who "happened" to be sitting next to each other, but it turned out to be a public marriage proposal-love letter, on the knees, the ring, "the whole catastrophe."
Brent Spiner talked mostly about the CD and how dear this project is to him. There were questions about playing several roles simultaneously. He said he could really be himself as Lore. In response to my question about seeing himself as an old man in Soong makeup, he said that Milton Berle was going to do that role. He asked to try it, and once he saw himself in the makeup he realized he could do it.
Richard Arnold spoke again, this time about the upcoming Star Trek XI movie. He said that it was a testimony to the quality of the script that Leonard Nimoy was willing to come out of retirement to appear in the film. He said that Leonard appears several times in the film. He said that filming is almost completed, and that extraordinary measures are being taken to keep all details secret. He said that the actors are required to wear hooded raincoats walking from the set to their trailers. On one occassion a helicopter was overhead shooting pictures while they were trying to film.
I entered the contest in TNG blue Starfleet uniform. I asked the tech if he could show slides of the Zhang Heng as I was introduced, but it was not possible, so I brought a framed picture with me, which did not have much impact. I eschewed my pair of grotesque Vulcan ears. Just as well, I did not stand a chance. The winners were an elaborate Klingon female in a gown that had just enough touches to make it Klingon appearing without looking warlike, a Betazoid female of such-and-such of the Fifth House, etc., etc., etc., and two miners with a Horta. They all deserved to win. There were two other Vulcans, and surprisingly no Klingon males. One guy, a sort of ur-Trekkie, was a Jedi knight Starfleet officer.
The Dessert Party with the centerpiece contest was for Gold Pass holders only. Dessert was Haagen Daaz ice cream, fixings, and some small tarts. Armin Schimerman, Rene Auberjenois, and Casey Biggs made appearances. I got to talk to Casey, who asked me if I was selling these cars, and Armin, who drives a Prius. So I gave him the CD with the Trek sound effects for his car.
The winner was awarded on the basis of using original materials, and the theme of linking Britain and New Jersey via Deep Space Nine. (Having Creation's name on it probably didn't hurt either.)
The crowd leapt to its feet on Patrick Stewart's entrance. The entire weekend talk had been buzzing about his Macbeth performance going on at the Brooklyn Academy. He apologized for drinking coffee in front of the audience, since he had done two performances the day before, went out to dinner, and had to leave right after his appearance and signings here to do another performance - and it was the first day of daylight savings time. He had someone on the phone who had never seen an episode of Star Trek, so he asked the audience what would be the best episode to introduce a total newbie to Star Trek. "Inner Light" seemed to be the first choice, although "Darmok" had its advocates.
He confirmed that the production of Macbeth would be moving to Broadway for an 8 week run, then he was going to Stratford to appear with David Tennet who will be playing Hamlet. He remarked that this was the first time that two sci-fi/fantasy actors were able to appear together in a (sold out already) performance of Shakespeare. They will then be taking it to London.
He said that he auditioned for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, but mentioned to Peter Jackson that he didn't like the script. He felt it did not capture the richness of Tolkien's writing. Obviously, he did not get the part.
Brent Spiner again appeared in question line. "Mr. Stewart, I saw your performance of Macbeth the other night and I have a question. At the end of the show they come out holding your head. How did they attach your head back on your body?"
Stewart replied (missing the obvious retort: 'the same way that re-attached yours in Time's Arrow' ) that there would be some merchandising in connection with the Broadway run. Did Brent have any ideas what they should try? Brent replied, "Well those little mustaches of yours would be good."
The autograph session was a huge assembly line with Stewart signing stuff as fast as they could pass it to him. Even so he had to leave early leaving about 100 people stranded. It threatened to get a bit ugly. Folks were allowed to leave things for him to autograph and have Creation send them back to them.
Casey Biggs (the Cardassian legate Damar on DS9) was last. Many people had left after Patrick Stewart's appearance, and they really missed something special. Casey Lives in Greene County, NY and is active in the Greene Arts Council which is now planning a 2009 celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of the Hudson River. He went into a mild-mannered rant against No Child Left Behind, and how the emphasis on passing the tests was gutting schools of their music, art, and theater programs. He felt that a society that was not passing on its culture was headed for serious trouble. He discussed the importance of culture, citing as an example a dance company formed by American soldiers in Iraq.
I asked him a question about whether TV/movie acting brings anything to the stage in the way that Shakespeare and classical acting bring quality and depth to TV. He began by pointing to the chracters on the posters and saying, "The reason that Star Trek persists is that these are characters of Shakespearian propotions." It is unlikely that there will be conventions forty years from now for shows like "ER." His answer to the question was yes: acting in front of the camera teaches you to focus on detail, since the camera does not lie.
During the autograph session, I made sure he has one of my brochures, and offered him the use of the Zhang Heng in any of his efforts to promote the arts, since he lived less than an hour away from me.
The Zhang Heng did not get as much exposure as I would have liked. The parking lot was a three story garage next to the hotel, and the weather was raining heavily the first two days, and bitter cold and windy the third. During the few minutes I was out there, if people noticed, they really got into it, and loved the sound effects, lights, and design. I got one marriage proposal.
I popped Brent Spiner's CD into the car CD player on the way home, making it a fun and wonderful ride home, instead of a driving chore.
In the course of the weekend I really got to see the performers as artists, and not just as celebrities. Hearing about their post-Trak lives and project really gave them some depth. Seeing them up close made me want to view some episodes of DS9 again, to see the actors coming through the characters.
In response to Casey Biggs' statement, I thought that if the characters of star Trek were of Shakespearean proportions it was the producers, directors, writers and actors that made them that way. Willie Shaksper was not around to write Star Trek. As has been pointed out elsewhere, I'm sure, science fiction offers a much larger canvas for artists to work with. Not being bound by present or past reality or limitation allows creativity to take many more directions, and for issues to be magnified. The dilemma of which patient to save on ER becomes a choice between saving a planet or starship. The stakes can be much higher. HOW one handles all this power is the difference between great writing and trash.