Catching The Legendarium Podcast...A Live Version...At FanX

I've listened to dozens, possibly hundreds of Legendarium Podcast episodes. A few weeks ago I, along with thousands of others, watched a live version. Okay--it wasn't live, I mean, they recorded the show to be broadcast at a later date. I watched them perform at the FanX Comics Convention in Salt Lake City.

They were there because I wanted the convention attendees to see them for themselves.

Except for Craig Hanks, one of the founders, I have been involved in community theater productions with each person they had on stage. There's more members of the Legendarium family, but not all could make it. Too bad--they each provide a distinctive voice I've come to know over the years.

Theirs was not the only podcast that performed. There were several, in fact. When I asked the Legedarium if they'd like to participate, they simply asked what would we like to see them do. I told them, we'd like audience participation, and we wanted them to talk about things our convention goers would enjoy. 

And the Legendarium Podcast delivered! 

They had games and gave out prizes. I could have been more pleased--they did exactly what I hoped they'd do. And, the red team won, which is always nice.

I looked back at the photos I took of the group to include in this post. Amazingly enough, I did not get a picture of Todd. I got Craig and Ryan, Kenn and Megan, but not Todd. Actually, that's not true. In one picture you can see Todd's arm. Don't know what happened--sorry Todd.

If you're not familiar with the podcast, check out their website by clicking: HERE. You can start listening to current episodes, or check out the 200 + past podcasts. I'm even on one of them, episode #126, Dauntless, by Jack Campbell.

The group is fun and informative. They know their stuff. And, because I know most personally, it's extra fun for me. Give them a shot! If you're a geek like me, I think you'll love it, too.

And Hour Of Peace...It Was Lovely

It's been a hectic weekend and a hectic summer. My daughter and I finished a run of Peter Pan in Ogden last August. After it ended, she was working a summer job and I was preparing for FanX, the comic convention that just ended. I feel like I've been running and running with little time to my own. And next week, I begin my autumn job--working at Lagoon's Frightmares.

It seems like I'm on a train that seldom stops.

Last Wednesday I took off work to help prepare for the upcoming convention. I'm glad I did--it was nice to have some time to prepare. I checked the train schedule, got a ride to the station, sat and waited for the train. I used to take the train several ties a week. Now, hardly ever.

I boarded and sat down, then the train pulled away. I had my backpack and my scooter. In twenty minutes the train would arrive, then I'd depart and make my way to another train, then the Salt Palace. It took about one hour from when I first sat and waited to when I walked in the convention center doors. And in that hour I didn't do the things I used to do, the things I always feel obligated to do, namely, get on-line, write something, check e-mails, listen to podcasts...you name it.

No...I didn't do that. I just sat and listened to the noise of the train, felt the car sway side to side, and thought about...well, not much, actually. It was nice.

The next three days were filled with making sure performances went well, panels were covered, and guests left entertained. I walked around a space with a hundred-thousand others and I did it for three days. It was amazing--it was exhausting. But, in the last week, there as one hour--as single hour when I didn't worry about all the stuff I usually worry about. I hope to do that again sometime soon.

How Was My Weekend? This One Picture Says It All...

I'm home and my head is buzzing. My feet are sore, my eyes are tired, and my ears keep expecting to hear the low rumble of thousands and thousands of people under one roof. It's an overall feeling I've experienced may times since 2013. It's the sheer exhaustion you feel after a major comics convention has ended.

A common question I've been asked while at the con, and one I often times ask my fellow convention attendees is this, "How's your con going?"

Mine can be summed up in one picture. It's the one posted above. It's a picture showing what a portion of the convention floor looked like around 3:15 this afternoon. It's a picture of success.

On the left side of the picture is a stage. It's small and looks even smaller surrounded by patrons. On that stage are three individuals, two contestants and one M.C. It's FanX's first ever Cosplay Lip Sync Battle Finals. And they were worth the wait.

I was worried about this one--so was the person in charge. We had two preliminary rounds Thursday and Friday, but today was the big one, the whole enchilada.

And it was brilliant.

We thought our fans might get into the spirit of what we were doing, and when a Freddie Mercury look-alike donned the stage and lip synced the entire Bohemian Rhapsody song, the crowd sang along with him. It was amazing and I loved helping in a small way bringing this experience to our guests. Thanks Howie and your team for all the hard work, thanks to Liz for everything, and thanks Blake for letting us prepare a line-up that worked so well. 

All I can say at this point is I'm beat, but just wait until next year--we're going to blow your socks off!

Yup...I Oversold It...I Oversold N'Sync

I first heard about the change in plans when I first arrived at FanX Comic Convention yesterday. I was pulled aside and told that sometime between 4pm and 5pm, my little convention floor stage would get a couple of visitors.

Several, actually.

We were going to be visited by Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick. The former members of N'Sync would be arriving via golf cart to the stage area. Then, there would be an explosion of dancers (okay, that may be over the top...) and thus would begin a dance party right there, at our stage.

The first thing I did, after finding out about the change, was find the person we had booked on the stage between 4pm and 5pm. That happened to be James Artimus Own. Because James is such a pro and an amazing guy, he was at first shocked, but then he said he'd roll with it. I know some who would have balked--it wouldn't matter who was interrupting them, but not James. He met with the event organizer and found out what was going to happen. Then we all went on our way until 4pm hit.

James began his panel. If you haven't heard his story, it's one of those "come from behind" tales where sheer will triumphed over potential disaster. His story is inspiring and meaningful, especially in our cynical world. As James continued, I kept looking down the vendor hall waiting for a golf cart. Because I was excited, and wanted as many people as possible to experience whatever it was that was going to happen, I told friends as they walked by that they needed to sit down and wait because N'Sync was going to put on a show.

I completely misunderstood. 

The show was for Joey and Chris. They weren't the performers, but the audience.

I'm sure I was told this, but in my mind, they were going to hop on stage so everyone could see them. Nope, didn't happen. And that's just as well. Everyone in the area saw the stars on the cart and gave them the recognition they deserved. But when it was all over, I realized, to those I spoke to earlier, I misrepresented what was going to happen.

The picture above is a snapshot of a video I took from the back of the stage. You can barely make out section of the golf cart and on that cart were the stars. It would have been fun to welcome the two up on our stage. I'm glad they got to see the hard work put on by the dancers. After all, they put in all the work to prepare for the surprise. All I did was oversell N'Sync.

The Story/Stories From The Big Orange Couch...

If you were at the Salt Palace Convention Center today, you may have noticed something big, something orange, and something wrapped in plastic tucked in a corner outside the convention floor. To be honest, I most likely would have not given the orange blob a second thought had not my friend told me that it wasn't just a big orange blob.

It's a piece of history.

Sometime before tomorrow morning, the items will be moved, the plastic taken off, and it will be assembled in the celebrity green room for this weekend's FanX Comics Convention. What was sitting in a corner of the room, wrapped in plastic, is an orange couch and on that couch were dozens and dozens of autographs.

I had to get a closer look.

The first autograph I recognized was Sean Astin's. The plastic wrap made it difficult to see some of the signatures, and, of course, most I could not figure out who they were. I snapped some shots of those I did recognize--Chris Evans, Sean Gunn, Billy Boyd.

My friend and I tried looking for Stan Lee's or Carrie Fisher's. Had we the time, and access to the entire couch, we would probably have found them.

Today was a day to set up the show. People in the Salt Palace had things to do, stuff to set up, connections to make. Few had time to notice a collection of orange furniture sitting in a corner. Even fewer even knew what it was. I'm glad I decided to take a closer look.

Should I Cosplay As One-Punch Man...Or Not?

Cosplay...it's all the rage. At least, it is with the thousands of people coming to the Salt Palace next weekend. It's amazing the creativity and ingenuity people come up with. I find the subject fascinating. In the past I've tried taking pictures of cosplayers at these conventions, and I have posted a few, but it's hard to keep up--you see something amazing and you turn around and there's twenty more just as amazing--or even more so--standing right behind them.

Maybe it's because some of the cosplay costumes are so incredible, I get intimidated. And even though I know you can do some great cosplay on the cheap, I think I'll need to spend a lot of money to get it right. Plus, what would I cosplay as?

How about "One-Punch Man?"

The first time I ever heard of One-Punch Man was while performing A Christmas Carol two years ago. A fellow cast member said I reminded her of him. Her kids watched the show. I checked it out, and expect for the carnage and rage contained in the character, I agree--there is a resemblance.

Of course, if I wanted to cosplay One-Punch Man, I'd want to do it right. I do have some similarities with the superhero. Neither of us appears to be able to grow any hair on our heads--including eyebrows. So, I'm halfway there. I would need a yellow jumpsuit, a black belts (with accompanying cool-looking belt buckle...), red calf-high boots, red gloves and a white cape. If I had all that, I might consider cosplaying as One-Punch Man.

Then, you've got to be the kind of person who likes to dress up and pretend to be someone else. I do this all the time on stage. Maybe it's because I have an entire cast surrounding me that I don't mind cosplaying there. I don't know. I've never been a "cosplay guy." And I don't have enough time to gather all the necessary items to make a cosplay I'd be proud of for the show next week.

Who knows...I might do it next time. Those who do seem to be having a blast. I guess we'll see.

Low-Key Lip Sync Battle At FanX...Give It A Shot!

Three Words

Lip

Sync

Battle!

Next week, at the FanX Convention Stage Floor, at 3pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we're having a battle. Two acts, at the same time, try and out-duel each other. The winner moves on, the loser does not. And on Saturday, it's the championship round!

When a lip sync battle was proposed, those of us at FanX went bonkers. What a great idea! We turned it over to Howie, a friend and who came up with the idea in the first place. She's running it and I can't wait to see the costumes, the pageantry, the performances--it's going to be great!

And if YOU want to participate, go to the Facebook Low-Key Lip Sync Battle page by clicking: HERE. Come on--you're already dressed up! Why not get up on stage and pretend to sing an amazing song in front of the best con fans in the world?

Right?!

So, click on the link, sign up, and join the fun! We'd love to see you there!

Living In Different Worlds...

Things are ramping up and I'm being stretched. It's like I'm living in many different worlds. That happens when you get involved in activities other than the biggies: work and home life.

I've got no one by myself to blame.

Back in 2013, a friend asked me if I wanted to be part of the inaugural Salt Lake Comic Con. Of course, I said "yes." I'm glad I did. Attending and participating in every Salt Lake Comic Con and FanX ever held has afforded me incredible memories and opportunities. The people I've met have become important in my life. I can't imagine being able produce the stories I've written without them.

As I write this post, I'm sitting in a theater green room waiting for the Ogden Musical Theatre production of Peter Pan to begin. It's one of the other worlds I live in. Right now, much of the hard part of this world has come and gone. We've survived rehearsals and tech week. Now, we're in the middle of the run so it takes up my nights and weekend.

Soon, this world will end and the other will get even bigger.

Right after FanX ends, I'll hopefully begin another acting gig, one I've done for a couple of years. It's not guaranteed--I can be replaced at any time--but I hope that doesn't happen. The pay's good and I enjoy the show and the people I work with. 

Then, there's my writing.

I've shared my story ideas with my wife--almost all my ideas. She's been incredibly supportive offering advice and suggestions. Her influence can be seen in almost every story I've written. She and I discussed a story idea the other night and I'm excited to see where that goes. That world is a world I want to spend more time in. It's that world where I feel something calling to me, drawing me in. Time will tell, of course, but the stories are out there. I've just got to grab them and put them down on paper.

As with all worlds, they sometimes collide. It feels that way now. But, as some worlds go away, I'll have time to focus on fewer and fewer. I'll keep you posted how that goes.

Calling For Submissions...Join Us On Utah's Biggest Stage!

Do you have an act you'd love to share with over 100,000 people? Do you have interesting talents you think others should see? Have you ever wanted to perform on the state's biggest stage?

If so, here's your chance!

We're scheduling vendor floor acts for September's FanX show and we'd love to have you join us!

Okay, maybe all 100k will not see your act. I mean, at any given time maybe a couple of hundred people are able to see the stage at any given time. But, here's an opportunity to be with tens of thousands of fans, people watchers, autograph seekers, writers, artists, cosplayers, musicians, and the general public and share your talents with them.

Here's what we're looking for:

Acts the audience would love--themes consistent with the FanX experience

Unusual (and safe) performances--magic acts, comic routines, things that highlight all things geek/nerd

Acts must be family-appropriate

Acts with audience participation: a plus

If you have an act and would like to be considered for the state's biggest party, e-mail us at: scott@fanxsl.com. 

Also, we're trying something new this time--a Lip Sync contest! I'll blog about this later.

Last April, FanX put in a stage on the vendor room floor. We learned some things, got a better idea of what people want, and what they might not like as much, what works and what doesn't work as well. If you don't have an act, but know of someone who does, or you know an act the FanX patrons will love, please contact us. We want to make this show the best one ever. And we need your help to do it!

Join us in September--it's going to be great!