Star Trek Convention - Chicago, IL

[Takara_Soong 4]

Jonathan Frakes (William Riker, TNG) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi, TNG) are listed as guests for this convention.

 

For more information, check out the Creation website.

[trekz 7]

Frakes and Sirtis are a good start for guests. This convention has been held in August in the past. It will be interesting to see what kind of attendance it will have being in the Fall, or if it will get Stewart as a guest.

[trekz 7]

This is a convention I generally attend. It has been changed or "expanded" to now be a Star Trek - Star Wars - BattleStar Galactica convention. This bothers me a bit because it has always been a strictly Star Trek convention and I thought the attendance was fairly strong. I like the other two series, (I watch both) but find this change including the date change annoying. I will probably still go for a day since it's so close. I would really like to know if this change was because they couldn't get enough ST guests or for another reason.

[headborg 1]

I was glad to see they changed the venue to Wyndham O'Hare Hotel , the last one I attended was at the Radisson Hotel...and I thought it was too small. Problem is I've never been to one at the Wyndham so I don't know if it's larger or what....maybe that's why they are expanding the convention( more room )?

[trekz 7]

Guests for the "Star Trek" Convention now include:

 

JONATHAN FRAKES Cmdr William T. Riker on Saturday

MARINA SIRTIS Counselor Deanna Troi on Saturday

KATEE SACKHOFF Captain Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace in Battlestar Galactica. - Sunday

(Katee has just been cast as Sarah Corvis, a rogue bionic woman on the series BIONIC WOMAN)

DOUG WANGLER Doug Wangler is the model for the Star Wars Expanded Universe character Quinlan Vos.

JAMIE BAMBER: Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama in Battlestar Galactica - Sunday

JEREMY BULLOCH Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi

JUSTIN CHUNG Justin Chung is an illustrator and sketch card artist for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, etc.

 

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Also on hand for the convention weekend will be these talented supporting stars:

 

NATALIJA NOGULICH - Admiral Alynna Nechayev on both TNG and DS9 BARRIE INGHAM - Danilo O'Dell in TNG's "Up the Long Ladder"

WILLIAM WELLMAN, JR. - Bajoran Security Officer on DS9.

HERB JEFFERSON, JR. - Lt. Boomer from Battlestar Galactica

DON MARSHALL - Lt. Boma in "The Galileo Seven" from TOS, plus Land of the Giants

SEAN KENNEY - the crippled Captain Pike in "The Menagerie - Part 1 and Part 2" and Lt. DePaul in "Arena " and "A Taste of Armageddon" all from TOS

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Warning: RANT

I'm sorry but Creation talks about celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TNG concerning this convention. Excuse me? You're celebrating the 20th anniversary of TNG by making this "Star Trek" Chicago Con the first one in my memory not to completely focus on Star Trek?!? I do appreciate the other Star Trek guests they have, and enjoy the other Sci Fi guests but this has traditionally been a "Star Trek" convention and that's why I attend. I will attend, but for the cheaper tickets and spending as little as possible. END RANT

 

They also have a Xena con in the same hotel the same weekend.

[athena28 2]

Wonder how they'll keep the Xenites from crossing over and vice versa?

[trekz 7]

Creation is actually offfering Star Trek attendees the "opportunity" to get Xena photo op$! Don't know if they are doing the same for Xena attendees or not.

[trekz 7]

Jamie Bamber has now canceled for this event due to shooting schedules. His substitute is Tahmoh Penikett, who I'm vaguely aware of but have little interest in seeing. One of my friends will probably not attend this con because of this change.

[GhostofMajorHayes 10]

Thanks for this info. I actually live near Chicago and now i plan on attending. It seems like there will be an interesting list of Sci fi actors on hand.

[trekz 7]

This con starts tomorrow. The schedule is now posted on the Creation site. I'm working tomorrow although nothing looked that exciting. We'll be there on Saturday for sure. Although the autographs for Sirtis and Frakes dont even start until 6:15! I want to be there for the Star Trek guests stars panel in the early afternoon. There seem to still be Gold Weekend tickets available - not sure what that says about attendance. Will give report after convention. Still not sure if I'll go on Sunday for Katie S.

[trekz 7]

We had a pretty good time at the convention yesterday. We got a late start, since I'm feeling under the weather, but we had the shortest registration line I'd ever seen there. Once inside, we realized that the room size had been reduced and that total maximum attendance would only be about 600 per day. The room did mostly fill up during the star appearances on stage. Worst attendance sign is that no advance sign-up for next year took place. I hope that they are goring to reevaluate the date, but time will tell.

 

They had a few videos, most of which we'd seen in Vegas, though they were fun. A local professor reviewed his study about Trek versus Star Wars fans which was interesting. The panel with Trek guest stars was smaller than advertised, with just Suzie Plakson and Natalia Nogulich, but was fun. There was a collectibles auction that Shelley actually bought some figures at. Then Marina Sirtis came out. Partly through her gig Jonathon Frakes started talking on his mike, then came out and roamed around the room. Then he spoke a bit and MArina came out and rejoined him. They were hysterical!

 

I got to talk to a patron I've known for years who is a big Trek fan, which was nice. We decided to skip getting autographs and the costume contest and left after Marina and Jonathon finished. There were quite a few nice Star Wars costumes and some Trek ones too. I took some notes and will try to post a couple convention reports later.

[trekz 7]

Convention report: Panel with Natalia Nogulich & Suzie Plakson

 

Suzie, who played Dr. Selar (a Vulcan), K'hleyr (a Klingon), a female Q and an Andorian talked about how long it took for makeup: 6 hours for the Andorian & 4 hours for the Klingon. Natalia quipped she only needed 10 minutes and some lipstick! Suzie told how she auditioned for the doctor with women of all ages and sizes, and after being cast was told to come in to be measured for your ears. Confused she asked why and then was told she was going to be a Vulcan! Asked what they woud like to do if asked to appear in a TNG era role, Natalia said she wanted to be the Admiral again, because she still wanted to be in charge, and Suzie said she'd like to be a Q Starfleet Captain, doing it just for fun.

 

Natalia remarked on the very technical jargon and said she memorized it, but unlike amateurs who memorize until they get it right, she declared, professional actors memorize until they can't get it wrong. Talking about how she could get in character, she said you needed to think about what you cared about and stated that she thought about the breakup of Yugoslavia (She's Serbian-American).

 

Talking about TNG memories, Suzie remembered often getting the giggles, particularly one day when the lift wouldn't open right and Brent kept walking into the closed door. Natalia remembers laughing about tooking way up at Riker and telling him: Dismissed! She also remembered Stewart directing and running back and forth from directors chair to the stage. Suzie remembered breaking up when, as the dead K'hleyr, Frakes called action. She thought it was the funniest thing ever! Natalia talked about admiring the original Twilight Zone, while Suzie confessed that she found Sci-Fi very technological and she is NOT, but she liked the mythological storytelling part.

 

Natalia talked about her acting background, DAvid Mamet's acting School in Chicago, Stella Adler's Studio in New York. She tried out for several TNG parts but was told she was too strong for the part and was finally called in for the "Strong" part of the Admiral, which became a recurring roll. She reminded all that acting takes persaverance. Suzie talked about working in NY for seven years before getting her first role. She had a degree from Northwestern in Interpretation, and mentioned losts of off-Broadway fiasco's. In her K'hleyr audition Suzie palyed one line funny, but after getting the part, someone told her, "Nobody winks in the 24th Century." Suzie said "Did they lose that muscle... what happened!"

 

Natalia talked about a scary fan who apologized years later and shwed he had changed his life. Suzie related that she is often approached at conventions by drunken Klingons in uniform and in character talking klingon to her and she has to say, "Hey pal! Stop! I haven't done that in 15 years. I don't know what you're saying - stop!" She also recalled a moment when fans dressed up as Andorians sang to her "Are You Blue! After mentioning recent projects, they were off.

 

It was a fun panel and I'm happy I saw it!

[athena28 2]

Good report. Thanks.

 

Sounded like an interesting time.

[trekz 7]

Convention Report on Marina Sirtis and Jonathon Frakes

 

Marina Sirtis came out first to huge applause and at the first question launched onto a typical energetic response. "In Night Terrors, that was NOT my *buttocks*!!! The stunt woman, who got hired because she was a friend of a makeup artist, she was HUGE. Her *buttocks* was huge! We have to send out search parties for my *buttocks*. Look!" *Sirtis turned around to show the audience* "I'm a girlie-girl. I don''t like stunts or flying. At one point I was told by Rick Berman I was fat."

 

"On set we laughed non-stop. We had a great time when James Worthy guested. Worthy was on when the Lakers were doing well, before Kobe ruined the team. *Gasps & laughter from audience* Don't get me started on the Lakers! Patrick was a little stuffy, but by midseason we beat it out of him. One Director refused to come back because we were too rowdy. We all got on from the first day. Jonathon would bound in each day like a maelstrom of energy. We're all still best friends. I'm going to London in two weeks to see Macbeth (featuring Patrick)." *Spots a fan* "Dorrie, come here. *brings her to stage* This is my biggest fan!"

 

"The cosmic cheerleader outfit, with the exploding hair was awful - though that was my own hair. I was too fat for the regulation space suit. So I got the ugly grey spacesuit, made out of levi material - hot - with a belt where my fat was - I asked "Why don't you just put arrows where I'm fat!" Then when Troi got cleavage - she got no brains. There was a red suit, a lilac suit - I hated that dress. I realized that Troi was the only person on the ship in a frock! I had to get naked to go to the bathroom. I had to wear a corset because in the 24th century "we are wrinkle free!" All the boys did the Picard maneuver *pantomimed pulling down on her dress* I wore the Industrial strength Star Fleet Bra. Other actresses would come on the show and say 'I want a bra like that!' They all wore the same one er same type!"

 

"In the 6th season Captain Jellico came on, Patrick was off, and put me back in a spacesuit. Which I could fit into then. They didn't give me one of my own - they gave me one from an extra - 'Cheap bastards!' Then I got my brains back, since I had no cleavage. I could use a medical tricorder, and unlike Beverly I seemed to know what was wrong with people! *audience gasps and laughter* I even became an expert in Romulan technology. In one episode I stated, "That's impossible. The Romulans use ... energy source." I say this to Data and Geordi - The Engineer and the robot don't know this?! "

 

"At one point Patrick mouthed off to me and I said, "Look here your majesty! And Patrick ran to hide behind Brent! And I said there's no point in hiding behind Brent because he doesn't REALLY Have Superhuman Strength!"

 

And as Marina started to answer a question about best kissers, Jonathon Frakes started talking from behind the curtain and then strode out to hage applause and the TNG theme.

 

To Be Continued ...

[Kor37 9]

Great report Trekz! Marina has always been a great con guest!

[trekz 7]

Convention Report - Sirtis and Frakes - part 2

 

After walking out to applause and the TNG theme, Frakes sat down in the front row as Marina started to speak again. *in a geeky voice* Frakes said, "What's Patrick Stewart really like?" (laughter) "I just love that song! (referring to the TNG theme) In answer to a question about appearing on the Enterprise final episode, Frakes said, "Did someone say the worst episode EVER? The last episode of Enterprise - a valentine to the Fans? I said to Scott Bakula, if someone had invited someone else to close down our show, I'd be pissed. *Walking around* "You've got a great team here (Cubs). They're no Boston Red Sox, but ...."

 

Asked about Nemesis, Frakes said, "You know what Nemesis needed? More TNG. And did you hear about the new series we're trying to get made? The Riker's in Space. It'd be a sitcom like the Jetson's! Thomas Hardy - none of us knew about this villian, and frankly we didn't give a $hit. Oh, Patrick is busy working on getting his knighthood."

 

"Gargoyles is such a great gig. This cartoon show - you can show up to read in your pJ's, don't have to shave. The lines are all written in front of you. I work with Mulgrew, Dorny, Marina. We do 3 or 4 shows in an afternooon. And we get free donuts!"

 

"Hey, did you hear that George Takei had an asteroid named for him! *Marina says yes* "And he had that great quote, 'Now I'm a Heavenly body!' And he is!"

 

Frakes was praised for helping encourage a music major take up the trombone by a fan. Frakes replied, "When you hear me playing and it sounds OK, it's me. When it sounds really great, it's Bill Watrus!"

 

Asked about being typecast as Riker, Frakes repeated a quote: "It's better to be typecast than not cast at all!" Talking to Marina, Frakes said, "Your hair looked great when you had that uniform and worked at McDonalds!" (Laughter) Marina says, "I never liked DS9." Frakes *sounding shocked* Did you like Colm? Marina - Yes. How about Terry? -Yes How about Avery? Don't like him. How about Dorny? Yes Nana? Yes. Rene? Yes. Armin? Armin I love. Frakes: That's half the freaking cast!! That's weird!" Sirtis: "It just seemed like Hotel in Space!" Frakes: "I was on Hotel!" Sirtis: I know." Frakes starts walking around the room, "Do you remember the time Diane Muldaur knocked down a wall on the set?" No!, said Marina. "Of course not," said Frakes. "I made it up!"

 

To be continued!

[Kor37 9]

These two certainly know how to work the crowd. Two of my favorite convention guests!

[trekz 7]

Convention Report - Frakes and Sirtis - part 3

 

Frakes says: I called J.J. Abrams! Sirtis: "Really!" Frakes: Yes! Sirtis: "What did he say?"

Frakes: "Well, I didn't ever actually speak to him!" *laughter* Sirtis: "And he never returned your call?"

Frakes: No! *laughter*

 

Asked about the new movie, Frakes said, "We disagree on how we feel about this new movie. With Leonard, Quinto, Abrams on the project, I believe there is respect for the franchise. I think they will do well."

 

Marina said: I believe Star Trek should always move forward. *applause* "Not excited about prequel. I'll go see it once ... but not more than once!"

 

Marina talked about the mud bath scenes and how goopy it was. Asked about their favorite movie, Marina answered: "First Contact" Frakes answered: "The one with the Klingon chicks." "Of course" said Marina, rolling her eyes. "You know who else I liked?" asked Frakes. "Who?" "The actress who played Uta, and Michelle Forbes," said Frakes.

 

Marina mentioned Wil Wheaton, and Frakes started to laugh. "I remember what he said to me one time, and I konw he meant it as a compliment." "What did he say?" asked Marina. "Wil said 'I can tell, from the music that comes out of your dressing room, and the clothes that you wear, you used to be cool!" *Laughter*

 

Frakes then launches into a near perfect Patrick Stewart imitation of a Pontiac ad to laughter and applause. He agreed with Marina about the director that refused to come back. "You can't control them! he said. We could be controlled by any director once he says 'Action!' Before then, we'll have fun!" We never abused directors. The only time I abused the cast as a director was to keep shooting the hot tub scene over and over!" *Laughter*

 

Frakes said, "Marina did one of the greatest scenes ever with James Cromwell - the tequilla scene." *applause* After talking about Billy Campbell changing his name, Frakes said, "I need to sit down." *sits, then flips his legs up into the air to laughter.

 

Frakes talking about his wedding said, "We chased a "Star" reporter out of the church!" "We did too," said Marina. Asked about his favorite actor growing up, Frakes mentioned Gary Cooper. He then told his classic story about an early job playing Captain America for Marvel Comics, going to business openings. "I went all over, Skokie to Sacremento. I'd fly in. Get picked up in a rental car. I'd pull the cowl down. Some driver would say, "O.K. it's time Mr. Frakus *laughter* I'd get the garbage can lid out. Stand on the front of the car and drive into the lot!" *Laughter* $60 bucks a day. It was great!"

 

Then they started talking about smoke. "Yeah we land on a Class M planet. Everybody could speak English and every planet had smoke! Patrick and everyone complained about it. But when Patrick started directing, he had even MORE smoke!

 

They mentioned wearing the Mentakan prosthetics. Then Marina said, "My hair was always perfect, even when the ship shook under attack." Frakes went into another Patrick Imitation: " Twenty five years at the RSC for this!" *laughter* "Thats Royal Shakespeare Company!" said Marina.

 

A young boy came up to ask a question, dressed in a red Starfleet uniform. Frakes asked him, "Are you Riker!" The boy says, " NO, I'm a CAPTAIN!" *laughter* Frakes looks rueful and says, "I was a captain too!" Marina said she got to be in charge, and Frakes mentioned that the ship crashed. Marina said shrilly, "That planet came out of NOWHERE!" *laughter*

 

Marina then commented upon filming Menage-a-Troi on how "the set would fill up with people I'd never scene when we filmed that!" After telling a story about Sean Connery inviting her to his trailor for a drink and she saying no, they wrapped up.

 

Marina thanked the fans for their loyalty and also "Thanks for our lives, our homes, our clothes!" *laughter* "And my bass boat," said Frakes. "You have a boat?" asked Marina. "A little bass boat" said Frakes. Thank you!" And with a final photo op together, they were gone.

 

This was a great con appearance and I'm glad I didn't miss it! Trekz out!