The Gallifrey One 2013 Report - Saturday!
Hey Gang
Here we were on the big day. After Masque Sketch show, the Masquerade itself and a load of panels. Read on for Saturday and Masque details!
More Gallifrey pics and Info
So I won't lie. Saturday was pretty stressful and a bit a whirlwind for me. It was the day of the Masquerade, the Costuming as the doctors panel and of course our Idiot's Lantern Comedy Sketch Show. I awoke early because I had to rebuild the Powerpoint for our show. I discovered with horror the night before during rehearsal that I'd burned the wrong file and I didn't have the Powerpoint I had ferverishly finished the day and half before. I had all of the raw images and sound files but not the final Presentation. Soooo I spent all of Sat Morning remaking our Powerpoint. And I had to finish it in time to suit up and make the Time Crash/Doctor costuming Panel at 1PM.
Hanging in the room as I powerpoint away
Meanwhile Teri suited up in her new Femme Pertwee that looked great and Van suited up as Troughton. Ben got his photography gear ready and Scott stopped in and we pow-wowed about the evening before everyone left to leave me alone for a few hours to.... have exciting adventures in powerpoint- so apologies or no Sat morning cosplay shots here folks.
Teri suits up as Femme Three
So by the skin of my teeth, I got the new presentation ready. Then I suited up in my new Pyramids of Mars 4th Doctor costume and realizing I was running 10 minutes late, I dashed downstairs to pop on the Costuming as the Doctors panel. Once in the room, I made my apologies to the packed crowd and realized I was late enough to pretty well miss the 11th Doctor talk and jump into Ten. (we were going backwards through the doctors this year).
Time Crash- Costuming as the Doctors Panel
Most of the focus seemed on the newer doctors, so I felt happy to let Kevin, Ewan and Steve take point on these questions. They showed off fabrics and costumes (some of which they wore) to others, I brought some fabric swatches but it seemed they were not needed after all! I took point running down the 9th Doctor garments and at this point we hopped around a little to whatever Doctor the audience seemed to want to discuss. Particularly Doctors Two, Three, Four and Six. Ewan likes to poke fun at the fact I was getting so brain frazzled that my initial answer to a question about Tom baker was "yeah.. it's like a jacket or something..." which if my memory serves I was really trying to get around to asking WHICH jacket/varient Tom they wanted to discuss but it came out all hamstrung due to lack of sleep. Despite hiccups I think we hit all the major points asked and people seemed to have very good feedback. It gave me a chance to show off my new waistcoat done from the recent Check houndstooth fabric run as well!
Showing off the new vest
Outside the panel I took a moment to take pics of the Silence, Amanda's Weeping Angel, A Destiny Romnana II and a great Night Terrors doll costume.
Silence!
Dalek selling Girl Scout Cookies
Amanda's Weeping Angel!
Destiny Romana II
The Recurring 1st Doctor
Night Terrors Dolls
Candid Doctors
After this point I made a stop in the dealer's room to get Peter Purves' Autograph. I told him about Teri's dodo and Van's Steven Taylor costume and he seemed pretty upbeat and agreeable about it. I know they did get this photo on Sunday and I'll try and get a scan of it here. I also got in line for Freema Ageyman's autograph. When I got up to her, she was much better looking than she seemed on TV and very sweet to boot. She complimented my costume but noted how hot I must be in the scarf and wig. She signed my diary and even closed the book and noted it was a 500 Year diary- "How cool!" she gave it back to me with a smile. Class act. Heard nothing but good things about her panes all weekend.
Steve Ricks' Infinite Quest Tailoring panel
Next I stopped in Steve Ricks' Infinite Quest panel about Tailoring. A number of the same points can be found in the podcast we did together here:
Pt I
http://www.costumestationzero.com/?p=639
Pt II
http://www.costumestationzero.com/?p=658
Pt III
http://www.costumestationzero.com/?p=660
He covered a lot of practical tips and history about mens wear and Doctor's garments- with focus on the 11th, 4th and 6th Doctor's frocks. He videotaped the panel and despite fighting some rather loud crowd noise outside the door at times, I'm sure segments of it will appear on his blog soon. www.eleventhdoctorcostume.blogspot.com.
Rachel as Attack of the Cybermen Peri!
Season 18 Four
The three Doctors!
Afterwards I stopped in the main autograph room to get a time from June Hudson to interview her. We agreed on the following morning at 9:30AM outside the Program E where I thought with an hour or so before programming started we could sit and chat undisturbed. I was pleased she was so open to be interviewed! I ran upstairs for a snack break after this before heading back to the floor. I swear half the time in the elevator I kept running in a 1st Doctor cosplayr with glasses on. It was cool but a little eerie in a Twin Peaks way.
Trying not to be a Killjoy for the Happiness Patrol
Next I popped my head in to the Prop making Panel where I saw scott was helping on some technical issues regarding the laptop's connectivity to the projector (they didn't have the right cord for a mac) but they seemed to solve it in the end. I got to also check out Malaki's neat cybermat foam build form his foam construction workshop. Most impressive!
Scott helps get the powerpoint going for the Prop Making Panel
Christina Tries on the K1 head
Foam Cybermat from Malaki's Foam Construction Demo
Back at the console room, they were visited by several cool guests including Phillip Hinchcliffe (which sent Paul over the moon) and Daphne Ashbrook who was cool enough to take pictures at 'her' console with several fans. CJ and Aubrey were back in attendance as stand-in doctors for people as well.
Hinchcliffe
Eights
Ashbrook
The big highlight was the surprise wedding proposal an 11th Doctor cosplaying fan gave (complete with TARDIS ring Box) to his girlfriend (dressed as a *black and white* Dodo Chaplet no less!) who said yes. It was a great moment and a real nice surprise!
Marriage Proposal
I took a moment back at the room to relax for about 20 minutes and get out of the Four costume. I snacked again on the balcony with Ben while admiring a random Dalek on the balcony across the way- not a sight you see every day. Mostly I was soaking in some of the calm before the storm. I had to help prep the room for the sketch show and then leave everyone else to get on with it while I got made up as a Zygon!
Dalek
Calm
Mal finishes K1
I got back downstairs to see Malaki had pretty much finished his K1 robot in time for the Masquerade. Because he didn't want to step on our Zygon toes he entered in the contest in Journeyman rather than master class so there would be no direct competition. It looked beautiful - and for putting it together in record time it was simply amazing!
After this we began the process of taking down the TARDIS backdrop to move into Program E as the panels had wrapped in there at 6PM. All of the equipment and extra costumes we had been bringing down earlier in the afternoon to store in the cosplay hall were being brought over by everyone in the cast including partitions and a changing tent for costume changes and to act as a make-shift backstage area in what's effectively a panel room only. At this point I had to leave but most of the other folks in the cast began running lines again in the hopes a full run through of the show could happen while tech details with the screen and projector got sorted out.
In the Console Room, I sat down and let Kelby go to work on me adding vaseline to my eyebrows and then medical adhesive to my face to apply the Foam latex Zygon face mask. It was a little strange but I got used to it after a few minutes. She began to do the paint job on my eyes, mouth and the mask. We reached a stopping point and then I put on the bottom half of the suit and then walked over to the cosplay Hall/Now Masque Green Room where I saw and let Kelby finish her work under supervision from Paul. This took about an hour altogether.
Zygoned
While sitting in the make-up chair, I admired several other costumes in the room such as Valerie's 3rd Doctor, Mette and Brian's Ogri/Stones of Blood outfits, the Roboman, Weeping Angel Statue of Liberty, War Games Time Lords, and Mal's completed K1!
Green Room
One of the Daleks was made entirely out of cardboard and has been signed by Freema!
Freema
Paul and Brian took a moment to goof off and get some fun shots with the K1 robot. Makes me wish I'd been dressed as Four to get some proper in-episode shots!!! Scott and I both agreed sometime after galy we'll have to do a Brigadier, 4th Doctor K1 photo shoot!
Admiring the K1
As we got closer, I got some final make-up touch ups from Kelby, I finished suiting up (though I often had the back of the costume undone and hands free to allow a little ventilation and not totally smother to death).
Touch ups
Finally I got fully in gear and we got judged up close. One of the judges had been reading my build diary so they were familiar with the suit and the process. Mette was the other main judge and Paul amd Kelby walked her though the costume with reference pictures while I stod there like a human mannequin. At least this time I could see and mostly hear what was going on unlike the Morbius!
Judged
After the judging there was more waiting, and drinking of water. I was sucking down cups of water like no tomorrow! The cold hotel water in the hallways was always a life saver.
Hydrating
So they called out our names. We were entry 34 out of 42 (how Douglas Adams- and nearly double from the entries last year!!). The rest of our cast for our skit - Lyn, Teri, Kevin, Katy and Erik (to help bring on the Zygon Body Print chamber which we also had brought over form the console Room earlier) were rockin and ready to go.
In Line
Fixes
Terror
We got marched backstage in the back service hallway to await going on stage. There was a lot of standing around, goofing off and such at this point. Paul caught a small droop on the face appliance which he fixed quickly with some fast stitching! By now I could feel my own sweat was causing the mask to seperate a bit off my eyes making a deep eye sunken in effect which sometimes was creepy and other times made me feel like a Zygon Scarecrow.
Zygon Builders
Backstage
Backstage line
Finally it was time for us to go on! Paul and Brian went outside in the front to watch and take snapshots. I have to admit- inside the Zygon head my hearing is only so-so with all the foam, so I could just make out my cues in the pre-record audio on stage but I had trouble knowing if the audience responded well. I just went through the motions and hoped for the best. In the moment I amped up overacting a bit more than in rehearsal to help sell the Zygon on stage as I knew no one could see my lips moving to the dialogue. At the end it went smoothly and I'm told everyone really enjoyed it. Having watched the tape back (linked below) I can see it was well received.
Performing the Skit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrhpZiRvq2U
The Let Zygons Be Zygons Sketch - Rough Copy- a more polished audio mixed one is coming
Another great skit Sarah Falk and Kevin Kittridge worked on was a great tribute to Liz Sladen which I didn't ge to see til post Gally- but here it is for everyone to see. (it had been planned for 2012 but I'm glad it finally got performed this year!) Keep your tissues handy for this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HG69P8fvR0
Sarah Jane Tribute Skit
After we got offstage, I took a moment to do a small interview along with Paul for a Dr. Who podcast, partly as the Zygon and then partly as just me. It was fun. I hope to hear it back soon!
Then I stopped by the Program D room to see how things were progressing and it seemed our cast was too fragmented between the Masque and the show and they had run what they could but couldn't do the full Show. Also one of our cast members, Rachel (our Rose), got sick with food poisoning which effectively meant we had to cut the Real World/Companions skit on top of the Zygonology skit. The 2nd major cut was losing the Doctor Whose Line is it Anyway Skit- one I was really looking forward to as it was an idea we wanted to do last year and it seemed to play well in rehearsals. However all of the actors had to be back on stage fairly quickly as Doctors and the costume change became problematic. So in a effort to lower everyone's blood pressure it was begrudgingly cut. It cut down what would have been about a 65 min show into a more manageable 51 minutes. Special thanks goes to Scott who was effectively directing the show in my absence, and Ben who had to take over the PowerPoint management cutting down what I'd done that morning to make his job easier.
A few of the folks grabbed several of the 5X7 lobby cards we had made and distributed them to the crowd and previously to those in line for the Masque to help get the word out as well.
Doctors and Villains
Playing the Zygon Flute
Sarah Jane Sketch Stars
We hopped back to the Masque once we got wind that the judging was over and we were lined up backstage again. There were a lot of cool and well deserved awards given to those like Steve (Best in Show Workmanship and Best Recreation - Master Presentation) for his fab Sixth doctor coat, Malaki (Best in Class Journeyman) for his K1 and so on. We ended up winning Best Monster for Workmanship and Best In Class-- Master for Presentation Paul, Kelby and I were justifiably proud! we're all getting copies of the certificates but we gave Kelby the ribbon.
Team Zygon!
Taking the Victory Lap
Afterwards I took a victory lap through the lobby, now getting crowded with fans. I knew I had to get back to Program D but there were a lot of people and a lot of cameras! It was nice to get some really good floor and fan time in the costume. Something I wish I'd done more of looking back.
Finished Zygon After the Masque!
So after about 10 minutes or so I managed to get back to the Program D room. We had quite a line of folks waiting outside which I thought was for Karaoke but it seems our flyers and word of mouth did the trick. Sadly the room only held 200 or so people and we had to turn away 2-3 times that. Sorry folks!
Inside I got extra costumed up for my one remaining skit and the rest of us got ready. Half the cast had to sit in the front rows (again very high school play) due to lack of 'backstage' room but we made it work. Kevin stepped up to host the sow on the fly and gave us a little intro before we finally got rolling.
Costumed up and ready to go on
The Three Cut Skits
Sketch Show Title Cards Designed by Teri Samuels
The show itself despite a few niggles and hiccups from the odd bit of tech feedback and Powerpoint glitches went very well. I think the one major complaint was the noise from the Karaoke we were put next to which was unfortunate but I guess it couldn't be helped.
Getting back to Program D for the show
We performed skits that were "bent around the TV dial" about Whovians, a Tonight show parody with Jack Harkness (A recurring sketch with differing Doctor's being interviewed), a Used Car Lot commercial parody about TARDISes, a Magnum PI/Noir Private Eye spoof, a Soap Opera/Series 6 makes no sense spoof, A Three's Company spoof, A follow up to Androids 3 Generations of Cybermen/Sitcom and finally an 11 Doctors 50th anniversary skit. Generaly speaking I believe it was the first the final skits that went down the best.
One of the bits I liked adding in was a clip of the Hartnell era from The Keys of Marnius showing one of the worst knocked out moments in the series. I used it to crate a running potato gag since the instrument of knock-out-ability appeared to be a potato at first glance.
Death by Potato!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLBE2PXEZ5Y
The Potato Gag - A stunt flub from the Hartnell Years just keeps on giving
Costumed up and ready to go on
Also during the show we premiered our 3 months in the making mash up trailer - the Big Whobowski. It went over well but not as well as we thought due again to sound interference and feedback from the tech. I'll have to do a proper behind the scenes post about it soon but for now here's the video and a few select BTS photos. Big shoutout to our cast and our king of the impossible director and editor Extrodinaire Rick Schultz who made this video as awesome as it is (and was cool enough to attend to attend the show that night!).
Whobowski
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHdI25K-O
The Big Whobowski
I'm only putting up one skit for now. The audio is so bad on several I don't feel it's worth posting the rest but maybe down the line I'll post the final 11 Doctors sketch.
Performing the Three's Company Skit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Ls61ApUmU
The Whovians 1st opening skit- apologies for the audio
Despite major crunch and the challenging nature of all the factors we dealt with I feel really happy and proud of our show and if yo attended it I hope you enjoye it. I want to again send a big shoutout to Scott for stepping in when I couldn't be there as director and giving the final shape to the show and to everyone in the cast - Kevin K, Kevin C, Scott, Matt, Ewan, Erik, Rachel, Van, Erica, Josh, Angel, Chaz, CJ, Stephen, Jonathan, Katie, Sarah, Teri, Sam, Erin, Aubrey, Malaki, Lyn, Katy and Amanda - Thanks again so much! you all did a fab job and rocked it. It's up in the air whether we'll do another show next year. Shaun and I have discussed it- but if so I'm promised no Karoake nearby and also I plan to not split my time as much. I just overbooked myself this year! Or maybe I take the sane option and we take a break next year. I'll see how I feel as we move into the fall.
Performing the 11 Doctors Sketch
After the show everyone gave us an ovation and we got a lot of good feedback. I managed to finally climb out of the Zygon suit entirely and breathe again. I was so thirsty I was drinking every cup of water on the table... including a cup of what turned out to basically be rubbing alcohol. I managed to spit it out in time but that was... gross. Afterwards I went back to the room to find most of the equipment and costumes were already being taken back up to our room and the backdrop was being dismantled to be brought back to the Cosplay Hall. sScott and I were wiped out. I gave him a hug and a big thanks and basically sat here like a Zombie with him in a bit of a daze while others packed up or chatted away. It was a little surreal but that's Gally.
Post Show- Scott and Bob Galli-freyed
Karaoke
Unfortunately another theft fallout of all this moving around- somewhere after 6PM our CD/Tape deck boom box was stolen along with the digital sound recorder the day before. I didn't discover the 2nd theft til Monday but talk about another bummer. I heard stories of other thefts at the con such as phones and scarves and it was very sad to hear of this kind of behavior going on at what is normally such a fan friendly con.
Ogri by Bryan and Mette
After everything was safely in the Room, Kevin, Van and I went in search of a drink. By now though Champions was closed. Our show got started Post masque about Midnight and ran til 1AM. By this time it was 2AM or thereabouts. So we stopped into the karaoke that had interfered so well with our show and enjoyed seeing Mark Strickson rocking out to some Journey (I think) as well as others having a good time. We wandered the halls til I gave into the overpriced vending machine and settled on a cold pepsi.
Lobbycon
Kevin made his goodbyes shortly thereafter and Van and I wandered lobbycon for a bit. The leftover Zygon makeup had everyone joking I looked like someone who'd been beaten and abused. A lovely sentiment for a saturday evening. I ran into Amy and Jonathan who were hanging out on the central couch. Jonathan was passed out getting a few precious hours in before he had to leave early for work.
Amy and Jonathan napping in the lobby.
Mugging
Van hanging out
I also ran into Mette and Brian who showed off thier awesome Ogri creation- remote controlled and it made SFX and lit up pretty much like the real and much larger originals did on screen. For fun it could even bust out some mush and disco flashing. It was really impressive. Mette also let me try on the preistess outfit which was pretty comfy all things considered. Though I admit the thought of getting back INTO a hot costume was last on my list that night although the feathers were well lined so it wasn't too bad.
Trying on the the Stones of Blood Costume
Shortly thereafter I hit my fatigue wall, bid everyone goodnight and went upstairs to pass out in bed- making sure to set an early alarm for the next morning of course!
Back with the Sunday Report Tomorrow!
-Honorarydoctor
Here we were on the big day. After Masque Sketch show, the Masquerade itself and a load of panels. Read on for Saturday and Masque details!
More Gallifrey pics and Info
So I won't lie. Saturday was pretty stressful and a bit a whirlwind for me. It was the day of the Masquerade, the Costuming as the doctors panel and of course our Idiot's Lantern Comedy Sketch Show. I awoke early because I had to rebuild the Powerpoint for our show. I discovered with horror the night before during rehearsal that I'd burned the wrong file and I didn't have the Powerpoint I had ferverishly finished the day and half before. I had all of the raw images and sound files but not the final Presentation. Soooo I spent all of Sat Morning remaking our Powerpoint. And I had to finish it in time to suit up and make the Time Crash/Doctor costuming Panel at 1PM.
Hanging in the room as I powerpoint away
Meanwhile Teri suited up in her new Femme Pertwee that looked great and Van suited up as Troughton. Ben got his photography gear ready and Scott stopped in and we pow-wowed about the evening before everyone left to leave me alone for a few hours to.... have exciting adventures in powerpoint- so apologies or no Sat morning cosplay shots here folks.
Teri suits up as Femme Three
So by the skin of my teeth, I got the new presentation ready. Then I suited up in my new Pyramids of Mars 4th Doctor costume and realizing I was running 10 minutes late, I dashed downstairs to pop on the Costuming as the Doctors panel. Once in the room, I made my apologies to the packed crowd and realized I was late enough to pretty well miss the 11th Doctor talk and jump into Ten. (we were going backwards through the doctors this year).
Time Crash- Costuming as the Doctors Panel
Most of the focus seemed on the newer doctors, so I felt happy to let Kevin, Ewan and Steve take point on these questions. They showed off fabrics and costumes (some of which they wore) to others, I brought some fabric swatches but it seemed they were not needed after all! I took point running down the 9th Doctor garments and at this point we hopped around a little to whatever Doctor the audience seemed to want to discuss. Particularly Doctors Two, Three, Four and Six. Ewan likes to poke fun at the fact I was getting so brain frazzled that my initial answer to a question about Tom baker was "yeah.. it's like a jacket or something..." which if my memory serves I was really trying to get around to asking WHICH jacket/varient Tom they wanted to discuss but it came out all hamstrung due to lack of sleep. Despite hiccups I think we hit all the major points asked and people seemed to have very good feedback. It gave me a chance to show off my new waistcoat done from the recent Check houndstooth fabric run as well!
Showing off the new vest
Outside the panel I took a moment to take pics of the Silence, Amanda's Weeping Angel, A Destiny Romnana II and a great Night Terrors doll costume.
Silence!
Dalek selling Girl Scout Cookies
Amanda's Weeping Angel!
Destiny Romana II
The Recurring 1st Doctor
Night Terrors Dolls
Candid Doctors
After this point I made a stop in the dealer's room to get Peter Purves' Autograph. I told him about Teri's dodo and Van's Steven Taylor costume and he seemed pretty upbeat and agreeable about it. I know they did get this photo on Sunday and I'll try and get a scan of it here. I also got in line for Freema Ageyman's autograph. When I got up to her, she was much better looking than she seemed on TV and very sweet to boot. She complimented my costume but noted how hot I must be in the scarf and wig. She signed my diary and even closed the book and noted it was a 500 Year diary- "How cool!" she gave it back to me with a smile. Class act. Heard nothing but good things about her panes all weekend.
Steve Ricks' Infinite Quest Tailoring panel
Next I stopped in Steve Ricks' Infinite Quest panel about Tailoring. A number of the same points can be found in the podcast we did together here:
Pt I
http://www.costumestationzero.com/?p=639
Pt II
http://www.costumestationzero.com/?p=658
Pt III
http://www.costumestationzero.com/?p=660
He covered a lot of practical tips and history about mens wear and Doctor's garments- with focus on the 11th, 4th and 6th Doctor's frocks. He videotaped the panel and despite fighting some rather loud crowd noise outside the door at times, I'm sure segments of it will appear on his blog soon. www.eleventhdoctorcostume.blogspot.com.
Rachel as Attack of the Cybermen Peri!
Season 18 Four
The three Doctors!
Afterwards I stopped in the main autograph room to get a time from June Hudson to interview her. We agreed on the following morning at 9:30AM outside the Program E where I thought with an hour or so before programming started we could sit and chat undisturbed. I was pleased she was so open to be interviewed! I ran upstairs for a snack break after this before heading back to the floor. I swear half the time in the elevator I kept running in a 1st Doctor cosplayr with glasses on. It was cool but a little eerie in a Twin Peaks way.
Trying not to be a Killjoy for the Happiness Patrol
Next I popped my head in to the Prop making Panel where I saw scott was helping on some technical issues regarding the laptop's connectivity to the projector (they didn't have the right cord for a mac) but they seemed to solve it in the end. I got to also check out Malaki's neat cybermat foam build form his foam construction workshop. Most impressive!
Scott helps get the powerpoint going for the Prop Making Panel
Christina Tries on the K1 head
Foam Cybermat from Malaki's Foam Construction Demo
Back at the console room, they were visited by several cool guests including Phillip Hinchcliffe (which sent Paul over the moon) and Daphne Ashbrook who was cool enough to take pictures at 'her' console with several fans. CJ and Aubrey were back in attendance as stand-in doctors for people as well.
Hinchcliffe
Eights
Ashbrook
The big highlight was the surprise wedding proposal an 11th Doctor cosplaying fan gave (complete with TARDIS ring Box) to his girlfriend (dressed as a *black and white* Dodo Chaplet no less!) who said yes. It was a great moment and a real nice surprise!
Marriage Proposal
I took a moment back at the room to relax for about 20 minutes and get out of the Four costume. I snacked again on the balcony with Ben while admiring a random Dalek on the balcony across the way- not a sight you see every day. Mostly I was soaking in some of the calm before the storm. I had to help prep the room for the sketch show and then leave everyone else to get on with it while I got made up as a Zygon!
Dalek
Calm
Mal finishes K1
I got back downstairs to see Malaki had pretty much finished his K1 robot in time for the Masquerade. Because he didn't want to step on our Zygon toes he entered in the contest in Journeyman rather than master class so there would be no direct competition. It looked beautiful - and for putting it together in record time it was simply amazing!
After this we began the process of taking down the TARDIS backdrop to move into Program E as the panels had wrapped in there at 6PM. All of the equipment and extra costumes we had been bringing down earlier in the afternoon to store in the cosplay hall were being brought over by everyone in the cast including partitions and a changing tent for costume changes and to act as a make-shift backstage area in what's effectively a panel room only. At this point I had to leave but most of the other folks in the cast began running lines again in the hopes a full run through of the show could happen while tech details with the screen and projector got sorted out.
In the Console Room, I sat down and let Kelby go to work on me adding vaseline to my eyebrows and then medical adhesive to my face to apply the Foam latex Zygon face mask. It was a little strange but I got used to it after a few minutes. She began to do the paint job on my eyes, mouth and the mask. We reached a stopping point and then I put on the bottom half of the suit and then walked over to the cosplay Hall/Now Masque Green Room where I saw and let Kelby finish her work under supervision from Paul. This took about an hour altogether.
Zygoned
While sitting in the make-up chair, I admired several other costumes in the room such as Valerie's 3rd Doctor, Mette and Brian's Ogri/Stones of Blood outfits, the Roboman, Weeping Angel Statue of Liberty, War Games Time Lords, and Mal's completed K1!
Green Room
One of the Daleks was made entirely out of cardboard and has been signed by Freema!
Freema
Paul and Brian took a moment to goof off and get some fun shots with the K1 robot. Makes me wish I'd been dressed as Four to get some proper in-episode shots!!! Scott and I both agreed sometime after galy we'll have to do a Brigadier, 4th Doctor K1 photo shoot!
Admiring the K1
As we got closer, I got some final make-up touch ups from Kelby, I finished suiting up (though I often had the back of the costume undone and hands free to allow a little ventilation and not totally smother to death).
Touch ups
Finally I got fully in gear and we got judged up close. One of the judges had been reading my build diary so they were familiar with the suit and the process. Mette was the other main judge and Paul amd Kelby walked her though the costume with reference pictures while I stod there like a human mannequin. At least this time I could see and mostly hear what was going on unlike the Morbius!
Judged
After the judging there was more waiting, and drinking of water. I was sucking down cups of water like no tomorrow! The cold hotel water in the hallways was always a life saver.
Hydrating
So they called out our names. We were entry 34 out of 42 (how Douglas Adams- and nearly double from the entries last year!!). The rest of our cast for our skit - Lyn, Teri, Kevin, Katy and Erik (to help bring on the Zygon Body Print chamber which we also had brought over form the console Room earlier) were rockin and ready to go.
In Line
Fixes
Terror
We got marched backstage in the back service hallway to await going on stage. There was a lot of standing around, goofing off and such at this point. Paul caught a small droop on the face appliance which he fixed quickly with some fast stitching! By now I could feel my own sweat was causing the mask to seperate a bit off my eyes making a deep eye sunken in effect which sometimes was creepy and other times made me feel like a Zygon Scarecrow.
Zygon Builders
Backstage
Backstage line
Finally it was time for us to go on! Paul and Brian went outside in the front to watch and take snapshots. I have to admit- inside the Zygon head my hearing is only so-so with all the foam, so I could just make out my cues in the pre-record audio on stage but I had trouble knowing if the audience responded well. I just went through the motions and hoped for the best. In the moment I amped up overacting a bit more than in rehearsal to help sell the Zygon on stage as I knew no one could see my lips moving to the dialogue. At the end it went smoothly and I'm told everyone really enjoyed it. Having watched the tape back (linked below) I can see it was well received.
Performing the Skit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrhpZiRvq2U
The Let Zygons Be Zygons Sketch - Rough Copy- a more polished audio mixed one is coming
Another great skit Sarah Falk and Kevin Kittridge worked on was a great tribute to Liz Sladen which I didn't ge to see til post Gally- but here it is for everyone to see. (it had been planned for 2012 but I'm glad it finally got performed this year!) Keep your tissues handy for this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HG69P8fvR0
Sarah Jane Tribute Skit
After we got offstage, I took a moment to do a small interview along with Paul for a Dr. Who podcast, partly as the Zygon and then partly as just me. It was fun. I hope to hear it back soon!
Then I stopped by the Program D room to see how things were progressing and it seemed our cast was too fragmented between the Masque and the show and they had run what they could but couldn't do the full Show. Also one of our cast members, Rachel (our Rose), got sick with food poisoning which effectively meant we had to cut the Real World/Companions skit on top of the Zygonology skit. The 2nd major cut was losing the Doctor Whose Line is it Anyway Skit- one I was really looking forward to as it was an idea we wanted to do last year and it seemed to play well in rehearsals. However all of the actors had to be back on stage fairly quickly as Doctors and the costume change became problematic. So in a effort to lower everyone's blood pressure it was begrudgingly cut. It cut down what would have been about a 65 min show into a more manageable 51 minutes. Special thanks goes to Scott who was effectively directing the show in my absence, and Ben who had to take over the PowerPoint management cutting down what I'd done that morning to make his job easier.
A few of the folks grabbed several of the 5X7 lobby cards we had made and distributed them to the crowd and previously to those in line for the Masque to help get the word out as well.
Doctors and Villains
Playing the Zygon Flute
Sarah Jane Sketch Stars
We hopped back to the Masque once we got wind that the judging was over and we were lined up backstage again. There were a lot of cool and well deserved awards given to those like Steve (Best in Show Workmanship and Best Recreation - Master Presentation) for his fab Sixth doctor coat, Malaki (Best in Class Journeyman) for his K1 and so on. We ended up winning Best Monster for Workmanship and Best In Class-- Master for Presentation Paul, Kelby and I were justifiably proud! we're all getting copies of the certificates but we gave Kelby the ribbon.
Team Zygon!
Taking the Victory Lap
Afterwards I took a victory lap through the lobby, now getting crowded with fans. I knew I had to get back to Program D but there were a lot of people and a lot of cameras! It was nice to get some really good floor and fan time in the costume. Something I wish I'd done more of looking back.
Finished Zygon After the Masque!
So after about 10 minutes or so I managed to get back to the Program D room. We had quite a line of folks waiting outside which I thought was for Karaoke but it seems our flyers and word of mouth did the trick. Sadly the room only held 200 or so people and we had to turn away 2-3 times that. Sorry folks!
Inside I got extra costumed up for my one remaining skit and the rest of us got ready. Half the cast had to sit in the front rows (again very high school play) due to lack of 'backstage' room but we made it work. Kevin stepped up to host the sow on the fly and gave us a little intro before we finally got rolling.
Costumed up and ready to go on
The Three Cut Skits
Sketch Show Title Cards Designed by Teri Samuels
The show itself despite a few niggles and hiccups from the odd bit of tech feedback and Powerpoint glitches went very well. I think the one major complaint was the noise from the Karaoke we were put next to which was unfortunate but I guess it couldn't be helped.
Getting back to Program D for the show
We performed skits that were "bent around the TV dial" about Whovians, a Tonight show parody with Jack Harkness (A recurring sketch with differing Doctor's being interviewed), a Used Car Lot commercial parody about TARDISes, a Magnum PI/Noir Private Eye spoof, a Soap Opera/Series 6 makes no sense spoof, A Three's Company spoof, A follow up to Androids 3 Generations of Cybermen/Sitcom and finally an 11 Doctors 50th anniversary skit. Generaly speaking I believe it was the first the final skits that went down the best.
One of the bits I liked adding in was a clip of the Hartnell era from The Keys of Marnius showing one of the worst knocked out moments in the series. I used it to crate a running potato gag since the instrument of knock-out-ability appeared to be a potato at first glance.
Death by Potato!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLBE2PXEZ5Y
The Potato Gag - A stunt flub from the Hartnell Years just keeps on giving
Costumed up and ready to go on
Also during the show we premiered our 3 months in the making mash up trailer - the Big Whobowski. It went over well but not as well as we thought due again to sound interference and feedback from the tech. I'll have to do a proper behind the scenes post about it soon but for now here's the video and a few select BTS photos. Big shoutout to our cast and our king of the impossible director and editor Extrodinaire Rick Schultz who made this video as awesome as it is (and was cool enough to attend to attend the show that night!).
Whobowski
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHdI25K-O
The Big Whobowski
I'm only putting up one skit for now. The audio is so bad on several I don't feel it's worth posting the rest but maybe down the line I'll post the final 11 Doctors sketch.
Performing the Three's Company Skit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Ls61ApUmU
The Whovians 1st opening skit- apologies for the audio
Despite major crunch and the challenging nature of all the factors we dealt with I feel really happy and proud of our show and if yo attended it I hope you enjoye it. I want to again send a big shoutout to Scott for stepping in when I couldn't be there as director and giving the final shape to the show and to everyone in the cast - Kevin K, Kevin C, Scott, Matt, Ewan, Erik, Rachel, Van, Erica, Josh, Angel, Chaz, CJ, Stephen, Jonathan, Katie, Sarah, Teri, Sam, Erin, Aubrey, Malaki, Lyn, Katy and Amanda - Thanks again so much! you all did a fab job and rocked it. It's up in the air whether we'll do another show next year. Shaun and I have discussed it- but if so I'm promised no Karoake nearby and also I plan to not split my time as much. I just overbooked myself this year! Or maybe I take the sane option and we take a break next year. I'll see how I feel as we move into the fall.
Performing the 11 Doctors Sketch
After the show everyone gave us an ovation and we got a lot of good feedback. I managed to finally climb out of the Zygon suit entirely and breathe again. I was so thirsty I was drinking every cup of water on the table... including a cup of what turned out to basically be rubbing alcohol. I managed to spit it out in time but that was... gross. Afterwards I went back to the room to find most of the equipment and costumes were already being taken back up to our room and the backdrop was being dismantled to be brought back to the Cosplay Hall. sScott and I were wiped out. I gave him a hug and a big thanks and basically sat here like a Zombie with him in a bit of a daze while others packed up or chatted away. It was a little surreal but that's Gally.
Post Show- Scott and Bob Galli-freyed
Karaoke
Unfortunately another theft fallout of all this moving around- somewhere after 6PM our CD/Tape deck boom box was stolen along with the digital sound recorder the day before. I didn't discover the 2nd theft til Monday but talk about another bummer. I heard stories of other thefts at the con such as phones and scarves and it was very sad to hear of this kind of behavior going on at what is normally such a fan friendly con.
Ogri by Bryan and Mette
After everything was safely in the Room, Kevin, Van and I went in search of a drink. By now though Champions was closed. Our show got started Post masque about Midnight and ran til 1AM. By this time it was 2AM or thereabouts. So we stopped into the karaoke that had interfered so well with our show and enjoyed seeing Mark Strickson rocking out to some Journey (I think) as well as others having a good time. We wandered the halls til I gave into the overpriced vending machine and settled on a cold pepsi.
Lobbycon
Kevin made his goodbyes shortly thereafter and Van and I wandered lobbycon for a bit. The leftover Zygon makeup had everyone joking I looked like someone who'd been beaten and abused. A lovely sentiment for a saturday evening. I ran into Amy and Jonathan who were hanging out on the central couch. Jonathan was passed out getting a few precious hours in before he had to leave early for work.
Amy and Jonathan napping in the lobby.
Mugging
Van hanging out
I also ran into Mette and Brian who showed off thier awesome Ogri creation- remote controlled and it made SFX and lit up pretty much like the real and much larger originals did on screen. For fun it could even bust out some mush and disco flashing. It was really impressive. Mette also let me try on the preistess outfit which was pretty comfy all things considered. Though I admit the thought of getting back INTO a hot costume was last on my list that night although the feathers were well lined so it wasn't too bad.
Trying on the the Stones of Blood Costume
Shortly thereafter I hit my fatigue wall, bid everyone goodnight and went upstairs to pass out in bed- making sure to set an early alarm for the next morning of course!
Back with the Sunday Report Tomorrow!
-Honorarydoctor