Dark Shadows Festival 2002 Reports

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!  

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

(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!    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!  ) 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!   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!      

ProfStokes

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.)  

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.