CONvergence! (The Long Version)
Now that I’ve gotten over most of the post-convention buzz, it’s high time to write about it. Done in bits and pieces, of whatever I deem proper to organize it as.
Shit, these were so much fun. I went to five panels overall: Two on Doctor Who (which get a post to themselves, along with the fandom-y thoughts that started brewing), one on Sherlock Holmes, one on Cricket, and one on the Fringe Festival. The last one is the most notable, as I’m working with the Minnesota Fringe Festival over the summer, as a way to keep busy and get money and whatnot. Part of my job, then, was to make sure I went to the panel when I was at the convention.
My official instructions were just to ‘help out.” I approached the panel a few minutes before it started and introduced myself, saying that I was an intern, I was told to come, and did they want me to do anything? And, the Fringe (and CONvergence) being a pretty chill place, they invited me up onto the panel. Naturally, I accepted.
It was pretty funny to have me up there, though. I was sitting on the far end of the table, and was the last one to introduce myself. So it was all “I’m such-and-such an actor/writer/producer, been with the Fringe for eight years” and “I’ve done sixteen shows” and whatnot, until I went and said “Hi, I’m Graham. I’m an intern.” Whenever there was a question about volunteering or about how the Fringe actually worked, the Panelists would just turn and face me. Good times were had by all, though!
As for the other panels? Sherlock Holmes was okay. It seemed to me to mostly be oldschoolish fans trying to not step on toes too much. I did meet some awesome Holmes/Watson cosplayers, though. They were genderswapped, and I kept on running into them over the course of the convention.
The last panel I went to was “Paul Cornell Explains Cricket to Americans.” It was as amusing as it was informative, and I very much want to play the game now, or at least watch it.
Holy shit, guys. Cosplay is fucking awesome. I’m not going to list every awesome costume I’ve seen, because that’d take a long, long while. However, a few things to note:
--I saw a surprisingly large number of people dressed as Carmen Sandiego, as well as Indiana Jones.
--Very few people recognized me as the Master; most flocked to the Dalek Dress. This quickly became a running gag amongst my friends.
--Good deal of steampunk
--Though it’s not cosplay, the Mistress of Ceremonies at the Masquerade was stunning. I’ve mentioned before that there are few things I find more attractive than a woman in men’s formalwear. When said woman is leggy, ginger, and has a red frock coat? It’s flat-out cheating.
--Pictures can be found here. There are many good ones.
Incidentally, a friend of mine (not a con-attendee) said that I pulled off the Master very, very well. I did receive several compliments about my manic grin and laugh, which made me happy.
I’ve mentioned him a couple times, and he definitely deserves a place on this recap to himself. Paul Cornell is a British author who has done extensive work with Doctor Who. He’s mostly known for working on the Extended Universe, and creating the character Bernice Summerfield. (I have not, sadly, read his work yet). However, he has written for the show proper, in particular the stories “Father’s Day” and “Human Nature/Family of Blood,” which are both very, very good. (Personally, I believe that HM/FoB is in the top ten that the show has ever done). I didn’t fully realize who he was until I did some reading up at the convention itself, but after that, I knew that I wanted to meet him.
And meet him I did, on the last full day of the convention I was there for! He was doing autographs and whatnot, but it was at the tail end of his ‘shift,’ so he was mostly talking to the people actually working at the convention. I stood on the other end of the hall, pretending to be examining the big ‘ol schedule they had up. I was nervous as hell-I mean, how was I going to start the conversation? I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but didn’t know what to say, really. And somehow, I had the feeling that the grand speeches I was writing in my head wouldn’t cut it.
One of my friends, thankfully, came to the rescue. Cat passed my way and asked what I was doing. When I admitted how nervous I was, she put her arm around my shoulder and led me over to his table. We wound up having a great ten/fifteen minute conversation-about Doctor Who, costuming, the panel he’d been on, and the like. It really was great. He was adorkable and awesome and all sorts of polite.
And then, later that night, I attended his panel about playing cricket. Which was even more awesome.
Really? When I die, I want to go to a science fiction/fantasy convention. It was just awesome. Awesome. Seeing old friends, going with good friends, meeting new friends? There was always somebody to talk to, always people that I could hang out with, chatting until two in the morning. At the same time, though, it was big enough that if I needed to get lost for a while, needed to be on my own? I could do it.
My favorite time of day was during the evening, when the Party Rooms were all open. It also helped that the Space Lounge was really swinging, there, and there were always people about and good drinks to be had. Also, the party rooms were awesome. I got a slushee at Mos Eisley’s, milk shots at Milliway’s, tea at the Tea Place, and just sort of hung out, otherwise.
Of course, during the evenings were also when the occasional funk came in, and I just felt sort of useless and whatnot. But they usually didn’t last too long.
SUMMARY AND STATISTICS:
Books Bought: One
In-character Arguments Had: At least three.
Random Makeout Sessions: Zero
Dances Learned: One
Mottos for the Weekend: “Where the hell is my camera?” “Wait, you’re how old?”
Times the Master Photobombed Somebody: Too many to fucking count
Until Next Year!
Shit, these were so much fun. I went to five panels overall: Two on Doctor Who (which get a post to themselves, along with the fandom-y thoughts that started brewing), one on Sherlock Holmes, one on Cricket, and one on the Fringe Festival. The last one is the most notable, as I’m working with the Minnesota Fringe Festival over the summer, as a way to keep busy and get money and whatnot. Part of my job, then, was to make sure I went to the panel when I was at the convention.
My official instructions were just to ‘help out.” I approached the panel a few minutes before it started and introduced myself, saying that I was an intern, I was told to come, and did they want me to do anything? And, the Fringe (and CONvergence) being a pretty chill place, they invited me up onto the panel. Naturally, I accepted.
It was pretty funny to have me up there, though. I was sitting on the far end of the table, and was the last one to introduce myself. So it was all “I’m such-and-such an actor/writer/producer, been with the Fringe for eight years” and “I’ve done sixteen shows” and whatnot, until I went and said “Hi, I’m Graham. I’m an intern.” Whenever there was a question about volunteering or about how the Fringe actually worked, the Panelists would just turn and face me. Good times were had by all, though!
As for the other panels? Sherlock Holmes was okay. It seemed to me to mostly be oldschoolish fans trying to not step on toes too much. I did meet some awesome Holmes/Watson cosplayers, though. They were genderswapped, and I kept on running into them over the course of the convention.
The last panel I went to was “Paul Cornell Explains Cricket to Americans.” It was as amusing as it was informative, and I very much want to play the game now, or at least watch it.
Holy shit, guys. Cosplay is fucking awesome. I’m not going to list every awesome costume I’ve seen, because that’d take a long, long while. However, a few things to note:
--I saw a surprisingly large number of people dressed as Carmen Sandiego, as well as Indiana Jones.
--Very few people recognized me as the Master; most flocked to the Dalek Dress. This quickly became a running gag amongst my friends.
--Good deal of steampunk
--Though it’s not cosplay, the Mistress of Ceremonies at the Masquerade was stunning. I’ve mentioned before that there are few things I find more attractive than a woman in men’s formalwear. When said woman is leggy, ginger, and has a red frock coat? It’s flat-out cheating.
--Pictures can be found here. There are many good ones.
Incidentally, a friend of mine (not a con-attendee) said that I pulled off the Master very, very well. I did receive several compliments about my manic grin and laugh, which made me happy.
I’ve mentioned him a couple times, and he definitely deserves a place on this recap to himself. Paul Cornell is a British author who has done extensive work with Doctor Who. He’s mostly known for working on the Extended Universe, and creating the character Bernice Summerfield. (I have not, sadly, read his work yet). However, he has written for the show proper, in particular the stories “Father’s Day” and “Human Nature/Family of Blood,” which are both very, very good. (Personally, I believe that HM/FoB is in the top ten that the show has ever done). I didn’t fully realize who he was until I did some reading up at the convention itself, but after that, I knew that I wanted to meet him.
And meet him I did, on the last full day of the convention I was there for! He was doing autographs and whatnot, but it was at the tail end of his ‘shift,’ so he was mostly talking to the people actually working at the convention. I stood on the other end of the hall, pretending to be examining the big ‘ol schedule they had up. I was nervous as hell-I mean, how was I going to start the conversation? I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but didn’t know what to say, really. And somehow, I had the feeling that the grand speeches I was writing in my head wouldn’t cut it.
One of my friends, thankfully, came to the rescue. Cat passed my way and asked what I was doing. When I admitted how nervous I was, she put her arm around my shoulder and led me over to his table. We wound up having a great ten/fifteen minute conversation-about Doctor Who, costuming, the panel he’d been on, and the like. It really was great. He was adorkable and awesome and all sorts of polite.
And then, later that night, I attended his panel about playing cricket. Which was even more awesome.
Really? When I die, I want to go to a science fiction/fantasy convention. It was just awesome. Awesome. Seeing old friends, going with good friends, meeting new friends? There was always somebody to talk to, always people that I could hang out with, chatting until two in the morning. At the same time, though, it was big enough that if I needed to get lost for a while, needed to be on my own? I could do it.
My favorite time of day was during the evening, when the Party Rooms were all open. It also helped that the Space Lounge was really swinging, there, and there were always people about and good drinks to be had. Also, the party rooms were awesome. I got a slushee at Mos Eisley’s, milk shots at Milliway’s, tea at the Tea Place, and just sort of hung out, otherwise.
Of course, during the evenings were also when the occasional funk came in, and I just felt sort of useless and whatnot. But they usually didn’t last too long.
SUMMARY AND STATISTICS:
Books Bought: One
In-character Arguments Had: At least three.
Random Makeout Sessions: Zero
Dances Learned: One
Mottos for the Weekend: “Where the hell is my camera?” “Wait, you’re how old?”
Times the Master Photobombed Somebody: Too many to fucking count
Until Next Year!