DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '24 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '02 II => Topic started by: Craig_Slocum on July 02, 2002, 11:44:59 PM

Title: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Craig_Slocum on July 02, 2002, 11:44:59 PM: Hi Everyone,

Here's what I have to report about the Dark Shadows Festival 2002, held at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, CA. I really liked the location, very nice place! I didn't go to Disneyland on Friday, I went out to the swimming pool and spent a relaxing time over there. It was a fun weekend, nice seeing the Dark Shadows stars, and my friends again, plus meeting new people. I met Minja, Julia99, Teresa, Midnite, Henry, and others who I can't remember their names, sorry! ProfStokes was the first person I met up with, and later on, Bobubas. Good to see you again! I bought some neat stuff from the dealers' room. I'm wearing a t-shirt I bought. I talked with Jay Nass who sells Dark Shadows Photos. He was one of those lucky fans who went to the studio while Dark Shadows was being filmed, and took lots of great photos, and got autographs, including Craig Slocum's. I have photos that I bought from him. He told me about the times he saw Craig at the studio. I enjoyed hearing about it. At the Festival, I was lucky to get autographs and pics taken with all the Dark Shadows stars in attendance. I don't have my pics yet, but will update my Cheryl's Dark Shadows Website soon, and you all can see them there, hopefully the pics will turn out good! Some of the stars who were scheduled to attend, were unable to be there. Lara Parker's son got married on the weekend, so she of course was at the wedding instead. It was announced that Diana Millay couldn't attend because of weather conditions in New York. Her plane was struck by lightning while still on the ground (luckily), so that fouled up her travel plans, glad she is okay! It was nice to see Kathryn Leigh Scott, Marie Wallace, Roger Davis, David Selby, John Karlen, Christopher Pennock, and Dennis Patrick again, and also meeting Robert Rodan for the first time. I am not good at remembering things in detail, so I will just share what I liked most. Friday 6/28 - My Favorite DS Bloopers with Kathryn Leigh Scott, The Best Of Willie Loomis with John Karlen, Sat. 6/29 - Remembering Louis Edmonds, Guests: Roger Davis, Jeanne Avery, David Selby, DS Cast Reunion, Sun. 6/30 - DS Fan Videos (these were hilarious!), DS 35th Anniversary Tribute video with Dan Curtis & Cast, DS Video Vault (I provided a video of a film of Craig Slocum's called, "Is This Love?" (1957) he was 17 years old), Guests: Robert Rodan, Chris Pennock, Marie Wallace, Dennis Patrick, DS Dramatic Showcase with John Karlen and Kathryn Leigh Scott. I lucked out in the autograph sessions, I got em all and didn't have to wait in long lines, can't wait to see and share the pics! The Banquet With The Stars on Sunday evening was a delicious dinner, door prizes, videos, and a nice farewell. There was no star at my table, but I sat with ProfStokes, which was nice. Midnite was at the table behind us. On Sunday morning, Richard Halpern of the Collinsport Players was on stage and asked the fans who were wearing special t- shirts to go up so everyone could see them. I wore Craig Slocum t-shirts all weekend, special shirts that I had made for the Festival, so I went up and showed off the one I was wearing of Craig as Harry Johnson. I don't remember what Richard Halpern said other than something about Craig Slocum as Harry Johnson. I was laughing so hard. I never thought I would ever go on stage! Midnite snapped a picture of it. That was my moment of fame with Craig Slocum at the Dark Shadows Festival. He lives on in memory! It was a fun weekend but went by so quick as always. I plan on and hope to make it to New York next year, and I hope that those of you who didn't get to go can make it there next year as well. I had a great time. I'm looking forward to reading others reports too and seeing their pics! :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 03, 2002, 04:11:38 AM: Hello,
I finally made it home from California. Minja and I stayed an extra day and hung out at the hotel. Monday evening we had a farewell cocktail and Dawn and her daughter joined us. It was nice.
I had a terrific time at the fest. Not one specific thing that I can mention ( except John Karlan joining me at my table while I ate breakfast :o). That was fun.
Prof Stokes was fab in the costume gala and brought down the house with her song. I was so proud of her.
Friday night was spent at the piano ( Ben in charge of that) having a great time with quite a few from the board.
I did a little volunteering again this year and enjoyed that. It is a great way to meet people. Cheryl bought a calender while I was working.
I got to chat with Vlad more this year and he is a great person. ( Vlad, I hope your throat feels better)
Our own Midnight was there and she is just as lovely and kind as I thought she would be. Of course Minja warned me that I would love her.
I met so many people this year and although I am kind of sad it's over :'(, I am looking forward to meeting up again next year and chatting more on this board.
It was a wonderful weekend for me. Everyone was just fantastic. Hope you all got home ok.
Teresa
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 03, 2002, 05:20:16 AM: Well, once again, I have proven myself totally incompetent with a camera, which is why I rely on Sheenasma for the bulk of the personal appearance photos on my Selby site. However, I do have one cast photo that didn't come out like a total steaming piece of crap.

(http://www.ldrservicesonline.com/davidselbysite/images/cast.jpg)

From left to right: David Selby, Marie Wallace, Jeanne Avery (David Henesy's mother), Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roger Davis, Chris Pennock, and John Karlen.

This photo is also on my David Selby site, and I'll be uploading more Selby photos as they become available. :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Carol on July 03, 2002, 05:34:56 AM: Quote
Hello,

I had a terrific time at the fest. Not one specific thing that I can mention ( except John Karlan joining me at my table while I ate breakfast :o). That was fun.

JK sat with you at breakfast!! OMG! How wonderful, Teresa! You are one lucky girl. ;D Tell us more.

Anxious to read more reports.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Julia99 on July 03, 2002, 05:45:43 AM: I also have to say a I had a fabulous time and enjoyed meeting all of you. I especially enjoyed all the Grayson moments. .there were considerably more than in the past i undersand and the amount of applause she received not just from me and my kind but all the Fest goers was great! . . .I did miss Prof Stokes video but am working my way to a copy. . .

Midnite, again. .thank you for this blessed place. . .

p.s. i just got the 120 second thing again! ha ha!
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: RingoCollins on July 03, 2002, 05:55:47 AM: Thanks for the reports and photos, more please!

Quote

( Vlad, I hope your throat feels better)

sounds like a story in itself!

cheers,
Ringo the Jealous

....and don't you ladies feel a little silly with this 'David Selby Crush' thing..... I mean, Jeeeez, obsessing over a soap opera actor...come on now.... ;)

MORE PHOTOS OF TLATKLS PLEASE!!!!! :P :P :P
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 03, 2002, 06:17:13 AM: Quote
sounds like a story in itself!

Poor Vlad came down with a sore throat and I had an ear ache so we were comparing our ailments. I had a pic of KLS taken so when I get it back I'll post it. For your sake, I hope someone got a picture of her Sunday night. She did look quite lovely in her black cocktail dress. And David looks great in whatever he wears :o
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Bette on July 03, 2002, 07:41:26 AM: Quote
Prof Stokes was fab in the costume gala and brought down the house with her song. I was so proud of her

ProfStokes brought the house down the next morning with her music video too. A collage of Barnabas and Julia scenes to the tune of "I'll Stand By You." A lady of many talents is our own Profstokes. [hello]

And speaking of talents, Ben plays a mean piano. :)

Bette
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Josette on July 03, 2002, 08:32:27 AM: Thank you all for the reports! :) Everything sounded great. Glad you all had such a nice time.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Cassandra on July 03, 2002, 10:24:23 AM: Welcome back Cheryl! Thanks for posting the nice report on the fest. I know how happy you must have been to get one of Craig Slocum's autograph! And how lucky you were to go up on stage wearing your Craig Slocom tee shirt! Perhaps that was Craig's way of saying thank you for all you have done in his memory! :)

Thanks also to everyone's wonderful reports on the fest. I sure wish I could have been there myself. After hearing everyone's reports I'll definetely have to get there next year when the festival is held here in N.Y. :)
Title: Another Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Report
Post by: Midnite on July 03, 2002, 11:34:46 AM: FRIDAY - The last rush hour of the week was more horrendous than usual, so I wasn't present when the festivities got underway, but seeing that the first few events listed in the program had been rescheduled and/or cancelled didn't inspire my confidence in the organization of the rest of the weekend.

I was anxious to see the Sci-Luv documentary and disappointed at its goofiness. Fans brought their collectibles for appraisal by an "expert", and the host was to have provided comic relief, which would've been fine had he been funny. KLS was the special guest, though Frid's hair was appraised at a bit less than what she hoped it would someday bring in for charity. A handful of fans were interviewed-- one that emulates Angelique in her practice of black magic and another that was turned on by the prospect of her lover sporting fangs. I did laugh along with the fan whose mother named him Barnabas Collins, but three cheers for whomever made the decision to NOT air this thing on TV.

In KLS' bloopers segment, she read several amusing fan letters. I wonder if they'll end up in a book someday. ;) Lara Parker, as you already read, was a no-show that night as she was busy with some last minute sewing for the weekend wedding. Diana Millay's plane was struck by lightning while on the ground in New York and she chose to not make other arrangements.

Several of us met up with Julia99 in the hotel restaurant and we had a blast talking with her. We adored your friend Scott too, btw!

SATURDAY - The Louis Edmonds tribute video is absolutely amazing. I left the ballroom when Roger Davis took the mike and returned when he was finished, heheh. Jeanne Avery's presentation was interesting, and that was followed by the first of 2 charity auctions. Items in this one included an autographed script, one of Michael Stroka's shirts, a graveyard prop from the '91 series, a packet put together by Dean Wilson from Frid's Crawfordsville show, and a photo of Frid and Moltke signed by her. Darren's presentation of trailers and clips was awesome, and I'm grateful to the powers that be for not rushing him cuz his material is always fascinating. David Selby introduced "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" and everything about the video is delightful. He lit up when he spoke about it, and I can't recall ever seeing him smile so broadly and so often. This was the only day he attended, so I'm happy Minja and others got to meet him in the autograph line and for my friends who snagged some special time with him that evening.

The Dealer's Room was once again both fun and dangerous on the pocket book. I had to stop by Malia's table to chat for a bit, and I was sorry to learn from Kathy Resch that the debuts of the Leviathan Concordance and newest TWODS were delayed due to printer problems. And has anyone heard any more from the editors of the DS locations book?

The costume gala was extra special because of ProfStokes' performance of her Dream Curse song that was posted a short while back. All the entrants were wonderful, and the audience showed great taste in their enthusiastic response to her song. What a shame that VAM didn't participate this year.

Several of us gathered in a huge lobby in the convention area for a party, where any fans that wandered over were welcome and friends flowed in and out until late. Many thanks to everyone that came... I hope you all enjoyed yourselves... and to Bobubas for, er, borrowing the tables and chairs, to Sid (God bless him!) for his help at the party's end, and most of all to Ben for entertaining us with his amazing piano playing. (Ack, Gerard, would you believe there were 2 pianos side by side? It would have been ideal for that duet, dude!) Should I also thank Hertz for the use of their counter, hee hee, which was ideal for setting up a bar, and to the cleaning staff of the Marriott? ;)

SUNDAY - Okay, this was the first year I'm aware of in which Saturday and Sunday events weren't scheduled to begin until 11 a.m., which I must say I really liked cuz it allowed time to get downstairs and to breakfast before things got underway, yet you'd think they could actually start at 11, but noooo. Fans were left standing outside the doors until they were eventually opened. <Sigh>

First on the schedule was fan videos, and I was ever so delighted that ProfStokes' was first. Okay, we know she can write and sing, but edit videos too? :) The Pretenders lyrics ("I'll Stand By You") were painstakingly matched to B & J scenes. My personal favorite was the line "Won't let nobody hurt you" as Julia beats on Adam as he's strangling Barnabas, LOL!

Richie Halpern, who doubled as both emcee and later played Julia in the 3rd daily skit ("Thrilling, Chilling Sounds of the Old House" and "The Haunted Mansion of DS"), brought a couple of fans on stage to show off their t-shirts. Craig_Slocum mentioned that she was one of them (the pic turned out great, Cheryl!) and I wish I'd photographed the other-- hers had a great picture of Karlen from (I think) the cast photo shoot on the staircase, with a caption under it that said, "Got Willie?"

I saw Donna McKechnie's video and okay, it wasn't my cup of tea so I'll reserve judgment. I wasn't in the convention area the rest of the afternoon, but I returned for the banquet. Once again there was a line for the exchange of tickets and another to enter the ballroom. My table rocked; Julia fans know how to have a good time! Marie Wallace was very gracious, as always, as she visited the different tables.

Following dinner, Roger Davis showed a video covering his latest real estate project. I felt like I was trapped in telemarketing hell. After a touching tribute to the WTC offered by Jim Pierson <sniff>, the Sciography documentary, originally scheduled to be shown the previous evening, aired. Let me begin by bringing up what was good about it-- Michael Miozza's Seaview segment was fantastic, as was Christine Domaniecki's interview-- she's very pretty, and discussed winning a role on DS, an experience she said led to the happiest day of her life, and Darren's restoration piece was also very well done. I was disappointed, however, that many other fans interviewed, including RobinV and Henry, were not shown at all. That having been said, the rest of the documentary was crap as it soon became apparent that the producers had set out to portray the show in a sensationalistic light-- they offered gossip that was paired with clips and stills and snide comments and snippets of interviews that were sometimes taken out of context, all in an attempt to give more validity to what what was still just gossip, and as far as I'm concerned this tact only served to illuminate the questionable motives of the documentary makers. Following the airing, KLS and Marie Wallace took the mike to refute what was said and explain that they, along with John Karlen, had withdrawn their cooperation during the making of the documentary. Especially considering the large contingency of Fest newbies that were present, I'd call the decision to air the video in its entirety to be really horrid.

I'd guesstimate the weekend attendance at about 1200 fans. It was the smallest Fest I've been to but definitely the most intimate and least stressful. The stars were sparse in comparison to past Fests, and though I didn't stand in any autograph lines I also didn't hear the usual complaints about interminable lines. Oh, and what a fabulous group of volunteers there was this year! I tip my hat to all of you!!

The weather this weekend started out iffy but by Sunday it was sunny and warm. The hotel was only a short shuttle ride from Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and California Adventure. It was a pleasure seeing old friends again and I enjoyed meeting the new people too. Castlebee, you were sorely missed!!! I enjoyed the other reports and look forward to reading more of them, so I'll shut up now to give someone else a chance. :D
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Darren Gross on July 03, 2002, 12:11:25 PM: Ugh. I thought everyone had been spared since it didn't show saturday.

It's awful on every level.

I hate my segment- I look like an obsessed boob. The rest is so crass and appalling, it almost seems like a parody...

Hey, at least I was able to get them to pay to make intermediate preservation transfers of that R-rated NODS material. So we end up with some preserved material that we didn't have to spend a dime for and they end up with an unairable piece of junk.

Divine justice.

I'm glad I was able to sell them on the cut NODS segment idea- at least some good came of the whole mess. ;)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ROBINV on July 03, 2002, 12:19:59 PM: Thanks to all of you who posted fest reports.

Midnite, sounds like that Sciography, or whatever it mrophed into, was something I'd prefer to be left out of, so I'm glad I was absent. My love for DS came through in every reply, and if it was presented as you say, thank God I was left on the cutting room floor!

The festival coordinators still sound uncoordinated, LOL. Some things never change.

ProfStokes was a big hit, deservedly so. I wish I'd gotten to hear her sing.

I'm looking forward to the fest in New York next year.

Love, Robin
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Bobubas on July 03, 2002, 03:47:02 PM: Hi All,

These fest reports are wonderful and very comprehensive. I had a great time at Disneyland on Friday. I managed to ride Space Mountain twice in a 30 minutes span, and, as usual, it really rocked.

Friday night, Jonathan Harrison, who was heading up the Collinsport player skits approached me and asked if I would be interested in playing a role in the skit that was going to take place in about 5 minutes. I jokingly replied sure, as I was certain he was kidding, but alas, he was not. :) I then told him that if he got desperate that I would fill in, and he informed me he was past desperate, so I assumed the role of Dan Curtis that Steve Potts would have played had that L.A. traffic Midnite mentioned above not hindered is arriving on time. Thank god for cue cards. ;D

Favorite parts of the weekend for me included the skit between KLS and John Karlen, as well as listening to Jean Avery speak about how David Henesy got involved in acting. Other highlights already mentioned include Prof.Stokes song during the costume gala, and the cast reunion Saturday night. The piano party was a BLAST! I met so many people from this board, who until then, were just screen names to me. I especially enjoyed using the knee of.......... as a chair. ;D (ya had to be there) Anyway, many thanks to Midnite for hosting it, and to the super talented Ben for tickling the ivories and providing us with entertainment. :)

In answer to Midnite's question about the DS Locations book; I spoke with one of the co-authors on the phone over the weekend, and she informed me that the hold up had involved securing a few photos, and that the book should be printed and ready for sale by late October.

With the help of MsCriseyde, I hope to have photos from the weekend up on my DS Events site sometime early next week. :)

Robin,and anyone else who is interested, you can still hear the very talented Prof.Stokes sing, as well as view the other highlights of the weekend. My friend Rich Blanco videotaped the costume gala and has over 8 hours of festival footage he is making available for sale. He can be contacted at: DRKSONE@aol.com

Bob
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 03, 2002, 04:14:36 PM: Quote
Ugh. I thought everyone had been spared since it didn't show saturday.

It's awful on every level.

I hate my segment- I look like an obsessed boob. The rest is so crass and appalling, it almost seems like a parody...

Well Darren,
Your presentation was great. I missed it last year so made sure to see it at this one. We all realize you are not an obsessed boob but a dedicated fan and film historian. Keep up the good work.
Teresa
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: scout75 on July 03, 2002, 04:32:38 PM: Quote
We all realize you are not an obsessed boob but a dedicated fan and film historian.

What she said.

Seriously: you're doing a great job and I admire your tenacity. Keep going, Darren, 'cause you'll get there.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Dawn on July 03, 2002, 04:33:35 PM: OK, here comes the newbie viewpoint. What a fabulous weekend! My daughter Laura, who will soon appear on the board under Midnite's nickname LeBrat, had a great time too.

We arrived early and had a chance to visit with Nancybe and Lynn from the Julia List and get our bearings. Disneyland on day one was my day to spend with just LeBrat. When fest activites got underway that night, I took my cues from former fest attendees. It was marvelous to meet so many from the boards and the lists. Midnite, ProfStokes, Bobubas, Minja, Teresa, Vlad, Ben, j99, Bette, and so many others...it was fun.

The evening at the piano will be well remembered. Bob, about that knee.... ;)

There were several highlights including the Professor's music video. I'm anxious to see it myself. (Missed it by minutes, drat!) I believe that the most fun, though, was the company I kept during the weekend. The cozy breakfasts on the veranda with JListers and Boards members, the evenings at the bar, dinner out with friends, the piano scene, and of course, Disney's California Adventure on Monday. Midnite, I certainly hope Cassandra's curse doesn't follow you all year! :o
The photographic evidence of that day alone will be priceless.

In all, it was a most memorable weekend on the left coast. J99 and Bette have been good internet pals and now I have faces and voices to conjure up when I see their posts.

What I took away from fest? That the weekend is all about the people and our mutual fascination at the unique show known as Dark Shadows. No matter which characters pique your interests, we can all agree that it was a show ahead of its time!

I have never been an autograph hound but I am a picture buff. The professional stills as well as private photos will be my prized possessions. This combined with beautiful memories of some great people will sustain me...for about a year. ;D

Dawn
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Daphne on July 03, 2002, 06:55:16 PM: I am sooooo so so jealous now! I'm going to bribe, hitchhike, walk or find some other way to get myself to the DS festival next year if it kills me....and it just might [and if it doesn't, my mother will lol ;)]!! I LOVE hearing about everyone's take of the festival ...... Like I said, I'm sooo jealous! LOL I'm glad everyone had a blast and got home safe and sound 8) any more reminisces?

~Daphne, who happily bounces at her computer, reading away....
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: RingoCollins on July 03, 2002, 11:12:38 PM: Excellent new reports, Craig, Bobubas, Dawn and esp Midnite! thanks for taking the time to give us that missed it the run down!

a few questions: Was there any mention of DS: the Musical? or any other new DS projects? Was that Sci-Luv documentary the special that was gonna be on the Sci-fi channel a loooong while ago now? [sounds like it! - too bad - but wasn't there two of those in the works?] What is 'Frid's Hair?' [some of us are hair-sensitive, ya know ;)] Does DC have to 'sanction' these events? how is the convention 'laid out' - two or more ballrooms, or just one big room, er wot?

thanky,
Ringo
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ProfStokes on July 03, 2002, 11:57:28 PM: I've really enjoyed reading everyone's take on the Festival so far. I'm going to post my reports on a day-by-day basis, so here is my account of Friday evening.

On Friday afternoon, before the Festival officially began, my friend mordecaigrimes and I were lucky enough to meet up with several fans both on the way to the ballroom and then in line: Teresa, CraigSlocum, casper collins, the Ghost of Sarah Collins, VAM, JamesLady, Minja, Bobubas, Vlad, Scarlett, and others. We spent the time talking and taking pictures until the ballroom doors opened.

Friday night's Festivities opened with emcee Richard Halpern showing the famous Baby Dark Shadows videos--1897 and 1795. He also gave an update on where the young 'stars' are today: the eldest boy trades stocks, the girl recently graduated from UCLA, and the young boy recently graduated from high school. In addition, Halpern explained why some of the cast members would not be present at the Fest. lara Parker was preparing for her son's wedding on Sunday and Diana Millay's plane had ben caught in a storm. She'd decided against catching a later flight because she had business in NY on Sunday and it made no sense to her to fly to CA for only one day. Then the Collinsport Players presented their first of three Disneyland-themed skits for which Bobubas took on the role of one of the absent cast members. He acted the part of DC, who'd built a new theme park and wanted Julia Hofman (Richard Halpern) to test the attractions. The skits involved numerous sound effects from the haunted mansion and various hysterics from Julia/Halpern. Bob did a great job, as did the rest of the cast. :)

I stepped out while the "Sci-Luv" documentary segment was screened since I'd seen it the year before. My intent was to visit the display room, but it was locked, so I instead spent some time chatting with one of the volunteers about the show and some of the other television programs of the era. (One that he mentioned, "The Prisoner," sounded very imaginative.) I went back inside to hear Kathryn Leigh Scott present her favorite bloopers. It really wasn't as unique as the Fest schedule would lead on to believe. The "favorite bloopers" were merely excerpts from the blooper tape interspersed between KLS's reading of some humorous letters that fans had sent to her (while on the stage, she occasionally wore Minnie Mouse ears.) One letter was addressed "Dear Sirs," in which the writer complained bitterly of how he had mistakenly been sent a second copy of the Dark Shadows Movie Book instead of the two other books he had ordered. KLS said, "I sent him the other books and told him to keep the extra movie book."

It was during this segment that the trouble began with the unsupervised fan. :( However, Kathryn handled the situation very well, making a light joke ("I don't think he was the one I sent the wrong book to.") and continuing with her presentation. I do applaud her for successfully getting everything back on track.

The other letters involved the show's bloopers. One fan listed all of the episodes, with numbers, where cast members' underwear showed. KLS's panties appear in ep# 931, "and you're all going to watch for that one, right?" she teased. She explained that some of the underwear bloopers were due to the popular mini skirts of the day, and demonstrated the method for measuring the skirts. "We put our hands at our sides, and wherever our fingertips began was where the hem went." KLS answered a few questions: Q:"Did all of the clothes come from Ohrbach's?" A:"Yes, except when we went back in time; then we had to rent the costumes." and Q:"Why was Josette wearing a white robe at the beginning of one episode when the robe at the end of the last episode was purple?" A:"The actors weren't the only ones who made bloopers; apparently wardrobe made some mistakes too."

John Karlen crept on-stage next, crouching behind the podium while his first scene as Willie Loomis was shown on the big screen. He then took the microphone and asked the audience for some "deep questions. We're going to solve the riddle of the sphinx here." When he didn't receive many questions, he launched into his own spiel of jokes, quoting Shakespeare and reciting lines from his favorite role in "Prometheus Bound." Somebody asked him how he got the role of Willie Loomis, and Karlen provided a rather interesting little story. He was available to take on the part because he'd just been fired from his current play. "It was the first time I'd ever been fired--except for the 7 or 8 other times--and I was furious because I knew I was good in the role. The director fired me and I chased him down the street; I never caught him though." I'm sure it must have been disappointing to have lost his job, but I'll bet Johnny was as glad as we are that he was able to join "Dark Shadows" instead. I enjoyed John Karlen's talk. He wasn't as manic as in previous years because he admitted that his voice wasn't what it should have been, but he made up for that later in the weekend.

Friday night concluded with scenes from the 1991 revival series and a screening of House of Dark Shadows, neither of which I stayed for. On leaving the ballroom, I met up with several Grayson Hall/Julia fans both from the Julia list on Yahoo and from this board: among them were Bette, Dawn, Julia99 and her friend Scott. We went to the hotel bar/cafe for a bite to eat and stayed there talking until well past one in the morning! I had a great time and was very flattered when Bette suggested that I submit my graduation speech to Kathy Resch's fan magazine, "The World of Dark Shadows." It had never occured to me, but I thought that it sounded like a fun idea. I made up my mind to see Kathy the next day, then sleepily stumbled back up to my room, little guessing what was to follow later in the weekend. :) :) :)

ProfStokes
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: mfmdpt on July 04, 2002, 12:19:54 AM: Quote
a few questions: Was there any mention of DS: the Musical?

The DS musical was announced with a great deal of fanfair, but it's anemic demise over a year ago got very little attention. :-/ I hope you weren't looking forward to it. :(

Quote
Was that Sci-Luv documentary the special that was gonna be on the Sci-fi channel a loooong while ago now? [sounds like it! - too bad - but wasn't there two of those in the works?]

Yes, there were two, Ringo. Both of them were shelved once Sci-Fi saw the completed versions. SciFiLuv was sort of like an Antique's Roadshow for DS collectibles. Sciography was the documentary that ended up being a whole lot less than was hoped for. But sadly I can't say that really surprised me because when I taped my Seaview segment (way back on November 22, 2000) I heard some stories from the Executive Producer, Andy Schatzberg, about how they'd practically ambushed Anne Rice with an MPI tape of the 1970PT Will Loomis/Barnabas storyline and asked her if she'd "borrowed" the idea for her "Interview with the Vampire" (which she's flatly denied, BTW), and how they planned to bring up the whole von Bulow trial because, in their opinion, it was "news worthy." :-/ There were also times that I refused to answer some of the questions they'd scripted for my segment because I thought they were just too ridiculous. (There's a point where I'm standing outside the house while a friend, who's also in the segment, is answering some questions where I look like I might be pissed, and that's because I was. ;)) I honestly got the impression that they hoped they were going to get an older version of the obsessed 13-year-old I wrote about in the online article, "A Young Fan's Odyssey to Find Collinwood -- or how I came to realize a dream - and lord it over my friends," but they got a big surprise when I turned out not to be an obsessed 13-year-old trapped in a 44-year-old's body. LOL! At one point I jokingly said to them that I wasn't going to run up to the tower to kiss it just so they could get the shot because I had to show my face in public after the show aired. Andy kidded back that was too bad because it would have been a great shot, but I honestly think he was only half-kidding!
Truthfully, the ONLY reason I agreed to do the segment was as a tribute to my mom, who'd passed away six months before the taping. And it does seem as if that concept got through mostly intact. It's just too bad that most of the other segments seem to have turned out so badly. :(

Quote
What is 'Frid's Hair?'

KLS took some of Frid's hair one day while DS hairdesser Edith Tilles was cutting it.

Quote
Does DC have to 'sanction' these events?

I'm pretty sure he has no involvement in them whatsoever. They're fan based and run.

Quote
how is the convention 'laid out' - two or more ballrooms, or just one big room, er wot?

There's one big room for the actors' appearances and the various presentations, and a few smaller rooms for autograph sessions and the dealers.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Midnite on July 04, 2002, 12:23:03 AM: Quote
a few questions: Was there any mention of DS: the Musical? or any other new DS projects? Was that Sci-Luv documentary the special that was gonna be on the Sci-fi channel a loooong while ago now? [sounds like it! - too bad - but wasn't there two of those in the works?] What is 'Frid's Hair?' [some of us are hair-sensitive, ya know ;)] Does DC have to 'sanction' these events? how is the convention 'laid out' - two or more ballrooms, or just one big room, er wot?

Glad you're enjoying the reports, Ringo. :D

I didn't hear any specific mention of the DS musical, but it was acknowledged that DC is still trying to sell the idea of a new DS project; perhaps someone else can post if more was said. Both Sci_Luv and Sciography were scrapped. Of the two, Sciography was the one premiere and if I had a vote the 3 good fan segments will be extracted and the ashes of the rest scattered over the Pacific Ocean. Frid was having a haircut on the set one day when KLS decided to scoop it up and keep it cuz it might be valuable someday; wow, ya think?! ;) DC was a talking head in Sciography, but that was the full extent of DCP's participation. The events were held in the hotel's Grand Ballroom on the 1st floor, and other rooms were set aside such as the dealer's room, also exhibit and meeting rooms.

Uh, hope that covered everything. 8)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: RingoCollins on July 04, 2002, 12:26:52 AM: Great report, Prof!

then on the second day?

Quote
, "The Prisoner," sounded very imaginative
ProfStokes

The Prisoner is possibly the best TV show ever [after DS, of course!] and with your intellect I'd bet you would love it! find it fer sure!

Ringo

viva episode 931!
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Karen_#2 on July 04, 2002, 12:31:31 AM: Quote

....and don't you ladies feel a little silly with this 'David Selby Crush' thing..... I mean, Jeeeez, obsessing over a soap opera actor...come on now.... ;)

HECK NO! ;D

Karen #2
(showing no shame whatsoever! [blshy] )
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Karen_#2 on July 04, 2002, 12:55:40 AM: Quote
Ugh. I thought everyone had been spared since it didn't show saturday.

It's awful on every level.

I hate my segment- I look like an obsessed boob. The rest is so crass and appalling, it almost seems like a parody...

Oh Darren QUIT! ;)

Your piece was informative and wonderful! You did not come out looking "like an obsessed boob." We are all so grateful for your hard work on this project, and always look forward to hearing about the evolution and progress of the restoration.

Keep up the great work, Darren! [hello]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Luciaphile on July 04, 2002, 03:07:27 AM: Quote

The Prisoner is possibly the best TV show ever [after DS, of course!] and with your intellect I'd bet you would love it! find it fer sure!

No, I think it was the best TV show ever to air ;) It's really a unique program--you can probably rent the episodes. It's an amazing thing really and the production values are superb.

Luciaphil
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Dr. Eric Lang on July 04, 2002, 03:36:15 AM: Quote

No, I think it was the best TV show ever to air ;) It's really a unique program--you can probably rent the episodes. It's an amazing thing really and the production values are superb.

Luciaphil

Yes, they are available on video. I own the complete collection. :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Philippe Cordier on July 04, 2002, 05:46:51 AM: I've spent my evening in the computer lab and now I only have 15 minutes to try to write a report from all my pages of notes ... I started them already at the fest and continued on the plane home ... Since I don't have enough time, I won't be able to say all that I wished to, and I know I'll forget to mention a lot of people ...

To start with, it was wonderful to return to California after many years. I'd forgotten how beautiful it is. People were friendly, traffic was light, the sights were lovely, the food was wonderful! I don't know when I last ate so well ... If I ate the way I did every meal in California, I'd gain 20 lbs. On the other hand, everything I ate was so healthy (e.g., a vegetarian panini sandwich, roast turkey with red pepper aioli, etc.) that maybe I wouldn't gain a single pound! It wasn't very warm, though, except in the afternoons, and it was quite a shock to return to my home state of ---------- where it felt like a steam bath (20 degrees warmer!) than it had been in California.

Teresa, thanks for inquiring about my throat. It turned into a full-blown cold unfortunately, and I'm coughing a lot, but as far as colds goes, it's what I'd call a "moderate" one.

There were so many things I somehow missed ... most of Ben's piano playing (I had hoped to hear "Misty" and "Moon River," but at least I got there in time to hear some of Josette's music box theme). Missed Professor Stokes' vocal performance and video production, both of which were said to be highlights. Was pleased to meet the estimable professor, who was not at all formidable but rather modest and self-effacing.

I didn't know Joe Integlia was there until reading the board now.

I didn't know anything about Marie Wallace's performance; am very disappointed to have missed that.

However, Ms. Wallace did stop by my table at the banquet to inquire if everyone had been enjoying the weekend.

Speaking of the banquet, one of the oddest moments was the prominent presentation of Roger Davis' video on his real estate development after dinner. Uh-huh.

I arrived late to Darren Gross's presentation on the NODS restoration, but saw the scene of Angelique's hanging which was very effective. I was less saddened by the loss of some of the other clips that were shown that had to do with sexual molestation and some gory shots. To me, those would not have enhanced my viewing pleasure of the film. What I would have liked to have seen (perhaps I missed mention of this earlier) was the scene where Charles' and Angelique's skeletons are discovered beneath the house. That excised scene would have brought the entire movie together thematically.

I wish that an updated schedule of events had been posted outside the main ballroom twice a day, as the schedule seemed to keep changing, especially with all the cancellations.

Quickly ... whom did I meet? New this year were Anna Kelly from England; Dawn and her friends; Julia99 and her friend, whose name I didn't catch. Also Teresa, Minja, and Prof. Stokes figured prominently.

Enjoyed seeing some people from last year, such as Henry, Bette, VAM ... and I can't find my other list of names here ...

I was quite intrigued by the video that David Selby produced and provided voice-work on, "The Griffin and the Minor Canon." Hope to do more investigating, as it seemed to be based on a children's book.

In the dealer's room I finally saw a "Josette's Music Box" and it was selling for $100. Now I wish I had ordered one from MPI when they were available. I was advised against it by several posters at the time, but if it had been made clear that this was a "miniature reproduction" I still might have bought it. The music would have been available at any time and would have looked nice next to the antique-style oil lamp on one of my bookcases...

I wasn't able to track down a copy of TV Guide to read Nancy B's article.

There was a dark, exotic looking woman with enormous brown eyes who generously supplied libations for all around the piano on Saturday night, but I didn't catch her name ... ;) many thanks to whomever this mysterious creature was.

Looks like this will have to be continued if I'm going to get to my impressions of Robert Rodan and others ...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 04, 2002, 06:03:18 AM: Quote
I was quite intrigued by the video that David Selby produced and provided voice-work on, "The Griffin and the Minor Canon." Hope to do more investigating, as it seemed to be based on a children's book.

The program is based on the story of the same name by Frank Stockton, who's probably best known for "The Lady or the Tiger," and the story was selected because it was written by Stockton while he was residing in Charleston.

Had there been time to show the brief featurette about the making of the film that's on the end of the video, everyone would've gotten these little tidbits along with a clip of David recording his part.

There's a web site for the production at:

http://www.griffin-minorcanon.org/

Unfortunately, certain webmasters who shall remain nameless were not ballsy enough to jump up and offer the ordering information when David said he didn't have it handy on stage. ;D
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Darren Gross on July 04, 2002, 06:29:15 AM: Karen- thanks for the kind words. I'm probably over-reacting, but Mike Miozza can back me up on this- the experience of seeing yourself on TV for the first time is very strange and you always look much less attractive and professional than you thought you looked. But if you say it went well, I'll happily take your word for it. :D

Vlad- Unfortunately the scene where Charles's skeleton and Angelique's coffin is found no longer exists. It (and a few other scenes) isn't included in the 129 min cut.

Dan trimmed it out from his fine cut which ran around 150 mins. This 150 min version included nearly every scene shot for the film, with the exception of scenes with Sarah Castle, which were severely trimmed because DC was unhappy with Monica Rich's performance. When you hear Dan talk about a '4 hr version' he's mistaken. Physical evidence on the print and paperwork contradicts that story. 150 mins was the most complete fine cut put together. The assembly (roughly edited to include padded moments between camera angles and multiple angles of the hanging) would have ran about 180 mins.

Why of all things, he chose to cut the poolhouse dream sequence and the skeleton scene is a mystery. They would have added no more than 3 mins to the running time and if I had to make the choice, I would have trimmed down a few other scenes in order to accomodate those two. That a snippet of the poolhouse scene seems to indicate that it was certainly included in the 150 min cut, but perhaps there were camera problems or damage to the negative found in that basement scene. There are a few shots in that film that were damaged by a faulty mechanism, but were still usable. Perhaps the scene was beyond repair due to this kind of problems. We'll probably never know for sure...I'd love to find a color slide or shot from the skeleton scene- all the images I've seen have been in b& w....

DCP has a lot to do with the festivals. Jim Pierson works for DCP, Dan's legal assistant always pops his head in to see how things are running, and all the cast scheduling and coordinating is handled by JP along with Ann Wilson and some other committee members. The fests are a joint effort between Jim and the fan organizers. Jim's been involved with the fests since before he worked for DCP but his job at DCP is maintaining the DS franchise and marketing as well as other tasks. When Jim's running the festivals, he's essentially at work. Making sure they go smoothly is part of his job.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Karen_#2 on July 04, 2002, 06:42:37 AM: Quote

There's a web site for the production at:
http://www.griffin-minorcanon.org/

Definitely a site worth checking out. A lot of work went into this production, along with the efforts of other notable West Virginians. And as Selby said, they weren't paid for it. I'm not even a teacher, and I think I'd like to have a copy of this video! :D
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Midnite on July 04, 2002, 06:50:09 AM: Quote
DCP has a lot to do with the festivals. Jim Pierson works for DCP, Dan's legal assistant always pops his head in to see how things are running, and all the cast scheduling and coordinating is handled by JP along with Ann Wilson and some other committee members. The fests are a joint effort between Jim and the fan organizers. Jim's been involved with the fests since before he worked for DCP but his job at DCP is maintaining the DS franchise and marketing as well as other tasks. When Jim's running the festivals, he's essentially at work. Making sure they go smoothly is part of his job.

Oh gosh, I mistook Ringo's question to be asking if DC sanctioned the SciFi specials, but of course he was talking about the Fests. Duh, me!

Thanks, Darren. :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 04, 2002, 08:17:41 AM: Okie dokie. For the Selby fans who just cannot wait, I've stuck my awful photos on my site until I can get my grubby paws on better ones. Anyone who has ever wondered why I never take any of the photos that appear on my site will soon know why. ::)

To see proof of my incompetence, click on the banner below and follow the link from the What's New section.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Josette on July 04, 2002, 10:11:36 AM: Wow! Just wonderful and detailed descriptions from everyone!! Thank you all so much. As I suspect more are still to come, I'll make this a general thank you in advance for those. It's all quite appreciated. :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Bette on July 04, 2002, 08:20:48 PM: Quote
I had a great time and was very flattered when Bette suggested that I submit my graduation speech to Kathy Resch's fan magazine, "The World of Dark Shadows." It had never occured to me, but I thought that it sounded like a fun idea.

Thanks, Profstokes, but I can't take credit for that suggestion. Our own dear Midnite first mentioned that idea to me, if not to you. :)

Bette
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Carol on July 04, 2002, 08:47:16 PM: It's been wonderful reading about all the fest reports and seeing pix. I bet you all had a great time! Hope to get to the 2003 Fest in NYC.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Midnite on July 04, 2002, 09:11:52 PM: Quote
Thanks, Profstokes, but I can't take credit for that suggestion. Our own dear Midnite first mentioned that idea to me, if not to you. :)

Bette is being humble; it was she that sugggested your speech be published. So with apologies to everyone that requested the posting of the salutatory address, as soon as ProfStokes gives her consent it'll be submitted instead for publishing consideration in TWODS. I'm sure you all understand, and you can still request the text from ProfStokes directly.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: WileyS on July 04, 2002, 09:19:25 PM: Thanks to all for the great festival reports. I hope to FINALLY be able to go to next year's festival in New York. Will just have to wait and see.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: joe integlia on July 04, 2002, 10:48:44 PM: MY THOUGHT ON THE FEST:
I noticed the registration process was much quicker than in 2000.security measures will have to be addressed. as much as i hate the thought of going through a metal detector before enterng the fest. the festival staff seems to be resting on the fact that in 20 years theres never been an incident like on friday night. this is wrong. im getting e-mails from fans having 2nd thoughts about ever attending a fest after learning about the lack of security. the festival actually BANNED an individual from ever attending a festival cause of his behavior and he did nothing even close to what mr. webber did. ive heard stories of another individual who was coming close to being banned before the webber incident. in think if these individuals have been or may be barred, then i think mr. webber is a much stronger candidate.i was wondering what became of the CODE OF CONDUCT that jim was going to print in the fest program. it was gong to address the way fans treated each other. i tink after what took place, it was a huge error to omit this and now should be modified to include fans behavior torwards DS stars as well.
i did enjoy davids moms stories and dennis patricks jokes even though they were adult oriented and lots of children were present.i thought the skits were ok but nothing like the fantastic AUSTIN POWERS spoof from 2000. fans can be thankful that the fest is over and u all got back safely cause the breaking news of todays incident at LAX would have left many of u stranded.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Dawn on July 05, 2002, 03:55:46 AM: Joe,
I purposely flew back well before the holiday in anticipation of flight delays due to heightened security. Hum, heightened security. Didn't seem to do much good did it. Makes you wonder if the fest organizers could do any better. :-[ Dawn ( who went through Orange Co/John Wayne)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 05, 2002, 05:25:02 AM: Quote
Joe,
I purposely flew back well before the holiday in anticipation of flight delays due to heightened security.

Minja and I flew out Tues from Lax. I was surprised at the security or lack or I should say. Yes, they had the usual ID check when I first got there. I checked my bag curbside and went straight to the security area where you run your check on bags. I put my purse on the belt and walked through. I did not sound any alarms but the lady who was supposed to be checking my area had her back to me the whole time talking to another worker. Now I did notice that on my flight they did random checks on people prior to boarding. As you walk to the plane every 4th person or so was pulled aside for random checking. Even with this situationt today, I would still fly into LAX for convenience reasons.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ProfStokes on July 05, 2002, 10:43:05 PM: The first event on Saturday was a Q&A panel with Marcy Robin as to what was new with DS the show, the actors, and Dan Curtis's future plans. I missed it because I was out in the lobby chatting with friends and trying to connect people who were looking for fellow fans. I made it back to the ballroom shortly after the tribute to Louis Edmonds began. It was a lovely series of clips (the same ones that were shown last year) featuring an interview with him (from Festival 2000?,) his work on "All My Children" as Langley Wallingford, and Edmonds singing an original "blues" composition and "Nobody Cares About Langley." As I've said before, it's very hard to believe that the warm, energetic, and witty man in the clips was the same one who portrayed the cold and distant Joshua and Roger Collins.

Roger Davis took the stage next and predictably began meandering from one topic to another. At least he not only realized what he was doing, but admitted his guilt. "My mother tells me I'm like one of those practice golf balls, always full of holes. She says, 'Roger, I never know what the hell you're talking about.'" Finally he got back to his point and presented a documentary/advertisement for his oft-mentioned housing project. (Narrated, directed, and produced by himself.) When the lights dimmed, I slipped out of the room and spent the next 45 minutes talking to Midnite and casper collins in the lobby. When we determined that it was safe to go back inside, we found seats for Jeanne Avery's (aka David Henesy's mom's) discussion.

Throughout her talk, Jeanne Avery constantly denied that she'd ever pushed David into acting or that she was a "stage mom." According to her, David came home one day from the private school where his baby-sitter had unilaterally enrolled him while his mother was working out of town ("And who do you suppose got stuck paying for the tuition?") and informed his mother that, "He was going to be on Broadway and that I had to call the stage manager. I said, 'That's nice, dear.' Of course I had no intention of calling any stage manager." She thought that young David was merely imagining himself on Broadway, until the stage manager actually called (on the day of Kennedy's assassination) to say that he was holding a role for David in one of Mary Martin's plays (I believe it was called Jenny.) This was the first step. Avery indicated that as a single, working mother, she had little time to spend with her children and felt guilty about this. Since she was also an actress, she thought that David's acting would give them a chance to further bond. In fact, she stressed that David was the one who chose to be an actor of his own volition by mentioning how his decision complicated the family's life. They had to struggle with personal schedules and travel arrangements while he was on Broadway. After working with Martin, David was inspired to continue acting by a performance of Oliver at his sister's graduation and would practice singing the songs while taking a bath. ("I guess he thought that we wouldn't hear him with the water running.") Eventually, he did earn a role in the musical as "the laughing boy."

Avery also told stories of David on "Dark Shadows," of course. Apparently he felt very confident after auditioning for the show, and told his mother that he was sure he'd gotten the part. As with his Broadway debut, Henesy's mother initially didn't place much importance on the issue until David mentioned that he'd be working with "some old actress named Joan Bennett." It seems that Avery was a major Joan Bennett fan at the time. She mentioned that nobody on the DS set felt that they needed to discipline David and that he always felt the need to be professional. "He knew he had to be better than any of the other actors if he was going to stand out. He was a very quick study. He'd read through the script once or twice at home and was able to absorb all of his lines. There were times when he would feed the other actors their lines." Avery mentioned a friend of David's who used to visit the set and would earn tips by running errands for the cast and crew (picking up lunches, etc.) David felt that he was entitled to a portion of those tips, "So he was on his way to being a businessman already." The reason that he was absent from the show for much of its final run was because he was temporarily living with his father and stepmother. "I knew that if David decided he wanted to come back and live with me, he couldn't very well tell his father that, but if he had to come back to work on the show, he would have a valid excuse," Avery explained. "So I asked Dan to keep David in the cast but only have him do a couple of episodes a month." She also stated that David didn't leave acting because he wanted a normal childhood. It seems he wanted to relocate to California to meet girls. ::)

Jeanne Avery also spoke about her friendship with Don Briscoe. Both she and David were close to him. Avery even allowed Briscoe to stay in her apartment while (IIRC) his own lodgings were either being remodeled or repainted. She also revealed that he had suffered a breakdown while on the show, and that she had tried but failed to get through to him. He's recovered now and living with his parents in Tennessee.

Avery went on to mention her grandchildren, focusing on her latest granddaughter, a toddler given to theatrics. According to her anecdote, the little girl (whose name escapes me just now) one day dropped a stuffed toy on the floor, then cried bitterly as she cuddled and tried to tend to it. Avery and the child's other grandmother comforted her, but a few moments later, the girl did the exact same thing, repeating the whole process several times (including her tears) in the hopes of getting attention. Apparently, acting runs in the family for Henesy's oldest son also demonstrates an interest in the profession. Henesy himself currently owns and operates a successful restaurant in Cartagena, Columbia, which is frequented by major politicians and celebrities of the entertainment world. Avery does past life regression therapy for these same clients.

At this point, mordecaigrimes and I left for lunch, so I missed the charity auction and Darren Gross's presentation of lost Night of Dark Shadows film clips. :( (Fortunately, I'd been able to see the presentation at the Vista theatre.) We caught the last portion of David Selby's cartoon, "The Griffin and the Minor Canon." The main theme, Selby stressed, was that "Nothing loved dies."

By now it was almost time for the cast reunion to begin, but there were people lining up at the microphone for questions and answers. One woman asked Selby how he'd enjoyed his appearance on "Ally McBeal." According to Selby, his son is friends with Calista Flockhart and that was how he was able to get the role. "I wanted to come in and do the part where she spins me in the air," he said. I t sounded as though he'd had a lot of fun making that episode. Another woman went to the microphone and asked him, "What are you doing tonight?" "Oh? What do you want me to do tonight?" he replied. A man asked him about the 1995 episodes where Quentin was insane. "Where did you get your inspiration for that role?" he inquired. "I bet a lot of my friends didn't think I needed any inspiration," David said. A woman who was a teacher wanted to know about "The Griffin and the Minor Canon": was there a copy available and where could she get the educational packet that went with it? Selby remembered that there was a website for the packet but couldn't remember the address immediately. He arranged to give her the video that was shown at the Festival, which I thought was very generous of him. They popped it out of the VCR on the spot. Someone asked David if he'd brought any supernatural content from DS to any of his other shows. David mentioned one series, "Flamingo Road," that was a sort of prototype to "Miami Vice" in the late 70's/early 80's and wasn't quite as popular as it could have been. He suggested that the writers start to bring in supernatural elements (thus ripping off DS) and so David's character began to get involved with voodoo shortly before the series ended.

Richard Halpern then brought on all the cast members who were present for the reunion--John Karlen, Chris Pennock, Marie Wallace, Roger Davis, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Jeanne Avery, and David Selby--and as usual, they gave an update on what was new in their lives. Roger Davis politely took the microphone and declared that he'd already spoken and would "pass the baton" to Kathryn, but he held on to it for a while longer, rambling. Three more times, he offered to pass the baton, but it was at least five minutes before he finally did. It seemed to me that there weren't as many questions this time as in previous years. (Maybe because the Fest attendance was so low?) David Selby did tell an amusing story of how John Karlen's exploits once landed him in jail. Johnny was casually eating a vanilla ice cream cone and a hot dog when he saw a young woman walking toward him dressed in full Western attire. ("She looked like Dale Evans.") Karlen asked her if she was working that night and the girl replied, yes, what did he have in mind? At that moment, police officers leapt out of their hiding places and seized Karlen, knocking his food to the ground. They arrested him for soliciting (the young Western woman was an undercover officer.) When Karlen went before the judge, the judge claimed to recognize him for his crime, but the crime with which he charged Johnny was not the crime he had committed. The judge "knew him" for something he didn't do! Karlen admitted to it anyway. ("He didn't want to go through the hassle of correcting the judge.") I thought that was pretty funny. Both Karlen and Selby were very lively during this year's reunion, getting up from their seats to re-enact various parts of the story.

The next question again dealt with why the final scene of one episode was performed slightly differently the following day. (It was similar to what had been asked of KLS the previous night.) This time, John Karlen acknowledged the blooper. "I was watching the show the other day," he said, "and I saw that Willie was wearing three different shirts--in the same episode!" Another person asked if the scenes in the show were shot out of order. ("Nope, they were shot straight through, just like in a play.") Jeanne Avery was again asked to share her memories of Don Briscoe, and this time Roger Davis got into the act. He shared that he and Briscoe had both gone to Columbia together, and it was Davis who'd helped him get the role on DS. "I knew he was the better actor. He had a natural way about him, very talented. He lives in Tennessee now, practically never leaves the house. He has a car and he'll drive around, but I doubt we'll ever see him at a Festival." Davis also poked fun at both Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall. "Jonathan barely knew his lines and there were days when it looked like Grayson could have used a little more practice. Put them together, and they were a disaster. I remember one day when they went up on their lines. They both stared at each other for a moment, turned to face the teleprompter, and read the same line at the same time." He even gave an example of Frid's acting, using KLS as a model. "Jonathan would be sitting, talking to you," he put his hand on Kathryn's shoulder and looked her in the eye as he spoke, "and suddenly he'd look over at the camera," Roger shifted his gaze to the audience, "to read his lines. It made no sense because you were sitting next to him and yet he was talking into space." To my delight, Davis also mentioned Thayer David during his little speech. "Whenever Thayer gave you a compliment, it was something to be proud of. I remember one time when we'd just finished filming a scene and as we were leaving the set, he said to me, 'That was very good.' It meant a lot to me. Then of course, there were other days when he would look at me and ask, 'What happened?' " It sounded as though Roger had a high opinion of him, and KLS looked as though she'd like to add something, but Roger rushed on to other topics.

(To be continued)

ProfStokes
Title: Mosty OT Rambling/Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ProfStokes on July 05, 2002, 10:54:08 PM: (Continued)

That's really all that I can remember of the Q&A session off the top of my head. The autographs came next, along with a video interview of Alexandra Moltke and a vampire musical Evensong, neither of which I saw because I had to prepare for the costume gala. I had no costume, but I had decided to perform my Dream Curse song (which I posted on the forum earlier.) I'd brought my karaoke CD that I had practiced with for the past week, but I still felt uncertain about performing. Even though I'd already submitted my entry form, I was still wondering if there was a way to back out at the last minute. I am not a singer. I can barely carry "Happy Birthday" at a party. In fact, one time when I was rehearsing my song at home, my dog, who was curled up by the back door, began to whine and whimper as thought tormented. It was quite embarrassing. However, I'd already told several friends that I would be in the gala, and so I decided to go ahead with my plans and do what I could. I hoped that the audience would be polite and not expect anything too professional. I went downstairs shortly before 7:00 because we were told to meet "in the room behind the display room at 7:00 prompt. No exceptions." I checked at the information desk just to be sure of where the room was. Only three people were there when I arrived: one woman dressed as Maggie Evans/Josette and a brother-sister team playing Barnabas and Countess Natalie Du Pres from 1795. Feeling a little awkward because of my lack of a costume, I took a seat. We were all a little confused at first because hardly anybody was with us and there were no Festival supervisors to give instructions (it was well past 7:00 by now.) Little by little, they began to filter in. Eventually, Fest coordinators also arrived to collect entry papers (from those who had already filled them out and turned them in at the desk) and make newcomers fill theirs out. I had thought that we would rehearse our skits/songs/spiels, but all that we really did was sit and wait until it was time to go out. I was a little disappointed because I would have preferred to be in the ballroom where the Festivities were occurring. The highly-touted DS documentary premiere was supposed to be shown at 7:15 (I later learned it hadn't been screened because of technical difficulties) and the Collinsport Players were performing another skit. I did catch the last part of the skit, which featured David and Hallie trapped in the Haunted Mansion. Julia rescued them and then made out with the Ghost of Gerard.

Special thanks to Bobubas, who was kind enough to videotape the gala for me after I spotted him in the audience. Since I had to stand off to the side for much of the time, I wouldn't have had nearly as nice a view. There was a pretty good turnout by the time we were all numbered and in line. Several stragglers had joined the line at the last minute. There were about three Josettes, a man who'd written a song for Angelique, another man who'd written a song praising DS to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire," (I'd heard wonderful things about the song from someone who'd gone to the 1999 Fest, so I was delighted to be able to hear it for myself) Barnabas and Natalie, a mother-daughter team wearing costumes based on House of DS, a woman dressed as Angelique from Night of DS, a woman dressed as the vampire Carmila, ("a friend of Barnabas from the Old World") Monique and Veronique (two cousins of Josette from France, dressed in period costumes of the French court,) two generic gothic characters, and a pair of ladies who gave us "The Many Faces of Julia Hoffman." This last act was a skit illustrating all of Grayson Hall's characters and their common mannerisms. (Example--Rev. Trask: "There is a witch in this house, Countess, and I'm going to find her!" Natalie:*clutches throat and puts hand to forehead.* Count Petofi: "A curse on you, gypsy, for stealing my hand!" Magda: *clutches throat and puts hand to forehead.* Adam: "Make me woman now!" Julia: *hands to throat and forehead.*) I was sixth in line, (although I'd indicated that I would have liked to be near the front so I could get my song over with,) just far enough back to have time for worries. There was a scary moment when I wasn't sure if I was going to have a microphone for my act, but thankfully the staff took care of that. At last, Marcy Robin called my lucky number, and I scaled the stage. I checked to be sure that the microphone was on, then waited for the music to begin. I wasn't used to holding the microphone or singing with it, so I know I lost some of the words at the beginning. I'd only gotten through the first few lyrics when the members of the audience began to chuckle and laugh out loud. Something told me they were laughing at my words, not at my singing, and I was immensely relieved! Just keep going, just keep going, I thought. They seem to really like it; they don't care if I sound horrible. The wonderful audience laughed all through the song. It was amazing! I was really starting to enjoy myself. None of the terrible things that I'd anticipated happened: my voice didn't crack, the microphone didn't squeak, I didn't run out of breath in the middle of a word. Indeed, everyone seemed to be having a great time; perhaps I was having the most fun because it was all so unexpected. I finished my song, grateful for the applause, and as I returned to my place in line, Richard Halpern in full Julia drag ran over to pull me back on the stage for more applause! :) :D I was so stunned and so thrilled! I had never, never expected anything like the response that I received. It was a real Sally Field moment. As I left the stage for real, Marcy patted my should and told me, "Good job." I was ecstatic! I was so overwhelmed that I didn't really pay much attention to the next couple of acts. A couple of my friends rushed out of the audience to give me hugs and the Josettes with whom I was in line complimented my song. (While in the "green room" they'd tried to assure me that everything would be all right, and apparently they were correct.) The other participants in the gala were wonderful to watch and I really admire the creativity that went into the songs and skit.

After our last "curtain call," Jonathan Harrison of the Collinsport Players approached me and asked if I would like to join. At first I thought that he was joking, but I've always enjoyed watching the skits at the previous Festivals that I've attended and I had wondered what it took to be a Collinsport Player, so I said, "Yes." I was very surprised when he actually asked for my information. I was also astonished by the number of people who requested the lyrics to my song. I was in a beautiful daze as I left the ballroom and met Bobubas to seek out Midnite. (We had heard that Ben was going to play the piano.) Along the way, several people stopped me and told me how much they enjoyed my song. They were all so incredibly nice--and it went on that way for the rest of the weekend. (Some people even asked what I'm going to do next year to top this year's performance! :o) I have never received that sort of reaction from anybody for anything that I've ever done. It was such a new experience for me. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. (Does anybody remember the episode "A Stop at Willoughby"? It might be part of the marathon!) If anybody from my high school had been present, they wouldn't have recognized me; they wouldn't have believed it. I almost didn't believe it. In fact when I awoke the next morning I had to wonder if it had all really happened (but I have the videotape as proof!:))

A small group of posters from this forum gathered around the piano outside the ballroom. Bob swiped a table and some chairs and Midnite brought out the wine, the sodas, and the water (for me.) Ben proceeded to give us a wonderful concert, including various songs from Bob Cobert, Billy Joel, the Beatles, Barry Manilow, and even some show tunes. Some members of our little party even convinced me to give an encore of "The Dream Curse." (I fear I wasn't very good; without the microphone my voice didn't carry and I was more accustomed to the music of my CD than to live piano playing.) Bravo to Ben for his excellent, entertaining repertoire! [hello] He played for hours, rightfully deserving the jar of tips that he earned. As time went by, more and more people began to gather around the piano. At one point, guests from a wedding party also being held at the hotel marched past, clapping, shouting, and waving their arms. It was a wonderful time for socializing and picture taking (we must have taken about 8 versions of the group photo.) I truly enjoyed becoming acquainted with new friends and catching up with old ones. I finally left at about 1:30, though I understand the party went on for another hour. It was one of the best evenings I've ever spent.

Thank you once more to everybody at the Festival for your generous support for my song! I know I've said this before, but I really mean it. I really am not used to the type of reaction that I received. This was the first time I've ever tried to write a song parody, and fortunately I was successful. I've always looked up to those people who have the gift of humor (which is why I adore "MST3K" so much) and I'd so admired the song parodies from previous costume galas. For once at least, on that night, I finally had my chance to make people laugh, and I am extremely glad and grateful! I do have a couple of other ideas for parodies that I will try to work on in the next year. If they don't work out, I could always sing "The Dream Curse" again (if nobody minds.) Saturday night surpassed my expectations by so much. It was better than anything I could have dreamed. I had the time of my life, but the weekend was only going to get better! :D :D :D

ProfStokes
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Philippe Cordier on July 06, 2002, 12:17:27 AM: Quote
Unfortunately the scene where Charles's skeleton and Angelique's coffin is found no longer exists. It (and a few other scenes) isn't included in the 129 min cut.

Darren, thank you for taking the time to explain this. Your work on this project has been remarkable! :)

Ms. Criseyde, thank you for providing further information on "The Griffin and the Canon."

I guess Prof. Stokes has covered everything so thoroughly, I won't have to worry about my own second installment. (But knowing me, I'll probably still do one in the next few days.) ;D
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 06, 2002, 04:54:01 AM: I've posted some more Selby photos from the Fest. These are courtesy of Karen.

Click the banner link below and follow the link to the Photo Gallery from the What's New section. :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Karen_#2 on July 06, 2002, 06:04:46 AM: Quote
I've posted some more Selby photos from the Fest. These are courtesy of Karen.

Wanna give credit where credit is due. Those photos were taken by Karen #1, my "beeeg seeeester" , not me. ;)

K#2
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Connie on July 06, 2002, 06:14:22 AM: I'm enjoying everyone's Fest accounts no end. It's a great diversion. Especially appreciate the Selby details! Love David's account of how Karlen got arrested. [lghy]

Then of course...there's this:

Quote
Another woman went to the microphone and asked him, "What are you doing tonight?" "Oh? What do you want me to do tonight?" he replied.

;) [wink2] ;)

OMG !! Good thing I wasn't there. I would have had to be restrained! ::)
(Please pass the smelling salts).

-Connie
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ProfStokes on July 06, 2002, 07:59:18 AM: Quote

I guess Prof. Stokes has covered everything so thoroughly, I won't have to worry about my own second installment. (But knowing me, I'll probably still do one in the next few days.) ;D

Please do, Vlad! I enjoy hearing others' perspectives; everybody notices and remembers different things. Your report would be much appreciated.

ProfStokes
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Midnite on July 06, 2002, 11:05:01 AM: Quote
Thanks, Profstokes, but I can't take credit for that suggestion. Our own dear Midnite first mentioned that idea to me, if not to you. :)

The reason neither Bette or myself is taking credit for the idea of the TWODS submission became clear tonite-- It was Nancybe's idea. ;)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: mfmdpt on July 06, 2002, 08:19:58 PM: Quote
I'm probably over-reacting, but Mike Miozza can back me up on this- the experience of seeing yourself on TV for the first time is very strange and you always look much less attractive and professional than you thought you looked.

Especially when you were 35 pounds heavier back then than you are now! LOL!
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: John_in_NC on July 07, 2002, 12:29:14 AM: Thanks to everyone for their great recollections of the Fest. Vlad, I am particularly interested in hearing the rest of your report. I have always wanted to see Robert Rodan and of course he shows up when I'm not there. :(
John
Title: Re: Another Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Report
Post by: The Ghost of Sarah Collins on July 07, 2002, 06:49:10 AM: Hello Midnite,
I would like to say how very glad I was in meeting you, Julia99, Prof Stokes, Minjin, and many others, I also
enjoyed volunteering this year and hope to volunteer for the 2004 fest...

As for the documentary, I believe it should not have been shown, despite the few nice scenes. I would like to ask Mr. Pierson if he would please destroy that tape so these accidents can not reoccur.

Although this fest was rather small in comparrison to NY fests I must say I enjoyed this gathering very much. :D
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Midnite on July 07, 2002, 07:08:00 AM: Sarah,

It was wonderful seeing you too! And to you, Henry, Dean and all the others that volunteered this year-- I think you're fantastic for helping out and you all did a super job!
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ProfStokes on July 07, 2002, 08:46:24 AM: Sunday: I was especially eager to get to the Sunday Festival early. Not only was I supposed to meet a couple of friends from one of the other message boards that I frequent, but that morning was going to open with one of my favorite attractions at the Festival: the fan videos. Since Festival 2000, I've looked forward to the wit and creativity of the fans displayed in either music videos or skits. Both are wonderful, IMO. I had another reason for looking forward to these videos: I had made one the previous summer and submitted it prior to the August Festival. When it hadn't played, I'd felt very disappointed, so I was keeping my fingers crossed that this might be the year.

Luckily, I found a seat just a couple of rows back from the front. Richard Halpern opened the show by saluting fans in the audience who wore DS T-shirts. The first woman who went up on the stage displayed a "Got Willie?" T-shirt with John Karlen's picture on it, the next fellow wore a shirt with the DS logo, and then Cheryl/CraigSlocum went up in a shirt featuring Craig Slocum's picture. Behind them, a large screen had been pulled down and the first scene of the first video had already flashed on; I was elated when I recognized it as the opening clip from my video! I could hardly believe that they were really going to play it. At last, Halpern gave the signal to "Roll that beautiful bean footage," and my video, Julia and Barnabas in "I'll Stand By You" began to play. During the past year, I'd tried to picture what it would look like on "the big screen". I was so grateful when the audience seemed to like it. They laughed more often than I would have expected, but I guess that means they were having fun. I'm glad that my video was shown first because as the half-hour progressed, members of the audience became antsy and were no longer paying attention, which I thought was a shame because the other videos were very good. Following mine were two Baby DS videos that I hadn't seen before spoofing the Dream Curse and the Ghost of Sarah storylines. Then came two Josette retrospectives featuring clips of Josette in her many forms from both the original series and the 1991 series set to her music box theme. Among the other videos were Barnabas and Josette, (set to the Beatles' "And I Love Her,") a video featuring Vicki whose song I didn't recognize, an extended video covering clips from the entire show, (again, I didn't know the song but it sounded like Genesis/Phil Collins) a Carolyn and Jeb, (I couldn't identify the song) Adam's arrival at Collinwood and first meeting with Carolyn and Elizabeth(The Police: "Da Do Do Do, Da Da Da") and Gregory and Jamison (REM's "Losing My Religion".)

After this, I stepped out to eat lunch, so I missed the tape of Paley Festival tribute to DS and Donna McKechnie's video. I also missed the video vault, which was unfortunate because I understand that Cheryl had submitted a video of Craig Slocum's early work. I was back in time for the second half of the charity auction, however. VAM won an Angelique trading card. Jim Pierson also auctioned off an original pressing of "I Wanna Dance With You," a promotional Quentin trading card signed by David Selby, a couple of Josette's music boxes, a "Barnabuck," (a dollar bill with Barnabas's picture on it) and a portrait of Alexandra Moltke as Vicki in front of Collinwood drawn by two fans. They had given it to her at the Paley Festival in March of 2001, and she was now donating it to the Festival. It was a beautiful colored pencil drawing, and it brought a good price at auction.

We watched the final skit in the Collinsport Players' series, then Chris Pennock read his latest comic, Fear of Losing Dark Shadows. This issue dealt with his marriage to Marilyn Joseph, DS's Lorna Bell of 1840. (I realize that Chris's comics are highly exaggerated representations, but I always wonder just how much of them are based on truth.)

After Pennock, Robert Rodan took the stage and inevitably, fans began to snap photos. Each time a guest had taken the stage, the audience had taken pictures, but this time, Rodan turned the tables on us. He whipped out a camera of his own to take pictures of us. He aimed the camera into the audience and snapped away several times, then turned it on himself, "just to prove to myself that I was here." After this, he showed clips from a porn movie that he had made called The Minx. (I was surprised that some of the clips were shown because of their content and the fact that younger fans were in the audience.) The backstory that he told revealed that the film hadn't had an actual director in charge, but a professional photographer who hadn't been able to sell the film to a major studio. A producer of adult movies did agree to buy it, and called the cast back to film some additional scenes, making the film more explicit than it already was. Unfortunately, one of the scenes among the clips shown was the death scene of Rodan's character. "Why does something always happen to me?" he lamented. He discussed the death scene, mentioning that his dog had also had a role in the film. Just after being "shot", Robert had smeared chicken grease over his face so the dog would come over to lick his face for a last poignant clip. He said that he'd had a lot of fun making The Minx and told us some stories from those days. During the Q&A session, a couple of Rodan's female admirers stepped forward. One woman told him, "You're a very good looking man." And another confessed, "It's hard for me to watch the show now because I don't like to see what happens to you."

Dennis Patrick succeeded Rodan. I was delighted to see him because I'd heard rumors that he wasn't going to show up after all. Though Patrick needed assistance climbing the stage and joked about his advanced age, he was in good spirits and offered some witty replies during his Q&A session. He shared a couple of limericks with us: one that he'd written about Lela Swift and another about John Karlen as Willie Loomis. I don't know if it would be appropriate to post the content here though. Patrick also spoke in an Irish brogue for us, imitating the style of the town of Cork. He revealed that he'd spoken with an accent as a child, right until he went into acting. Patrick showed some clips from a film called Joe in which he'd starred with Peter Boyle. In response to a question about the movie, he shared an anecdote involving Boyle, who was apparently tough to work with. During one scene, Boyle altered a line of dialogue to make a cruel comment about Jackie Kennedy. The director promised that the scene would be cut, but Dennis didn't trust him, so he pulled the film out of the camera and left it strewn on the floor. Patrick was also asked about his role as the golden man on "Lost in Space." "I was worried about playing the part," he confessed, "because I knew that you could suffocate if your skin was completely covered. I'd forgotten they were only going to put the gold make-up on my face. I had to get there early in the morning before anybody else arrived and I left after everybody else was gone because I had to struggle to clean the 'gold' off my face." Somebody asked Dennis if he thought it was strange that the writers had the Jason Maguire blackmail storyline, which was pretty mundane and typical of soap operas, playing at the same time as the more exciting Barnabas the vampire storyline. Dennis replied, "I never knew what the hell the writers were thinking. I never knew what was in their minds." Another person asked if Dennis thought it was strange that he played Jason, a friend of Paul Stoddard, and later came back to play Stoddard himself. Again Dennis Patrick claimed he never knew what was going on behind the scenes. He even volunteered the information as to why he had left the show the first time. "I offered to punch out the producer when he wouldn't let me out to go to my daughter's graduation. She still won't speak to me about that and she's 52 now." He did seem to have enjoyed his stint on DS though. "Whenever I was working with John Karlen, he always looked like he was going to burst out laughing. I guess he thought I was joking. I don't know what he thought was so funny." (Earlier, Karlen had mentioned how difficult it was to do scenes with Dennis Patrick because Patrick's eyes were constantly rolling back and forth. This made Karlen want to laugh, and "I had to bite the insides of my cheeks until they bled to keep from cracking up.")

Marie Wallace and Richard Halpern stepped up after Patrick had left and acted a scene from Neil Simon's Plaza Suite. They played the part of parents on their daughter's wedding day who were trying to coax the bride out of the bathroom where she'd locked herself. It was a humorous skit and well-played. Marie put on a New York accent and one of the people who stepped up to the microphone later said that it was the best New York accent she'd ever heard. Q&A followed the skit. One man asked Marie if she'd ever taken home any of the show's props, for instance her babies. "No, but I do wish that I'd brought home my fangs. I think those would have been fun to have at parties," she replied. Marie also informed us that she'd never worn wigs on the show. "I had my own hair, even when I was Jenny. I would set it in little curls around my face the night before and tease it up before I went to work. It was my own idea, and it was my real hair." Another man thanked Marie for giving him one of his favorite lines, "that I always use on my bosses when they want me to do something I don't like to do: "You may tell me where I am to stand, but you may not tell me where I am to look." Marie recognized the line from a scene between Adam and Eve, and re-enacted it for us. Somebody else stepped up to inquire about a scene between Eve and Jeff Clark when Roger Davis had unceremoniously shoved Marie. ("We could hear your heels scraping over the ground. Were you mad when he did that?") Marie remembered that too, and explained that during rehearsals, Roger had only shouted at her, keeping his distance. Once the cameras were rolling however, and unable to be stopped, Davis had marched over and given her a healthy push. When she'd confronted him about it later, he'd apologized, claiming that he'd simply been caught up on the emotion of the scene. "I think he did it on purpose though," she confided.

The next event was a scene from the play Love (I didn't catch the author's name) featuring John Karlen (wearing mouse ears and riding a scooter) and Kathryn Leigh Scott. I really enjoyed that show, and the story sounded very interesting (I'm not familiar with this play.) The skit involved two divorced people who wished to get back together, but to do so had to dispose of their respective spouses. I would have liked to see them act the entire play; they did such a great job. (I got some nice pictures from that too.) :)

When the skit concluded, Roger Davis took the stage to close the Festival. "How many of you are here for the first time?" he asked. Many hands went up. "And how many of you are going to the banquet tonight?" Practically every hand went up, which surprised me. (This was to be my first banquet, and I was very excited about it.) After his survey of the audience, Davis began to share anecdotes from his days on "Alias, Smith and Jones," the first of which dealt with--are you all sitting down?--HAIR! Cesar Romero's to be exact. Romero had been a guest star in an episode where the characters were supposed to have been riding in the desert for a time. Everybody looked pretty windblown with the exception of Romero who "always looked so shiny and perfect like he'd just popped out of a hatbox. So the director went up to him and said, 'Well, what if we ruffle him just a little bit?' He put his hand out, and Cesar grabbed him by the wrist."

While Davis's stories were interesting, I was becoming impatient for him to finish up and "dismiss" us so that I could get into the line for banquet tickets. At last, he bid us good night, and I dashed out. The banquet line was nearly as long as the autograph line, but it moved much faster. There were no stars at our table, but I was lucky enough to sit with Cheryl. Robert Rodan and Marie Wallace gave out door prizes (unfortunately, nobody from our table won.) After the chicken dinner, commercials in which Robert Rodan, Marie Wallace, and Humbert Allan Astredo had acted were screened, and those were a lot of fun to watch.

At last it was time for the now-infamous 'DS Documentary' (aka the DS episode of "Sciography") that was supposed to have been screened the night before. I know that a number of people were upset by what they'd seen on the episode and by the reactions that the cast had had toward it. Though it wasn't a popular program, I was still glad that I'd had the chance to see it; anything related to DS interests me. It's unfortunate though that this "documentary" was unable to capture the true magic of the series. :(

From the banquet, it was back to the bar/cafe to socialize with members of this forum. I didn't stay as long as usual because Midnite had graciously invited me to the Disneyland California Adventure park the following day (and that did turn out to be quite the adventure) and I didn't want to oversleep. All in all, I think that Festival 2002 was the best DS event of any that I've attended, and I know that I will always cherish the beautiful memories of that time. :D :D :D

ProfStokes
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Stuart on July 08, 2002, 04:33:30 AM: I haven't got much to add to what everyone else has said, simply that it was generally a great convention, and that it was great seeing so many friends from the DS community there.

I've just added a gallery of pictures to me site at http://www.collinwood.net -- there should be a second batch of pictures going up later this week, fingers crossed.

Cheers

Stuart
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: jennifer on July 08, 2002, 06:05:29 AM: Hey guys loved hearing all the reports i'm in my recoveryphase down here on beautiful cape cod
and just started to read these as i finally have gotten to an internet site it is amazing when you don't have access to a computer I felt like i was on gilligan's island so primitive! [coolb] the stories are all great
and do believe that lightening Diana ran into was one of the most impressive i've seen in a while!

jennifer(Im Back! feeling great 8))
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: The Ghost of Sarah Collins on July 08, 2002, 06:46:35 AM: Prof Stokes, would you please tell me how you created that wonderful musical video? I have wanted to ask how this can be done for so long..
Thank you for any help...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on July 08, 2002, 07:07:46 AM: Quote
jennifer(Im Back! feeling great 8))

Welcome back jennifer - you've been missed. Glad you're feeling great. [thumb]

Hmmm - and is it really just a coincidence that you resurfaced the week Don Briscoe is set to make his first appearance during this DS run? [wink2]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: CrazyJenny on July 08, 2002, 07:36:52 AM: Was anyone else suprised that there weren't more kids at the convention this year with it being in Disneyland? I figured families would want to make a vacation out of it.

By the way, Next years fest ends on my birthday. I expect gifts ;-) lol. just kidding.

Prof, I only caught the tail end of your song, but my friends were just gushing over how great you were. I'm sorry I missed it.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Cassandra on July 08, 2002, 09:29:55 AM: Quote
Hey guys loved hearing all the reports i'm in my recoveryphase down here on beautiful cape cod
and just started to read these as i finally have gotten to an internet site it is amazing when you don't have access to a computer I felt like i was on gilligan's island so primitive! [coolb] the stories are all great
and do believe that lightening Diana ran into was one of the most impressive i've seen in a while!

jennifer(Im Back! feeling great 8))

Hi Jen, Welcome back! Im glad that you had a great time! :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Annie on July 08, 2002, 03:16:44 PM: Hi, Cheryl thanks so much for sharing the report
on the DS Fest glad you had a great time!!!
Wish i could of seen The Q-man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe next yr!!! I will attend!!
Love Anne
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: jennifer on July 08, 2002, 05:54:59 PM: Quote

Welcome back jennifer - you've been missed. Glad you're feeling great. [thumb]

Hmmm - and is it really just a coincidence that you resurfaced the week Don Briscoe is set to make his first appearance during this DS run? [wink2]

Thank you MB i do believe it he will be on Wed can't wait!!!!

jennifer
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Philippe Cordier on July 09, 2002, 05:13:44 AM: After reading Professor Stokes' latest (but not last?) installment, I'm beginning to wonder if I was even at the festival ... I don't know how I managed to miss so much of it! It seems I was always arriving late for an event or having to leave to go eat or something. Let's see, I did see one thing in its entirety -- the Roger Davis real estate development video! ;D

Just kidding, I did see all of David Selby's presentation and some others, though that often seemed to be by accident rather than by design.

My apologies to Bobubas for not commenting on your theatrical performance ... I didn't realize that was your stage debut, and unfortunately this was another instance where I had to leave shortly after the event began ... from the brief glimpse I had, though, Bob, you may want to consider a career move! :D

Gosh, where to start. Well, maybe I'll be nasty and pre-empt Prof. Stokes' account of the banquet dinner (I don't think she's gotten to that yet, anyway). I have to say that the dinner was very, very good -- like virtually everything I ate in California! The fresh mixed greens and vinaigrette whetted my appetite, followed by the main course which was chicken breast. I know people joke about "rubber chicken" banquets, but as with the dinner at the festival in NY last year, this was delicious. I also was impressed by the fact that each plate proved to be steaming hot when the server removed the cover. In addition to the chicken were some wonderful fresh asparagus spears done just right, a rather small dollop of whipped potatoes (I admit I prefer heaps and heaps of mashed potatoes -- with gravy!), a single fresh steamed baby carrot that was so much more flavorful than the packaged kind. There was also a square of something that I couldn't identify. It was hot (temperature) and had a rather gritty texture -- in fact, I wondered if it might have been grits, but the guys I was sitting with were from Texas, and they didn't know what it was either, so it couldn't have been grits. Hmmm, I can't remember what else and I don't think I took notes on the dinner. The dessert was not as fantastic as the one in New York; this was a type of baked apple dessert and the apples were the rather typical dried apples you find in this type of dessert. The wait staff offered coffee or hot tea (I'm more of a tea consumer, though I had aromatic coffee at my Starbucks breakfasts every morning ...). One thing I did miss was wine, though. If memory serves correct, we were served wine at the dinner at the Marriott World Trade Center last August.

As far as actors from the show whom I talked with or saw up close ...

I got in line (when it was fairly short) to say hello to Kathryn Leigh Scott and mentioned a subject we had chatted about last year (briefly, this had to do with one of her non-DS publishing ventures and someone I met who knows KLS through that). Next I mentioned that I had purchased the video of "The Great Gatsby" recently and had been shocked to discover that the Academy Award winning score had been completely gutted from the video, and wondered if she knew anything about why that was done. She didn't. I then said that luckily AMC had run the movie shortly after that, with the original music ("What'll I Do When You are Far Away ...") and had taped it. I wanted to ask her about working with Sam Waterston, but I thought I shouldn't take up any more time, so I just said it was nice talking with her again this year, and she turned to say something to her assistant and that was it.

John in SC, you were wondering about Robert Rodan. Because of unscheduled time changes in events, when I arrived in the ballroom his appearance was already underway. Or I should say his steamy bedroom scenes were heating up the screen. I learned that this was a movie he had made called "Minx" and the guy next to me said it was really horrible.

After the clip, Mr. Rodan answered some questions from the crowd and said that he was 6'4", although he has shrunk. This was something I had been curious about (his height, not his shrinking). His hair was pulled back in a pony tail and I thought he would look better if it had just been cut short, but that's just my opinion. He did his "Bar - na - bus" line upon request and he sounded exactly the same as he did on the show. That was really the only thing I recognized about him from the show.

Regarding the soft-porn scenes (well, I may not have seen all that Professor Stokes reported, because there was nothing that couldn't actually have aired on prime-time TV that I saw), Mr. Rodan said that he had gotten very "hot and bothered" filming these scenes and then went back to his apartment and "took it out" on his girlfriend (wink, wink).

After the Q&A, Mr. Rodan walked to the back of the ballroom where I was standing and gave a friendly nod in my direction.

Rubbing elbows with the actors at the festivals really drives home the reality that the actor is NOT the character you see on "Dark Shadows." And although the actors are very talented and interesting people, I began wondering if I would really prefer to meet the characters on DS ... not the real people behind them. I mean, just think: Barnabas, Julia, Maggie -- all of them -- they are the ones who continue to fascinate me, more than the real-life actors ...

Well, I've written all this and haven't even gotten to my notes yet (and this is my second installment!), and I'm beginning to wonder if I ever will. Maybe it won't be necessary, and I think I have to wrap things up for tonight ...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Carol on July 09, 2002, 06:39:13 AM: Quote

Rubbing elbows with the actors at the festivals really drives home the reality that the actor is NOT the character you see on "Dark Shadows." And although the actors are very talented and interesting people, I began wondering if I would really prefer to meet the characters on DS ... not the real people behind them. I mean, just think: Barnabas, Julia, Maggie -- all of them -- they are the ones who continue to fascinate me, more than the real-life actors ...

Vlad, I'm glad that you brought up this point because that has been what has stopped me from attending any of the NY Fests.

Even tho I know that these characters do not exist, I want to meet Willie Loomis, Maggie Evans, Jason McGuire, etc. Will my preconceived notions be altered once I meet the actor/actress behind the facade?

I guess what I'm asking is: once you meet the actor/
actress behind the character, does your opinion of the character change? For example, I could never see Maggie Evans turning into a KLS or downtrodden Willie Loomis being a lively John Karlen.

Does you opinion of the character change once you meet the actor/actress? I hope I made myself clear.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 09, 2002, 06:39:22 AM: Quote
There was also a square of something that I couldn't identify. It was hot (temperature) and had a rather gritty texture -- in fact, I wondered if it might have been grits, but the guys I was sitting with were from Texas, and they didn't know what it was either, so it couldn't have been grits.

Cornbread. :D
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: mfmdpt on July 09, 2002, 07:06:32 AM: Quote
Does you opinion of the character change once you meet the actor/actress?

I can't say that's been the case for me. In most instances, meeting the actors and hearing them speak about their character(s) and how they approached the role(s) has only made me enjoy the character(s) more. Well, with at least one big exception, and I've never made a secret of who that is. ;) LOL!
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ProfStokes on July 09, 2002, 09:06:22 AM: Quote
After reading Professor Stokes' latest (but not last?) installment, I'm beginning to wonder if I was even at the festival ...

LOL, yes, I've finally finished my accounts of the Fest. I apologize for my wordiness; people have told me in the past that I talk too much. I'll have to moderate my reports of future events. :-X

Quote
Let's see, I did see one thing in its entirety -- the Roger Davis real estate development video! ;D

Ironically, that was one of the things that I didn't see. Somehow, I always seemed to find something more pressing to do outside the ballroom whenever Roger's documentary was playing. ;)

Quote
Well, I've written all this and haven't even gotten to my notes yet (and this is my second installment!), and I'm beginning to wonder if I ever will. Maybe it won't be necessary, and I think I have to wrap things up for tonight ...

Thank you for posting your continued report, Vlad. I hope that you will continue to share with us; I'm curious as to what notes you made on the Festival.

ProfStokes
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: jennifer on July 09, 2002, 05:17:51 PM: just curious about The roger davis video
Did a lot of people stay for it? i don't know if
I would have been happy hearing that when i came to see things about the show kind of like those
time sharing places you go too!

jennifer
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Stuart on July 09, 2002, 06:07:33 PM: LOL @ timeshare comments...

Like pretty much everything connected to Roger Davis over the weekend, I think most people just gritted their teeth and tried to ignore it as politely as possible ;)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Carol on July 09, 2002, 07:31:41 PM: Quote
just curious about The roger davis video
Did a lot of people stay for it? i don't know if
I would have been happy hearing that when i came to see things about the show kind of like those
time sharing places you go too!

jennifer

I would have at least hoped Roger was gracious enough to serve the requisite stale pastry, small glass of oj and one cup of coffee before boarding the tour bus to see the overpriced model homes.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Cassandra on July 09, 2002, 09:01:10 PM: Hi Vlad, Thanks for the great report on the fest. It sounds like you really enjoyed yourself. I really enjoyed reading all about it. Looking forward to hearing the rest! :)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 09, 2002, 11:57:48 PM: I've just finished uploading Bobubas' 2002 Dark Shadows Festival photos on his web site. You can find them at the url below:

http://bobubas.topcities.com/index.htm

Criseyde
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Dean on July 10, 2002, 03:47:43 AM: Exit "lurking" mode ~~ :P

Hi :D

This was my 9th festival. I have attended all of the festivals since 1994, as well as, many of the one-day DS trips including DS day in Tarrytown, NY ~ DS dinner at the Le Bar Bat in NYC, and also last year's NODS Anniversary showing in LA. I really enjoyed this festival as it was more intimate and not as crowded as the NY festivals since to be each year. This was my second year for volunteering at the information desk which was fun. I also was fortunate to be asked to assist Marie Wallace at her table when she was needed elsewhere at the festival, and also assisted her with escorting her to her room when she was done selling her photos and prints. I really enjoyed listening to Jeanne Avery talk about David's life and career. David's character on DS has always been my favorite and it was a real treat to hear the "missing pieces" as to how his life and career has turned out.

I guess while I have exited the "lurking" mode I should also introduce myself, my name is Dean - and I am original fan of DS. My sister used DS as a babysitting tool to keep my attention when I was a little kid - by placing me in front of the tv - so she could do her homework. I loved the show then, and I still do to this day. In 1977, DS aired on our local PBS station, and showed the introduction of Barnabas up until her was ready to kill Dr. Woodard - then it was gone! POOF! :-[

I hated math as a teen - and so it was also about that time while taking a math class - that my math teacher learned from a parent-teacher conference with my mother that I loved DS. We found out that my math teacher's sister (who was in her 40's at the time) also loved the show and had collected all of the DS Marilyn Ross novels. So, a deal was struck - as long as I could pass my math tests each week - she would borrow the DS novels from her sister and allow me to read them. Well, needless to say, I passed my math class with flying colors all the while - reading all of the DS Marilyn Ross Novels. ;D

In 1989, I started collecting the DS MPI tapes while living in Chicagoland. Funny thing, I never looked closely at the back of the DS VHS tape jacket and noticed the DS Festival information - until 1993 when I purchased a copy of KLS, DS Companion. I sent away for information - and then joined a fanzine called the DS Collectible Classifieds. It was through the fanzine that I met Bobubas and after a lunch at Chili's Restaurant ~ looking at his scrapbooks and purchasing a few DS Marilyn Ross novels from him as well - I attended my first DS festival in LA in 1994. :)

I have also been fortunate to sponsor two Jonathan Frid shows in my hometown in 1999 & 2001. Both were extremly fun to sponsor and have the opportunity to bring Jonathan to the Midwest for fans to see his one-man shows.

I continue to enjoy the DS Festivals each year and fandom. I rarely post to boards, but do enjoy reading everyone's comments.

~~ now back to LURK mode ~~~ ;)

Dean
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Philippe Cordier on July 10, 2002, 04:26:18 AM: Cassandra and others, I'm glad you enjoyed my commentary on the Festival; I could literally write pages and pages more, but I think I'm going to have to limit myself to a brief wrapup now ...

First, to respond to Carol's question - yes, your question is crystal clear, and it's a good one. Speaking for myself, I really do not find any "overlap" between the reality of seeing or meeting the actors and watching the characters on the show. This may partly be due to the fact that this is 30 years later, and most of the actors have changed so much in appearance. Still, Lara Parker is probably the most unchanged of any of the DS performers, and when I watch the show, I do NOT see OR think of Lara Parker, a real woman who lives in Southern California. I see only Angelique, a witch. And the same is true for all of the other actors, too. I do not think of the real-life actors behind the roles when I'm viewing the show. I think this speaks well both for the overall quality of the acting, but even more I think it's because DS is truly another world - fantastic, escapist, what have you - that I immediately enter the moment I tune in to the show.

Speaking of escape, fantasy - perhaps one of the best things about the Festival for any avid viewer is that the Festival allows you to become almost completely immersed in the world of Dark Shadows for an entire weekend. Nearly any time of day or late into the night and early morning hours, you need only step into the convention hall to enter the world of DS. Even if there's nothing else going on, a video of the show or one of the DS movies will be showing. It's a wonderful escape for a few days from the real world.

Ms Criseyde identified the mystery food item at the banquet as cornbread. That was my first thought upon tasting it, too, but this was unlike any cornbread I've ever eaten, and I'm crazy about cornbread! So, I'm not entirely convinced about that ... Oh, and MsCriseyde, after looking at the photos on Bobubas's site, I realize that I saw you among others at various times during the festival. I'm sorry we didn't actually meet. Actually, you did look familiar, so if we met in NY last year, and I've forgotten, my apologies (as I had to do last weekend with Teresa, who said we met in NY, but the details were very hazy for me ... ) :D

Prof Stokes says she did not see the Roger Davis real estate video ... dear, if you were at the banquet, you saw it, believe me! Perhaps you've had all memory of it erased from your mind ...

Another note about the banquet: I was truly pleased with the "free gift" of the magnet reproducing Barnabas' portrait from the Great House. The black background is the perfect setting and it now graces my refrigerator, alongside "Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" magnets.

Speaking of merchandise, I really, really wish now that I had bought one of those miniature Josette's music boxes back when MPI offered them. I spoke with an MPI rep at the festival and she said they would not be offered again. I have the feeling that they didn't sell too well, which is understandable given the price.

I was rather taken with a poster I saw at the festival that was a portrait of Quentin by Jim Graziano, which was only $10, but I had no way of transporting it (they had no mailing tubes). It would have been fun to have framed at home. It didn't sound like these were available by mail.

The rest of this will just be random things tossed out.

Jeanne Avery: I hadn't realized until reading the program that she is Jeanne Avery the astrologer. She truly has a toehold in -- or should I say "grip" on that market (wink to midnite). Quote: David "never wanted to be a normal kid."

KLS: Interesting to hear in the Q&A about her experience working with George C. Scott. Couldn't have been too pleasant from the way she described him trying to throw off her concentration. I was a bit surprised by KLS's repeating the anecdote about how they decided to make David Ford's character go blind because he couldn't remember his lines. This after how many months or years on the show? I confess I am a bit skeptical of her story, entertaining though it was. What would the point have been in doing this since his character was about to be killed off anyway?

An aside regarding this Q&A event with all of the DS actors/guests: this was billed simply as "DS Cast Reunion" in the printed materials, which I assumed meant that the actors would be off in a private room somehwere sipping wine and catching up amongst themselves. It was only by accident that I didn't miss this event, but only because I was already seated in the convention room.

The Display Room: A little publicized and not explained aspect of the festival. It wasn't mentioned in the printed program, and I only heard about it when Jim Pierson annoucned at one point where it was but didn't say what it was. I wasn't the only one in the dark about this, as several people I talked to hadn't heard anything about it. When I tried to access the room during posted hours, the door was locked. Fortunately it was open the next day that I tried. There were some interesting displayed photos, such as of the actual Old House, that were interesting to see.

Joan Bennett: I hadn't known that she attended her last couple of festivals in a wheelchair. Wow, she must have had good feelings about the show and the fans. :)

David Selby: I was unaware that he either has a Ph.D., or came close to completing one, in philosophy. Very impressive. Also that he hung out with Robert Lowell and Anne Sexton - two great American poets. That must have been a trip, considering their talent, Sexton's beauty, and their highly volatile emotional conditions.

Alexandra Moltke: I missed most of the recent video interview with her that was presented, but noted that she spoke highly of Joan Bennett as well as Thayer David. She said that David was a recovering alcoholic and that as far as she knew he never slipped, which I was heartened to hear. She also acknowledged that he had a dark side, but she obviously cared a great deal for him. Someone mentioned to me that the only major actor on the show that Ms. Moltke-Isles didn't mention was Grayson Hall, but I don't know whether anything should be read into this since she was asked about each of the individual actors by an off-screen interviewer.

Finally, a note on the hotel: the rooms were beautiful, decorated in a tropical style, with colorful paintings, gilt-framed mirrors, and excellent lighting. I couldn't believe how spacious and comfortable mine was, much more luxurious than the WTC Marriott's rooms (and without those annoying adjoining doors on each side that you could hear everything through). Nothing could beat the WTC's staff for cordiality, however. My view from the Anaheim Marriott's Oasis Tower overlooked the fountain and flowers at the front entrance and the palm-lined boulevard, and I could watch the arrivals and departures of all the guests.

These few days in California were a brief paradise.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 10, 2002, 05:17:17 AM: I thought the mystery food was Polenta ( which may be cornbread ). I also did not eat the apple strudle thing and I love sweets but was hoping for something yummy and chocolate. There was a bar set up that sold wine ($$$) I settled for the water at my table.
ProfStokes and Vlad, Keep those detailed reports coming. I love reading your accounts and they help me refresh my memory about some things.
The display room was locked due to the lack of volunteers to watch the room. Remeber all the kids running up and down the hall from the piano recital? Well, I heard they made their way into the display room unsupervised and that could have been a disaster.
I also made too many trips to Starbucks and am now addicted to Ice Chai Latte's. I am trying to break that addiction as I do not want to have to add another day at the gym. I hear those things are loaded with calories.
Did anyone watch the rock opera "Evensong"? I decided to stay and check it out and was quite impressed. I found some of the songs to have quite lovely lyrics and was planning on buying the cd but by the time I got to the dealers room, it was closed. Fortunetly, I found the guys email address and have ordered one. He said he would sign it for me.
Today is a week since I returned and I still have not gotten back to my sleep routine. I find myself wide awake at 10:30 ( late for me on a work day) and having a terrible time getting out of bed at 5:00 am. Gaining those 3 hours is great but coming home is another story.
I hope to get my pictures developed tomorrow and will get them up asap.
Teresa
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 10, 2002, 05:29:38 AM: Teresa,

You're probably right on the polenta. I was just doing my ignorant southerner mouthing off routine. ;D To us, polenta is just soggy cornbread. :P

So, I guess in California they ruin it by making it soggy and up north they ruin it by adding sugar to it. :P
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: MsCriseyde on July 10, 2002, 05:44:10 AM: MORE FEST PHOTOS!
[/size]

I've just finished uploading some more photos of David Selby from the recent Dark Shadows Festival. These three new pages of photos were kindly donated by Dean. You can view them by clicking on the link banner below and then following the link in the What's New section.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Stuart on July 10, 2002, 10:31:43 AM: According to Jim Pierson, the mystery food was polenta, the cornmeal stuff... Which didn't make me like it any more -- ick... ;)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 10, 2002, 05:57:27 PM: Quote
According to Jim Pierson, the mystery food was polenta, the cornmeal stuff... Which didn't make me like it any more -- ick... ;)

It was gross. That was the 3rd time I've tried the stuff and it never gets any better. Now, I love cornbread when it's made like a cake. Nice and dry with a big bowl of chili.
I also did not like the sauce they had the chicken sitting on. I think it was a raspberry sauce and it got mixed up with my mashed potatoes. The potatoes on the other hand were quite good and I could have used more.
Teresa
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: ClaudeNorth on July 10, 2002, 08:09:15 PM: While we're on the topic of the banquet, how is the seating handled? Is everyone assigned a seat, or can you sit anywhere?

Maybe one of these years I'll make it to the banquet...

Regards,

John
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Teresa on July 10, 2002, 08:52:58 PM: Well, I got my pics back and Mscrisedye, you think you are a bad photographer! Most of mine came out dark or at least the ones from the auditorium did. I really did not take many of the cast.
I scanned some today and once I saw them realized there was a streak going across. When I checked my scanner, I saw something has spilled on the glass ( God only knows what it was ). So after I clean it off, I will rescan and somehow get a few here. I took alot of pictures with various members of the board and you all look great in them. Next year I may visit a tanning bed prior to the fest since my face looks so pale next to all of you with those nice tans.
On an OT note: Bruce announced his tour dates today and I will be missing the LA show( boo hoo, I was looking forward to seeing Midnite and Profstokes again) but good news is that he will be in Europe during Tarrytown so I sent in my check in today for Halloween.
Somebody hold me down, I can't stand the excitement!
Teresa
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Luciaphile on July 11, 2002, 03:06:56 AM: Quote

It was gross. That was the 3rd time I've tried the stuff and it never gets any better. Now, I love cornbread when it's made like a cake. Nice and dry with a big bowl of chili.

If polenta is prepared properly, it is delicious. Most of the instant stuff is icky and a hotel/banquet facility probably isn't going to do the best job with it.

It needs to be cooked for a very long time on the stovetop and you have to season it right. My mom has a variation of it where after it's chilled and firm, she tops it with tomato sauce and veggies and bakes it (yummy)

Luciaphil
(who has Sicilian-American roots)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports
Post by: Dawn on July 11, 2002, 08:59:34 AM: Phew! I finally made it to the end of these posts. I've enjoyed your reports ProfStokes, but I didn't see a reference to the curse of Cassandra from Monday. :o Are you and Midnite pretending it just didn't happen and it was a bad dream?

I have already said how much I've enjoyed all the people and now I am enjoying all the photos. I've had several sent to me by friends at the fest (thanks Nancy, J99, and Midnite) and have sent an equal amount out myself. LeBrat got some really great shots!

Someone mentioned fewer children at fest. I did my part, she just doesn't LOOK like a kid. ;)

Dawn