Shan writes...

REFLECTIONS ON GATHERING 2001
By Shannon (Shan) Muir

SATURDAY
Kevin met me at 9AM the next morning at Carl's Jr. for breakfast. We made it in time for the Series Development panel, which we were both looking forward to. I hated the fact Christine's reading was at the same time, since I wanted to meet her. But writing for animation is my first passion and Kevin would love to work in development, so the Development panel was the obvious choice. A lot of what Greg discussed had come up in my class, but it was all new to Kevin and I also got to hear from people such as Greg Guler who had not been guests to our class.

Next we stayed for Writing for TV Animation. In hindsight, I wish I'd gone to Voice Acting Techniques (though granted it was Part Two!) and left Kevin on his own, especially after hearing about Crispin's ADR workshop. I would have LOVED that! Kevin got the benefit of hearing Gary Sperling and Michael Reaves' thoughts and views on the craft, which were very nice and all, but I'd heard Gary in my class and Michael I've run across elsewhere. So there really wasn't much new here for me.

The next panel was phenomenal… Writing for Gargoyles. The multi-year attendees probably have heard all the stories, and Greg had told some in class, but to have the input and interjections of so many of the writers, story editors, and staff who worked on the show made it all the more fun. And all of it was new to Kevin, so most of my joy came from his reactions.

Lunch came next. Unfortunately for me, I have a medical condition that requires me to take medication on a regular schedule. So we opted out of Michael Reaves' book reading and the Music for Animation panel (I would have found this interesting) to eat. So we went back to the CityWalk - back to Jerry's but this time for sandwiches.

We got back in time for the Research panel with Tuppence, Monique, Michael, and Lydia Marano. Finally I met up with Christine Morgan beforehand and introduced myself, promised to bring my books on Sunday to have her sign them… they were back at the apartment! I learned a lot about how much more difficult research was for the staff back then (pre-proliferation of the Internet), and how they matched locations and story ideas for the World Tour (cards on a large corkboard). Afterwards, I managed to meet Lydia Marano, whose work I knew from ROUGHNECKS before having seen all of GARGOYLES, but had never run across before at any other event. I learned she owns a bookstore in the San Fernando Valley, and struck me as a strong and incredible person.

Having had a late lunch, there was no point in dinner so early. And, since we weren't staying at the hotels, had nowhere to go crash. I believe this was when we checked out the Art Show. I enjoyed so much of the art, amazed at the ways the fandom artists express their interest in GARGOYLES in so many ways. I'm not sure what Kevin thought, I think overall he liked it but since he is a Narrative Illustrator he may have a more critical eye. I didn't ask.

We STILL had time to kill. Kevin wanted to go outside for a bit so we went to sit on the far side of the pool outside the gate - passing Jordan, W. Morgan Sheppard, and Greg having dinner but being courteous enough not to interrupt. We sat by the pool and talked until the chlorine started getting to me and we headed back in and to the lobby (where we wound up sitting ABOVE same aforementioned dinner). In retrospect, I have no idea why we didn't go up to the Con Suite. My only thought is when we'd gone up before, we'd been escorted by staff and just felt awkward going up unaccompanied. We're innately shy.

Anyway, we stayed for the Radio Play at 7 PM. It was the original script version of "Hunter's Moon Part Three." Frankly, after hearing about some of the things that have been debuted at the Gathering, I was let down. That said, I feel a GARGOYLES-centered Radio Play was COMPLETELY appropriate for the fifth anniversary radio play and was VERY well-performed. I guess it's because I've written and worked in production and know cut scenes are a reality. Maybe I'm just jaded. In that respect, maybe it's good I wasn't cast.

Afterwards, still being fairly early, we took the tram back up to CityWalk and had dinner at Tony Roma's. Saw Christine and her daughter Becca Morgan go out as we came in. The waiter was slow but the ribs ruled! Another exciting day came to a close. Kevin dropped me off at my apartment (about 15 minutes away) then drove back home (an additional 30 minutes or so). What a trooper. I love him.