Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience day 1: Star Trek: TNG and the Voodoo Pearl Mermaids

You may recall that for Christmas my parents gave me something I very desperately wanted: A VIP ticket to the upcoming Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience. I cried when I opened the box and saw the ticket inside, and my brothers slow-clapped, It was all very, very good.

And then I had to wait four months to redeem the gift.

The wait was totally worth it!! Three days of fun with friends, great fan-made costumes, and geeking out over stars I'm crazy about (most of whom I've been fans of since junior high).

I had debated whether to dress up in character for one or all or none of the days. If I'd learned one thing from my first Salt Lake Comic Con, it was that the best costumes were the ones where people went BIG and were detailed. Well, my personality isn't one that accommodates planning ahead so that didn't really happen, but I ended up reasonably pleased with the results anyway.

The costume inspiration for day 1, Thursday, April 17: Deanna Troi's uniform from the Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot:

I was looking for pieces for my day 3 costume when I stumbled upon a blue dress that nodded to this one. There was no black on the dress (except the buttons), but I DO have boots and a communicator pin. Boom!

This is now one of my favorite dresses and I plan to wear it
a lot this summer. You have been warned.

I realized sometime during that first evening that I had owned that pin for 20 years and never worn it in public. I'm so glad I finally got the chance!

My goal that first day was simple: get a photo with Michael Dorn, the actor who played Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation. His character was my favorite on the show, and this was all I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't plan ahead, and they didn't allow you to purchase photo ops online the day of the Con. I also worked the whole day, so when I finally got to the Con at about 4pm, checked in, found the photo op station (which was almost as far from the front doors as you can get, and I'm not exaggerating), and reached the front of the line, there wasn't time left in Mr. Dorn's session that day to fit me in. I was disappointed because, as I mentioned, I was IN my Star Trek gear that day, and it would have made more sense than the costume I had planned for the next day. However, the important thing was that I get a photo with him, so I bought an op for the next day, and then went to find my friends.

My friend Carrie was Applejack from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on the day I went to Comic Con last year. She's in the costume industry, so when she dresses up she goes all out! On Thursday, she was Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings. A couple of random guys actually got on their knees and bowed down to her at one point. She was hanging out with some Kiss Me Kate guys -- Adam and Kenn -- and soon after, Kati joined us in her ST: TNG uniform, and Kyle showed up looking completely normal.

Kenn, Kati, Adam, Carrie, me, and Kyle

We spent some time just walking around and seeing what there was to see.

I knew Jon was Captain Planet without any prompting.
It was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon when I was in Junior High!

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

The Voodoo Pearl Mermaids were so nice, and seriously gorgeous.
No wonder this was my most "Liked" photo on FB from that day.

Couldn't resist a classic Star Trek v. Star Wars photo.
Thank goodness this Stormtrooper has a sense of humor!

My friend Howie in her Loki dress, and Stacy in a dress with panels from Marvel comic books

Kati and Kyle had bought tickets to the special event that evening: a panel reuniting all of the cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation (except for Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton who weren't there) hosted by William Shatner. Since it cost extra, I'd decided not to go. Kati and Kyle were floored. Kati couldn't even talk, she just guestured wildly at my costume, and Kyle -- who I've had extensive conversations with about the show(s) -- said something to the effect of "Seriously? YOU are going to miss this?!" When time came for them to get in line, everyone else was ready to go home, so I stayed to hang out with Kyle and Kati... I was waffling on the idea of going. I almost cracked up when they both stared at me with the exact same wide, sweet, hopeful expressions on their faces. I finally caved, and bought the very last general admission ticket. Then I tried getting in the VIP line, but it turned out I was not allowed to save seats or let my non-VIP friends wait in line with me, so I ditched that line in favor of hanging out with my friends. I don't regret it!

I'm glad they pressured me into going to the panel. It was so fun and weird to see all of the actors as their normal selves. You could tell they were all good friends and cared about and supported each other.

from left: Michael Dorn (Worf), Brent Spiner (Data), announcer (might be Dan Farr, the man who produced the Con), Jonathan Frakes (Riker, behind the announcer), William Shatner, Marina Sirtis (Troi), Gates McFadden (Crusher, who hasn't aged a day), and Denise Crosby (Yar, you can only see her arm here)

Michael Dorn takes his rightful place behind the horseshoe on the bridge set...

...before Denise Crosby edged him out

First off, Marina Sirtis was a surprise. Apparently she's nothing like her character -- she's totally out-going and wacky. In the middle of Michael Dorn answering the first question, she got up and started walking around. I didn't have a great view of the stage, so I wasn't sure what she was doing. I assumed she was drunk. Turns out, she was trying to move the consoles at the front of the stage because she didn't want to block anyone's view of the cast "These people have paid a lot of money for their tickets and I want them to see us!" She acknowledged that anyone who has ever seen her at one of those things knows the first thing she does is move the furniture :)

Some of my favorite moments/quotes included (yes, I wrote these down):
"There will be no hunger, there will be no greed, and all of the children will learn to read." Jonathan Frakes, quoting Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry

"I did think it was interesting that it was 'Bones' and then 'Crusher'." - Gates McFadden

When asked who the actors would choose to play their role in a reboot:
Worf: Idris Elba
Dr. Crusher: Jessica Chastain
Yar: Charlize Theron
Troi: Mila Kunis
Data: Tilda Swinton
Riker: Wil Wheaton

An audience member asked if William Shatner would be willing to guest star on The Big Bang Theory: "I called them once, and they said, 'William who?'"
Brent Spiner: "Well, you know, when I was on the Big Bang Theory..." Audience laughs. "If you'd like, I can give them a call, Bill."

Brent Spiner doing impressions of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan alternately:
"Patrick?"
"Yes, Ian?"
"What are you doing?"
"Talking like you!"

"I didn't stop wearing heels; I just stopped running in them." - Marina Sirtis, after a story about how she sprained her ankle running across the street in high heels.

"I'd say 'Report', all hell would break loose, and I'd say 'Red alert!'" - Jonathan Frakes, pointing out that he never got any of the technobabble dialogue.

Michael Dorn, joking about the time one of the producers insisted he use false teeth: "We would believe that he was Klingon, but his bottom teeth give him away."

Brent Spiner, in reference to the episode "Genesis" where most of the characters but Data regresse into primitive species: "I was the only one who didn't change. I should have been an old laptop."

Marina Sirtis, every time Jonathan Frakes said the "F" word: "This is Utah!"
After the last time he swore she added, "...And it's Easter!"

Here is a video from the last 10 minutes of the panel:


After their curtain call, Brent Spiner made a surprise announcement: Patrick Stewart was going to come to Comic Con on Saturday!!

There was no possible way anyone could top that, and it was closing time anyway, so that marked the end of the first day.

The crowd exploded into applause!

Stay tuned for posts about my experiences on day 2 and day 3 of Salt Lake Comic Con FanX!

Dressing up for work

Once upon a time, I worked with a guy named Brock. Brock and I worked together for the better part of a year, and he wore jeans and a t-shirt to work everyday.

Then, one day, he wore a button-down shirt and a tie. We'd never seen him look so fancy; we teased him about having a job interview during lunch. Brock was a really jokey guy, so we were kind of taken aback when he became defensive.

The next day, he turned in his two-week notice, because he HAD gone on a job interview, and that WAS why he was dressed up at work.

The lesson I learned from this experience is to dress up for work once in awhile -- even though I don't really have to -- so that if I ever need to do an interview during work hours no one will suspect me ;)

I've been thinking about this lately 'cause I realized it had been awhile since I put any effort into my work clothes. Jeans and sweaters suit me just fine for sitting and staring at a computer all day. I'm not really looking for another job, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to step up my fashion sense just a little, even if the only people to see me are my co-workers. So I have.

I forgot how much better I feel when I put effort into my every day dress!

And no one has asked any questions ;)

Winning!

You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important.

I'm fairly certain we can all agree that the winter months are kind of miserable. After the holidays, we're faced with grey, yucky weather, no "big" holidays to look forward to, and the reality of paying off all those Christmas-time bills, not to mention the effects certain astrological events have on people in general. In addition to this, I'm dealing with some frustration at work and events that are giving me deja-vu to situations where the lesson I learn was that I am not important.

February is not an easy month for me emotionally. It never has been. But I've noticed a really disturbing trend, lately. My go-to answer to the question "How are you?" used to be "I'm happy." I'd say it when I was in a good mood, and would often say it when I was in a grumpy mood but wanted to pull myself out of it. For the last several months, I've been answering with "I'm OK." I guess that isn't so bad, but what I'm really saying is "I'm drowning in frustration and loss and feeling crappy and whiny, but I don't really want to talk about it right now and I hate saying 'I'm fine" so I'm using this as a placeholder." I can't even remember the last time I said "I'm happy" and meant it.

Now, I should probably take a moment to say that it's perfectly natural to go through grumpy periods. To expect myself (or anyone, really) to ALWAYS be in a good mood is setting myself up to fail. As Westley says in The Princess Bride, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." It's OK to not feel blissfully happy all the time. It's normal, even when it goes on for weeks or months. There's always a certain amount of happy, and a certain amount of sad. I, personally, don't like to feel sad, but just because I've been feeling sad that doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong with me, as long as I don't let it overwhelm me. You take the good with the bad, right Facts of Life?

It bugs me when I'm described as "happy all the time." I feel pressure to be that way, like I'm not allowed to have a bad day, or if I do have one I am expected to keep it under wraps. Talk about unfair. I don't think emotions should be used as personality descriptors, because, if I'm a "happy person", then what the heck am I if I'm not happy? Oh, yeah, still normal.

I think I've been putting too much pressure on myself lately, and suddenly I'm noticing some troubling things about the way I talk about myself:

I'm a slacker.
I'm terrible.
I'm awful.
I'm the worst.

It's usually meant in a self-deprecating, jokey way, but the truth is, I'm starting to believe it. When you say a thing over and over again you tend to believe it, and I have started to believe it. I've started feeling sorry for myself. I feel bullied. I feel hopeless. I feel like a victim. That's definitely NOT okay!

My family has a history of depression, and several of my family members take medication. I've been to a therapist who determined that I am not depressed, but I sometimes wonder if that will change as I get older. That's why I feel the need to identify my problems, think my way through them, and talk them over with people I trust; people who know me, won't judge, and will help me figure out how to get back to my own personal version of normal.

As I focus on cutting those damaging statements out of my conversation, I've been repeating the following platitudes:

Yes, they are corny. No, I don't care. I need to change my personal view, and give myself permission to be less than perfect. If little things like joking that "I'm terrible" can make believe that I really am terrible, then little things like "I'm happy" can make me believe I'm happy... and then I'll get there again.

I've been feeling helpless in a lot of ways, and positive affirmation is a way to take back a tiny bit of control and do something for me. My life is great for the most part. I miss being my cheerful self. I need to redirect my sadness into acceptance and gratitude. I may change and grow in many ways, but I want to keep hold of "optimistic Megan" as much as possible -- let's grow THAT version of me, instead of "self-bullying Megan", shall we?

March: out like a lion

Wow, March went by fast! Guess I'm not all that surprised. When you perform every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night, you tend to lose half of the month! Predictably, I didn't think to photograph all of the other fun stuff... I just wanted to be and participate.

We released a smallish project at work, so our product owner took the team to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate

It was on "Pie Day" -- 3/14 -- but I wasn't about to turn down free cheesecake!
The turtle flavor was delicious.

Baby shower for my sister-in-law Jordyn

Kudos to Lindsey on the diaper cake, and Sara on the epic decorations!

Me and my Breezy!

Zonks helping to deliver presents to Aunt Jordyn

Smyth-side cousins and aunts!!

My sisters-in-law: Jordyn and Lindsey
(Golly, I'm a shrimp!)

Jordyn's sister, mom, and sister-in-law

The Sound of Music was successful -- hooray!

The theatre added two more performances to the end of the run.

Kellie and Mattie June both came to my final dress rehearsal/preview on the 1st.
Mattie June gave birth to a daughter four days later :)

Pondering how to solve a problem like Maria
(I'm the second from the left)

Maria and the kids -- I miss them!

First impressions

My favorite scene: laughing knowingly while the other nuns looked confused over the sheer nightie!

Beautiful family prepares to climb the mountain into Switzerland

Nuns during our matinee

Since my cast performed in both the matinee and evening show on the 29th, the theatre was kind enough to feed us dinner in between -- yay!

The kids and novice nuns spent some time playing "Red Rover."
Predictably, the kids got creamed, and everyone laughed a ton!

Technically, we didn't close until April 1st, but I'm going to include closing night pics here anyway! I was a little worried about closing on a Tuesday; luckily, quite a few of the Monday cast came to support us, and they jazzed up the rest of the audience.

Best Maria since Julie Andrews. I'm sorry if you missed her; I adore this woman!

Jalaire: one of the best stage managers I've ever had!

Closing night treats -- made for the quite the haul. I gave myself permission not to feel guilty for not bringing gifts. Everyone was probably grateful not to have even more sweets to take home ;)

Julie had joked that after being dumped by the Captain so many times she might as well become a nun, so we swapped costumes after our last performance. I think the looks on the right suit us rather well, don't you?
(Sadly, the blue dress wouldn't zip up all the way on me... guess I'll have to stay a nun.)

I commented to the group that "Megan from three months ago is totally in awe that she's there with all of these awesome people." Nice, fun, and talented? How did I get to lucky to become friends with them?!

Now it's April, and the play has ended. I'm relieved, and I'll also really miss it. It's been a long time since I was in a cast that large, and I still marvel at how well we got along. They accepted me exactly as I am and always made me feel loved. I am so grateful!

What's next? I plan to audition for three plays this month, and see a couple more, and attend the Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience, and finish the last Percy Jackson novel, and await the arrival of two babies to two families I dearly love, and maybe have LASIK done again. Oh, and Easter and General Conference, of course. Busy as always, and fun! But first, to sleep off this bug I picked up. Well, at least I didn't get sick until after the play closed and I can lie about all weekend. Lucky me!

What do you have planned for April?

Halfway through the Sound of Music

The Sound of Music at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre is now halfway through the run -- 7 performances down and 7 to go -- and I think that warrants a blog post!

Sister Berthe, Sister Sophia (me), Mother Abbess, Sister Margaretta

It's going well! Audiences are really enjoying it, and I am kind of amazed at how many nice things they say to us. I like to think it's a great show, but I'm biased, you know? Regardless, the nuns are a huge hit, as is our Maria. Seriously, Mickey Larson is perfect. Since we can't have Julie Andrews, I'm glad we have her. Actually, just read the Utah Theatre Bloggers Association's review. It sums it all up quite nicely (spoiler: the reviewer didn't like our Captain). I was honestly surprised to see my name in it, and thrilled he had nice things to say! We nuns are very proud of how hard we worked on our music, and hearing that we sound great is so gratifying. We are STILL working hard to make sure we don't get lazy and start sounding badly. Each performance gets better and better.

Fun facts (in no particular order):

• To me, the most exciting sound in the entire show is that of the curtain rising while the bells toll at the very beginning. I'm standing behind it with the other nuns, and it just... it sounds like anticipation! The curtain rising is the start of a brand new adventure, one the cast on stage gets to take with the audience. What will happen during this performance? Will the audience like it? Will we have fun? No two performances are ever the same. I love live theater!! (I've told the sisters that I sing with how much I love this sound, and they've all bought into it. It's so fun celebrating and playing with them!)

• A lot of cast members have family in the show (a nun in every family). Both Brigittas get to do it with their moms, and one has a grandpa in the show, too! Lots of mother/daughter and a few father/daughter connections... no sons involved that I know of...

Real-life mother and daughter play Mother Abbess and Maria in my cast

• Thirty of the actors wear microphones, and none of them share (well, we share with our doubles in the other cast). There additional microphones hidden onstage for those who do not have their own.

• Many cast members have performed in The Sound of Music before. As far as I know, the only persons repeating a role are the Captains Von Trapp -- both have played the role in other productions. I already hope I get to do it again someday!

• One of our nuns is pregnant. She isn't showing yet, but we still think it's hilarious.

• The people I knew best when we started are the production team. How I love these women! I'm always amazed at how much a cast bonds during rehearsals, and even more so during the run of the show. You get to know your dressing roommates really well hanging out backstage. There are several people I want to keep for a long, long time. I love how much everyone gets along. I may not know anyone really well, but I like the whole cast. They're talented, and nice. A great combination.

Choreographer Liz, music director Maddie, and director Maurie

We couldn't resist a photo with Maurie when she came to visit on Tuesday.
Melinda (on the left) jokes we have four nuns and one of the knights of the round table.
Love the wimple!

• The four main nuns (including me) are not included in the party scene, and that's ok with us! (The Captain did personally invite us once.) It means I don't have to be glamorous this time. No false eyelashes, no spanx, no fancy hairstyle. Just a lot of black and singing and facial expression :D It's fun looking more or less normal when I go out after the show!

• During dress rehearsals, I kept getting into trouble for moving my hands under my scapula (the piece of fabric that hangs down in front of my robe). Apparently it looks a little like an alien coming out of my chest... Whoops! Wrong play!
  (It is nice to have "business" to do with my hands AKA having them folded in front of me at all times. If I can manage to keep them still, it looks good, they aren't distracting, and I don't have to worry about them.) 

• All of the Von Trapp kids have dressers assigned to them, because they have a costume change for every scene and most of them are quick. I'm in charge of Marta, the second youngest. This little girl cracks me up. She probably doesn't even need me, but it warms my heart that she pretends to rely on me (I'm not fooled. There's one complicated change where two of us are helping the three youngest girls. Once, both of us changers missed it and the kids just helped each other; we apologized profusely afterwards, but they got it done and didn't seem put out). Those kids are amazing and really neat people!

Marta and Sister Sophia

• The scene change music between "Do-Re-Mi" and "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" is 23 seconds long, which means that is all the time Liesl has to change from her uniform into a frilly gown. Sister Berthe and I help her. We have been really lucky to have finished in time during every performance so far!

Liesel and Rolf

• This is what our cast t-shirt looks like:



 Cute, eh? The kids' version has the top of their pants printed on theirs!


• I've been telling my friends that my part is tiny, so they should only come if they like the play The Sound of Music. I still say so, although of course it's not nearly as fun if I don't have any friends there (I was a little depressed after that first week when I realized that most who are planning to come had already done so and few would be coming later in the run). I'm a little surprised at how many say they hate the play in general; my production is excellent (read the review again!) and you might like it more than you think. If you do come, let me know when you're there so I am sure to come out and give you a huge hug afterwards!!

• I have four scenes, three lines, seven songs sung with fifteen other nuns, and get at least one huge laugh each night. When I auditioned, I said I'd take any speaking role, and I'm glad I did. THIS is the best way to be part of the ensemble. I love it!

• This is possibly my favorite photo that I took during rehearsals:

Max and Elsa look so chic... Wait. What the?
How did Sister Berthe get in there?!

The play has been extended until Tuesday, April 1 (they assure us it isn't an April Fools joke :P) My Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday cast performs in the matinee on Saturday, March 29. We've had several nearly sold out shows and I'm guessing that'll be more prevalent as we get closer to closing. If you want to come, book your tickets ASAP!

To end, here is a short promotional video featuring the other cast. If you can't see us and still want to go, see them. They are terrific, too!


See you on the other side of the mountain! (Get it? 'Cause of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"? Never mind...)

Fleeting February

I mentioned before that February was going to be crazy busy, and it was! I only had a few rehearsal-less, non-sick days to spend with friends, as evidenced by the fact I only have four photos to share:

Dinner at Cantina with Steph J and Amy

This place has an amazing salsa bar. Try the mango -- it's delicious!!

Valentine's Day

This photo is a throwback to my trip to Philadelphia -- good times :)

Kate's baby shower

She has accumulated a lot of terrific friends, especially the also-photoed Jenna.
It was so fun to celebrate my besty's impending motherhood!

A Man for All Seasons with Carrie at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre

Carrie was only in town for a week, and I felt lucky she and I
had the same evening free and she wanted to see this play, too.
(Pictured with our friends Jason and Todd)

Since most of the month was consumed by The Sound of Music rehearsals, it seems only fitting they comandeer the bulk of this post, too ;) 

It opens today -- get your tickets ASAP! 

(I'm in the Tues/Thurs/Sat cast, but they are both well worth your time.)

"Let's start at the very beginning..."

They accept your applause!

"Climb Ev'ry Mountain Finale"
(taken of the cast I'm not in)

Lunch during our one all-day tech Saturday. We ran the entire show twice!
(I'm sitting next to my double.)

"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes..."

The Captain joins in as the children sing "The Sound of Music."

"You are sixteen, going on seventeen, waiting for life to start..."

"Climb Ev'ry Mountain"
(Sung by Maria's real-life mom as Mother Abbess. So, so good.)

First dress rehearsal with my Little Women sister, Summer, who plays Leisl in my cast!
(Don't I look different without my hair?)

Sisters, bridesmaids, friends

We nuns have a great time together!

The eldest and the youngest

My double, Christine, after her cast's final dress rehearsal/ preview night. 

The show is ready to go, and it's beautiful!

Funny enough, I have more free time now (well, as of tonight) that the show is open. Looking forward to the first glimpses of spring, sleeping in on the weekends, catching up with neglected/AWOL friends, and a lot of applause (I hope) in March!