Going to the Con (BEDA 14)

OMG TODAY WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!

So, I got up at 8AM, got dressed, etc., had a nice breakfast, and met my friend Hannah to get on a train at 9AM to go downtown to the Con. After an hour, we were nearly at our stop, and we turned around and saw people clearly also going to the con. We ended up chatting and walking with them from the train station to the convention center, where we ended up splitting off from that group because Hannah had to pick up her pass.

Right when we got to the top of the escalator, there were two people dressed as Doctors from Doctor Who. One was dressed as 10 and the other as 11. We took pictures with them. Then we took pictures with a Storm Trooper and had a chance to explore the exhibition floor. It was ENORMOUS!! I think we probably spent a few hours walking through over the course of the day and still didn't see everything (though we saw the same things a few times).

At 11:30 (though we went over earlier), we went to John Barrowman's panel. He plays Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and Torchwood, is a musical theatre actor, and writes books with his sister. He was hilarious when he spoke. He is quite openly gay and feels that his status gives him the opportunity to be an example to young people and a platform for advocacy for equality. He talked about that a little, but mostly made sex jokes and flirted with everyone. I think he was in character, but he was so genuinely nice and funny that any acting is forgiven. They ushered him away and up to the autographing area very quickly, so I didn't have a chance to meet/photograph with him. My favorite part was when he sang. He sang Anything Goes by himself, and then one guy asked him for advice in pursuing a MT career, and he asked if the he was any good, so the asker started singing John's song, "The Doctor and I," based on "The Wizard and I" (reworked with Stephen Schwartz himself), and then that same song was his exit music, but he ended up demanding the mic be turned back on and sang with the recording. It was a fantastic session.

After that, we hurried up to the fourth floor of the convention center for Nicholas Brendon's Q&A. We got there at the end of the pre-chosen questions, and the audience asked some pretty great things. It seems that Nick hasn't done much work since Buffy since that's what most people were asking about. I mean, it was a 7 season show where he was a pretty integral character. I know he's the one I always wanted to hug. I asked him about his most memorable fight choreography, and he said his favorite was the fight with Harmony. It's a good one :)

When that panel ended, we got lunch and walked around the exhibition floor. Then we played Humans vs. Zombies, which is a game where humans tie a scarf on their arm and the zombies wear it on their heads. The zombies are trying to turn the humans into zombies by tagging them and also capture two flags guarded by the humans in order to win the game. To defend themselves, the humans have sock grenades that make the zombies need to run back to their side, tag a chair, and then they re-spawn. The zombies always win, but I liked playing as a human because first you get to throw socks at people then you get to be a zombie. It's really playing both parts when you get down to analyzing the game. It was a lot of fun. What do we want? BRAINS! When do we want them? BRAINS!!!!

We caught the end of a Quidditch game, moderated by the International Quidditch Association, and then went back up to the exhibition floor where there was a stage. There was a "Puppet Meltdown" on that stage, and we had front row seats. We also had delicious ice cream. It was quite a good puppet slam. The sketches were of Larry Potter, Harry's 11-year-old cousin; improvised object theatre; a singing direct contact puppet; and some cute videos.

We had a few hours until the last panel we felt compelled to see, and Hannah suggested we go to the Chad Michael Murray panel just because he's mainstream famous. We weren't really interested until we got there. He is actually a really solidly good guy who is passionate about what he does and is very spiritual. Kind of a hippie, actually. I raised my hand during his Q&A, but he kept calling on people on the other side of the room. Finally, when he had been given the signal that he had time for only one more question, he said, "You've been raising your hand for a long time. Ask your question." to me! I stood up and said that I heard him mention taking theatre classes, so what kind of classes were they and did he think he would steer his career toward play writing or stage acting in the future? He thoughtfully said that he had never thought about writing a play, so if it ever happens, let it be known that I PLANTED THE IDEA!!!! He did say that he did not grow up in the theatre world, so he would like to act on stage at some point.

His panel ended at 5 and he was set to return to the show floor at 5:30, so we explored some more, and then creeped on his signing area and took pictures of him. I wanted to thank him for answering my question, but we were told that we couldn't talk to him unless we bought his book and got on line, so we were satisfied with our distant fan activities.

Around 6 we got sandwiches for dinner, and as we were getting up to go do something else, we were invited to join a game of D&D. I've been wanting to learn how to play for months now, and Hannah didn't mind, so we joined four other people and made up some characters. Everyone was playing as animals, so my character was Penelope the Puppy-Sized Elephant. Her stats were 3 Strength, 1 Quickness, 2 Smarts, and 4 Moxie. Description: Penelope has the strength of a full-size elephant, but has the added advantage of everyone loving her cuteness. She enjoys swimming, running, ice cream, and butterflies. People always like taking pictures with Penelope, so she makes friends easily.

The other characters were a smart and strong chimpanzee, a stubborn owl, a roach, and Bubu the Classy Bunny. We were sent through the sewers of Fluffistan to recover stolen government secrets. However, our game was cut off by the exhibition room closing at 7 before we could finish the story. I would love to see what happens, but all of Penelope's actions came down to her being extremely adorable. I mean, it is the evolutionary advantage of the puppy-sized elephant, but I'll have to be less one-dimensional next time I play an RPG.

The very last thing we did was go to the Starkid panel. However, on our way out of the exhibition room, we saw the Starkids casually chatting with Sean Astin in the autographing area! Creeper photos were taken. Oh, we also stole looks at John Barrowman during his signing times as we walked past throughout the day. If only it didn't cost $40 for him to write his name on an object!

We got to the line outside the panel room about 30 minutes early and chatted with the person behind us. Then we got seats in the fifth row. The Starkids entered in their costumes from Holy Musical B@man!, showed us a behind the scenes video, and then started answering questions. The choreographer for the show went to my university, and I said so while asking where they find their techies and designers. It was a good question, and it seems that they just pick them up. I would love nothing more than to be an assistant electrician on their next show, but that is definitely dreaming.

Anyway, a few minutes in, Sean Astin entered wearing one of their costumes from the show! It was amazing because everyone in the room, especially the Starkids, was fangirling about his presence. He was so cool!!! The Q&A went great, they sang the Super-friends song, and then did some more signing in the room. Meanwhile, Sean Astin was kind enough to take pictures with fans outside the panel room. It was an amazing opportunity and I was so happy that he was generous enough to do that at the end of his long day. After that photo op, I went thorough the line with Hannah and we talked to the Starkids. Lauren Lopez will forever remember me (if she remembers anyone at all) as the girl who she laughed at for getting whacked in the face with a poster. I hope she remembers. They were all so nice and I was so happy to meet them! I even got pics with Jeff Blim, Brian Holden, and Jamie Lynn Beatty.

All in all, it was a most amazing day. I got a free sci-fi book, bought a Mockingjay decal and six buttons, made some new friends, and saw people who in my eyes are some of the most awesome celebrities out there.

Today is awesome because there is no other word worthy to describe it. Except maybe supermegafoxyawesomehot.