Hey Gang,

So onward to the Evening of Day Two of Gallifrey One - the Masquerade!


Attack of the Cybermen- Photo by Scott Sebring

Continued from:
http://honorarydoctor.livejournal.com/19040.html - Thu / Pre-Con
http://honorarydoctor.livejournal.com/19355.html - Friday
http://honorarydoctor.livejournal.com/19677.html - Saturday

More Pics and info

SATURDAY NIGHT - THE MASQUERADE:

So I conferred with Paul about the Morbius costume (which was sitting in my hotel room 'guarding' the door and freaking anyone out who walked in) and agreed to meet in about half an hour. This gave me barely enough time to run up, change out of the 1st Doctor costume and into my t-shirt & underarmor etc. Plus I had to grab the monster suit, repair kit and helmet/dome (with Brian's help thank goodness), and run back downstairs. We hid the monster under the Hartnell cloak and Brian's jacket to not give too much away to those in the halls.


Having a final meal while Paul Makes repairs with a 'sonic' Screwdriver

We got it back to the Fan Lounge where I took a breather and wolfed down some water and a ham Sandwich Teri had gotten for me. We peeked across the hall and saw that the folks were amassing for the Green Room period for the Masque. So I suited up as Morbius. We added a L-200 foam pad into the helmet to help with the head pressure last minute, and Paul fixed a couple of little dome tweaks with a "Sonic" Screwdriver (the Wow Sonic- which Brian owned). We had a real problem with the boots as they were unzipped inside the suit to is was really tricky getting them on for a while til we sorted this out and got them zipped up!


Suiting me up as Morbius








qchan as Mel Bush (Time and the Rani)

Now that I was ready I stormed across the Hallway to a few gasps and entered the room with Paul and Brian only to find there was quite a line waiting to be judged. I basically stood a lot of this time hanging halfway out of my costume to not swelter to death. The costume was comfy but just really really hot. It was like wearing a portable sofa basically. So I drank cups of water and waited to get up to the judges. In front of me there were two girls dressed as Third Doctor in disguise outfits from the Green Death (Cleaning Lady and Milk Man) which I have to say is the most obscure (but well done) Doctor variant costumes I've ever seen!) I saw Malaki, Jay and CJ come in fully Cybermen suited up save for the helmets to also not die form the heat! Katie and Erin were present as Ace and Nyssa. Teri and Van were hanging out as Two and Dodo. Ewan and Angel were discussing the live microphone situation with Tadao. Lizz was upset her entry of a Femme Five in the Black Orchid Clown costume didn't make it in due to timing. She plans to enter this next year.








Lizz as Femme Five- Black Orchid Clown variant- Photos by Katie Forman


Dodo and Nyssa- the Kid Gloves are off

Finally we got to the judges and Paul suited me up with the dome on and everything. He went though photos on his iPad showing the process of how we made the suit and one of the judges had already seen my blog which was good! I discovered while he went through everything that the weight of the dome/eyestalks, coupled with the sweat and L-200 pad made the helmet slip down into my eyebrows which effectively clamped my eyes shut!!! Being on stage BLIND filled me with dread.












Back Stage in the Green Room/Cosplay Hall

So luckily Kelly showed up as Eight with Valerie. Between moments when he was being run through the skit with Malaki and CJ I pulled him and Paul aside and asked what the best quick fix for the blindess problem would be. We agreed we'd tighten the helmet all the way, I'd rather be in pain than blind basically! Kelly also sugested putting one of the hotel throw towels on my head to absorb the pressure and to keep the helmet in place against my sweat... and it pretty much worked thank goodness! I still had to be careful to not jostle around too much and I slightly tilted the helmet back to compensate but it did the job. Paul and I have already discussed adding a shoulder harness to the suit to take the dome weight for suture outings to avoid this problem.


CJ is being taken over by the master- End of Time????


Nyssa attacked by a.. Macra.. Terror?




Vampire of Venice - Rosanna Calvierri


Distracted Van - Photo by Katie Forman

Anyway after a long wait, many mini rehearsals with the various skit casts running their lines, and many a water cups drunk... we all got our numbers and lined up to be brought out to the backstage area. By this time, they were not allowing pictures so I don't have much from the backstage area except what was shot on the down low by Katie and a few others but oh well. Paul, Brian and I got a nice chair on the corner backstage to be ready to fully suit up about 5 entries before I went on.


Candid Van- Photo by Katie Forman


Erin & Scarf- Photo by Katie Forman




Teri as Dodo- Photos by Katie Forman




Excited CJ- Photos by Katie Forman


Lined up in the back hallway- Photo by Katie Forman

Now a little bit about these 4 skits. The Partners in Crime Alternate Ending w/Giant Adipose went on first as entry #3. The original idea was to have the Nanny begging for her job back from the "parent" Adipose. After thinking it over I thought it best to leave that character dead and focus on Ten and Donna who I knew we could easily wrangle. But how to explain the giant Adipose? I thought it would be more fun to play with a size issue- either someone huge like the Beast from The Satan Pit took the pills or the Adipose was sized up by... a malfunctioning Tissue Compression Eliminator. As soon as I saw the Master's Double take to the Adipose in my head I knew that was the way to go and Malaki and Christina agreed with me. I probably wrote it in about 20 minutes and refined it a bit later. My friend Wally Wingert, the Voice Over Pro that he is, provided the Master's Voice (in more Delgado fashion this time). Our friend Sara did Donna, while Kevin did his own Ten Voice. The Adipose noises were a pain in the rear because every time they squee in the episode bloody Murry Gold bathes the scene in music! And the BBC Site stopped putting up nice SFX for eps at the end of Season 3! Sooo next best thing I edited together a few sounds of a Chumblie from Galaxy Four which doubled well enough for the Adipose chirps. So a little hidden Hartnell reference for you guys!


Partners in Crime- Alternate Ending Cast Photo

It went over well- everyone really liked the reverse the polarity line! But of course everyone went nuts for the giant Adipose effectively drowning out most of the final 30 seconds of the pre-record! This skit is still getting an audio mix even though we only have the one angle on it. I'll update the links when available and re-post when ready.

(Place Holder youtube link space for Skit #3)

Next up was the Story of Morbius- as Entry #12. I knew early on we'd compete with Morbius and while I initially had a notion of basing the 'sitcom' idea on Morbius being married to a Movellan or Sister of Karn- I held the idea back for the Cybermen and instead thought it would be better to flip the POV and tone of the story on it's head. Make Morbius the good guy, the Doctor the bad guy, and switch the tone from horror to Children's Story Book a la Mister Rogers. For those old enough I grew up reading the old Book and Tape Story Books of movies like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman which I decided to apply here. The Morbius Roar seemed a natural too 'turn the page.' Ironically the only usable roar form the story I could pull was his DEATH roar which made it funnier I thought. So I wrote it as a poem to really Dr. Seuss it up. Originally I included his Time Lord back story, the real death of Solon and the part where he kills one of the Sisters on the rocks but due to time I cut all of this out. It still ran slightly long but we got a pass on this ahead of time thank goodness. Wally recorded the voice over again doing a really bang on children's storybook reader.


Amanda's Sister of Karn in progress


Karn Torches!






Sisters of karn


Story of Morbius- An almost full Cast Shot

I thought all we'd have was Four, Morbius and Sarah Jane, but I was pleased we were able to throw together a decent Solon costume and Kevin stepped in and wrangled Ashley, Amanda and April to fill out the whole Morbius Cast with Condo and the Sisters to really do justice to it. Erik's addition as the Story Reader added a good touch to the intro and the 'turn the page' moments too. FYI Amanda's torches were craft foam built over a flashlight so they lit up, & the headpieces are and resin over a balloon. Costume Ingenuity at it's best!


Waiting to go on




Story of Morbius- at the Masque

In keeping with the tone we turned Mind Bending into a fun Milton Bradley Game. I gave Teri some text and we researched old Board game covers form the 60's and 70's and Teri whipped this up during her downtime which I thought looked awesome!!!


Mind Bending Mock Board Game Cover by Teri Samuels


Story of Morbius Mock Book Cover Art by Malaki Keller

The skit went over well. Sure enough I got a big reaction when I lumbered on stage as Morbius. I did a lot of roaring and growling in the suit though I'm sure no one heard me, not even the cast. Sure enough though, after various 'hugs' and 'wrestling' the helmet slipped and by the time I got to the Mind Bending part, I barely could crack my eyes open enough to know here to grab the handle and after that I was blind for the final 40 seconds or so. I'd rehearsed it enough that I knew what to do so you can't tell. Although I was slightly afraid of walking forward TOO much and falling off stage! When the skit was over though I was told NOT to walk too fast to catch the eyestalks on the curtain. Well, I couldn't see so I was literally pulled off by Brian and Paul- and you can see it in the video. It was worth it for the audience reaction though!

In the interest of time and getting this post up I'm embedding the current youtube posting for this (not from either of the angles of footage I have). An edited version with audio mix and credits will follow soon. Links and embeds will be updated then along with it's own post.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjhyo-k23g&feature=related

The next entry up was the Androids: Three Generation of Cybermen (sitcom) which was entry #19. I have always wanted to do two jokes in these skits for the last two years. 1- Have a Cyberman talking with Marvin the Paranoid Android's Voice. 2 - Do a Dr. Who version of the sitcom Androids to the Red Dwarf tune from the episode "Kryten"- This skit allowed me to do both. Once I figured out this would be a 'promo' and not a mini-episode and I would frame it vintage 80's style like Different Strokes/Family Ties/Growing Pains/Perfect Strangers etc - the rest came pretty easy. The Dead Cybermat was my call out to the dead goldfish Lamont episode of the Cosby Show. Erin and Katie were cool enough to step in as the companion who go on the double date with the Earthshock Cyberman and Kelly was fine doing his part as the 'wacky neighbor' Doctor. Of course just having three Cybermen on stage pretty much had everyone at hello- and you couldnt hear the audio for a bit which nearly threw the guys off thier cues. But it all worked out. Wally being the pro that he was knocked out the ABC promo announcer voice no problem and I got to sneak in extra Red Dwarf Music, a Lost in Space and a What's Up Tiger Lily? gag. We rehearsed this about 3 times before the night and getting all the cues down were tricky but I think it came out well in the end. It was CJ's or Malaki's idea to do the Charlie's Angels pose at the end which closed it well. My only niggle was my 70's Cyberman had a suit malfunction with the back belt coming undone when they walked on but... whatever he's the 'kid' I guess it's all part of the comedy!


Androids- Three Generations of Cybermen - At the Masque

In the interest of time and getting this post up I'm embedding the current youtube posting for this (not from either of the angles of footage I have). An edited version with audio mix and credits will follow soon. Links and embeds will be updated then along with it's own post.

(place Holder Embed)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3nUUvdQNsg&feature=related

Finally we got to the final closing Exhibition entry #28- Doctor Who- The Companion Game. Now had I only been allowed to do one of these 4 skits - I would have simply expanded and done a mildly different version of the Story of Morbius. As is, I was glad to be able to a separate closer and get permission to do live audio. Big thanks to Jennifer for allowing live mikes (1 hand held and the floor stage mikes for the contestants) as I feel it made all the difference in the timing. Bearing in mind the people and costumes we had left and the 5 or 6 ideas we brainstormed the Dating Game spoof seemed the best choice. We only had Kevin C. return on stage having had ample time to swtich from Ten to his Scaroth costume. His mask BTW was really impressive and there's another 'last minute save" story there which I'll share when I get into that breakdown of it in the Sunday Section of this write-up!


Companion Game at the Masque

The Dating Game idea had been suggested by Scott months prior on one of the Dr. Who viewing nights I have were random skit ideas always tend to come up at odd times. I was a little hesitant because The Dating Game's humor is so sexually suggestive and not really appropriate for Dr. Who or the masque IMHO. I mean it would have been a no brainer to include Captain Jack and River in this but we didn't want to be that obvious! So once I worked out a loose line-up and some ideas of how to proceed I figured it could work. I was spread a bit thin though so I asked Ewan to help me write the skit as I liked a few of the one liners he'd contributed to the Monster Society of Evil Skit the year prior. We hashed out a draft in person and basically would each do a pass on it and hand it over email to let the other do the same. It worked pretty well. Our original line-up had Steven Taylor instead of the 2nd Doctor- in the interest of featuring new costumes. But we decided this was one obscure character too far and tried drafts with Adric and the 6th Doctor in his place. We finally settled on the 2nd Doctor when it became clear he got better lines and he was more likable/charming to interact with than the others. We had reservations about using Dodo and tried drafts with Sarah Jane or Ace in her place. Ultimately we stuck with Dodo because we felt she 'fit' the Dating Game best, it was a neat costume to show off and at the end of the day the Companion didn't really matter - she was the 'straight man' to feed questions to the 'bachelors' essentially. BTW, all of the questions we used came from actual Dating Game show clips- we didn't have to make those up! Anyways her main gag of being 'ditched' (and she got quite the short end of the stick in the War Machines there!) is pretty applicable to a lot of companions and still worked regardless of character knowledge.



We rehearsed this the most- about 4 or 5 times which was invaluable in trimming the fat (it originally ran about 13 minutes), killing some "little darlings" and coming up with a few extra gags like Kevin K.'s "Corridors!" line, how Scaroth acquired his paintings LEGALLY, and coming up only a week prior with the crossover joke of having the Cyberman come on stage and Eleven plug Androids, Thursdays on ABC!" CJ, Malaki and Jay were down for the extra bit and it solved the issue of how to get all of the chairs and partition on stage quickly. Erik luckily volunteered to help with the rest and provided the partition as well. Like most prior year's skits we weren't 100% sure on the script until it got refined and we found sounded better than it read.



The audience seemed to dig it though and got most of the jokes. Of course anything Nine said got the best reactions as ... well a lot of people coming into Who were probably most familiar with him and Eleven vs the older characters. Anyway this went well, I used some vintage Herb Alpert and the Tijuana brass /Dating game music, had Wally do a spot-on game show voice for us and Teri knocked together some cool Travel Posters for the prizes we wrote up. All in all a team effort!


Medusa Cascade travel poster by Teri Samuels


Paradise Towers travel Poster by Teri Samuels

By the Green Room time with final rehearsals- I noticed the cast had really worked out some nice bits of extra business between lines like Kevin C.'s victory kick, Ewan sharing Teri's chair to 'listen in', Angel's body language showing off the TARDIS, and Kevin K.'s constant staring at Kevin C.'s mask. The Nerdist folks had been doing a kind of pre-scout in the room asking various folks if they could feature thier costumes for thier youtube channel the next day. They talked to Paul and I about an interview for the Morbius in the morning which we gladly agreed on. And at the same time they saw the rehearsing for the Companion Game and asked them to re-perform it for thier Cameras the next day! Very cool- though this added a crimp into some of our Sunday plans which I'll get into in the next entry.

In the interest of time and getting this post up I'm embedding the current youtube posting for this (not from either of the angles of footage I have). An edited version with audio mix and credits will follow soon. Links and embeds will be updated then along with it's own post.

(Place Holder Embed)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkq7z-SdXCo


Brian helping me backstage or the awkwardly inappropriate shot of Morbius




View Backstage

With the Masque now wrapped, we all pretty much hung out in the Green Room/cosplay Hall, discussing reactions and drinking. We noticed Van and CJ enjoying some of the drinks from the big room party called Max Headrooms. So Paul and Brian got one and another for myself. My first alcoholic beverage at Gally! I honestly couldn't taste the alcohol- I was happy to drink something cold and sweet. During this time Charlie Ross gave a comedian half-time show and Daphne Ashbrook same some jazzy numbers. The highlight of this I hear was her singing "I Don't Need No Doctor" with Ross, Tso and McGann as her back ups! It was a neat moment which I present again here for your viewing pleasure:

(place holder embed)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1QrMnPTN8A&feature=related

Now I give it to the Masque judges- they actually had results fairly quickly compared to previous years (about 40 minutes turnaround). In the interim, Kelly, Valerie and Maureen had left after dropping off my costume and Kevin K. had changed as well and was following behind them. In anticipation of going on stage, Paul suited me back up as Morbius and I waited in the wings while Brian helped balence the eyestalks to keep me from going blind. Sure enough all three competing skits won! Partners in Crime won best workmanship Novice, Androids won best workmanship journeyman and Morbius won Judge's Choice for best workmanship Master class. Story of Morbius also tied for Best Presentation Master Class and Androids won Best in Show presentation!

(Place Holder for Award Ceremony Youtube Video)

FYI I DO have this year's Masque entirely recorded with award ceremonies. If anyone want a copy of their entry let me know and when I'm done uploading/sorting the footage I'll happily shoot you a link your costume. PM or Email me!






Award Winners on Stage

So on that high note I did a victory lap in the costume in the halls. I took a ton of pics and roared at a bunch of fans. I was told I threw my claw out at a guy and spille dhis cocktail... (sorry!) but I honestly couldn't tell. I was only able to do this for 5 minutes before going back to the Cosplay Hall. Sadly despite other intentions, this was the only "Hall time" I spent in the costume but as it was I can only deal with about 20 minute stretches inside of it. A minor regret of the con to be sure.


Kevin K out of costume Mugs- Photo by Katie Forman






Morbius Lives- at Gally- Photos by Katie Forman




Roams the Halls






Victory Lap


Morbius and Eleven- bygones are bygones

Of course I was so busy with all of this going on I totally missed the Interpretive Cosplay/Crossplay Panel at 11PM in Scottsdale. I hear it was a good panel and very helpful/well received. So I suppose we'll look to keeping this on the schedule along with possibly a wig/make-up panel. But if you attended please PM or email me with feedback if you liked it or not!


The Interpretive Cosplay/Crossplay Panel late Sat Night








Bryan and Mette Rock the Ganger/Almost People Look

Back in the Room, Scott was taking a few extra Cosplay end-of Masque portraits so I kept the Morbius on and we straightened the helmet (rendering me blind) and I was guided through a bunch of portrait positions, plus posing with Scott as Four and Paul with our awards! Afterwards I finally de-suited and we let the costume air out in the Fan Lounge overnight.


Ready for the close up














Morbius Portraits- Photos by Scott Sebring




Paul and I With our Awards - Photo by Scott Sebring




Four and Morbius- Mending Bending Rematch- Photos by Scott Sebring

Back in the Cosplay Room we had a fun time doing Cast or partial Cast Shots for Morbius, Androids, Adipose and the Companion Game. The Cybermen looked FAB and I got in for a shot of them strangling me which made me look up and go "this is the coolest shot I've ever seen!" and then Scott jumped in and said, "Okay out of the way, let me see this" and we got an AWESOME Cyberman shot- New Desktop!!!!!!












Androids- The Promotional Sitcom Photos- Lost 1980s pics by Scott Sebring


Okay I got a Pitch for you. Three Cybermen. One Roof. Laughs and Deletion! - By Scott Sebring






Attack of the Cybermen!


Final Shot by Scott Sebring




Earthshock & Portrait by Katie Forman






Spotting the coolest POV ever


Scott gets the shot


The REAL Cyber Attack- and my new Desktop- Photo by Scott Sebring

Vickie had fun squeezing Christina's Adipose and we posed her with my scarf and one of the cyber helmets for fun. We're already talking about adding various large Doctor's items to it as a varient next year!


Dodo looks on- Photo by Katie Forman




Adipose returns from Hall roaming for portraits Photos by Katie Forman


Giant Adipose- Photo by Scott Sebring




Vicki Loves the Adipose photos by Scott Sebring


Adipose with added accessories


The happy Couple- Photo by Scott Sebring

Dan waiting patiently, helmet steaming up and all, to get some Spacesuit Ten shots and we finally wrapped with a couple of candid portaits of Paul and myself- capturing how worn out I get at the end of these Masquerades. I look about 10 years older thanks to the grey still in my temples from the Hartnell costume (very Reed Richards!!!).


Dan as Spacesuit Ten- Photo by Scott Sebring




Solon Portrait- Photo by Scott Sebring


The candid- Photo by Katie Forman






Story of Morbius Partial Cast Shots- Photos by Scott Sebring




The Dating Game Partial Cast Shots- Photos by Scott Sebring


Wiped Out Bob at the end of the Masque

With the photos wrapped, we put the lights and photo equipment back in the Fan Lounge to be locked for the night and ready for the final Console session tomorrow. I cleaned up the now rather messy Cosplay Hall a good deal and we hit the lights and headed for a much deserved late dinner at Champions. At the bar, we caught up with everyone while Teri and I ordered our same meal from Thu- a Chicken Avacado Sandwich and fries- safe and easy on the wallet. I also ran into Valerie in her Femme One talking to another One and the cross Hartnell Blinovitch Limitation Effect I felt had to be captured on my camera.






Two Ones Walk into a bar....


City of Death Reunion Shot








After Masque Dinner at Champions

After dinner, most people like Scott, Vickie, Brian and Teri went to bed. But a few of us, like CJ, Malaki, Paul, Ewan and myself ended up floating through Lobbycon. I tried to get final cash to pay Dale for the pins he was still holding for me only to find the Cash Machine was out of order (or empty) Argh! Another last minute save to be had??? I found Paul hanging with Phil Ford and Richard Dinnick after this and we all sauntered to the karaoke room where (I think) Adam as Seven was rocking out to Rock Lobster. I left them to situate themselves when I bumped into Ewan, and then Steve Ricks and Dan. We compared Gally notes while Steve used his Silence joke on me he'd been using throughout the con. "Did you see those great Silence Costumes?" "Noooo where was that.... oh. I guess I "don't remember seeing them" Very clever" Ha ha. I realized I had some minor business to conduct with Steve so we agreed to meet at his room at 9AM the next morning.


Toddler Nine is asleep fighting a toddler Dream lord somewhere


Idris enjoys a fine Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster - Photo by Katie Forman


Adam as Seven - Photo by Katie Forman


Adam as Seven Rocks the Rock Lobster at Karaoke

CJ ran into me and exclaimed how he'd developed a grand new cocktail- the Ultimate Ginge. He promised me one and told me to find him in 5 minutes. I then wandered to the Con Suite in the hopes of getting a soda and a snack only to find it was closed for the night and the room parties going on now were private only. So as I went back to the elevator I found CJ, Matt Munson, Ewan and several others all coming out and parading to CJ's room. Good timing! Ewan and I traded Spaced references down the hall until we got to the room. CJ did indeed make me his Ultimate Ginge which... I think was gin or vodka with Ginger Schnapps or syrup. It was good. And I happily drank my second alcoholic beverage of Gally. Ewan told me how Toby Haynes mentioned how he nailed Matt Smith's mannerisms for the skit which pretty much made his con! I caught up with laamberry (who I'd met at SDCC as an orion Slave Girl) and Matt who I realized I knew from the RPF. Nice to put faces to online personas! We goofed off, took some pictures and then CJ left to find part of his Sonic Screwdriver which had gone missing. Malaki came in at this point wondering what the commotion was and so that extended the conversation another 20-30 minutes!




Doctor Who Goes James Bond at CJ's Room party


When we all have one too many Ultimate Ginge drinks

Finally as quickly as the room party happened, a lot of us dispersed back to the lobby or our rooms. I went to the lower loby bathroom, catching Paul on the way in who was thankful to have someone to let him in our room. I'd agreed to let him and brian stay over to avoid the drive back and forth again. So Paul then sang Loveshack with Phil Ford and the Gang and we called it a night. Of course Teri had my Key, so I had to get a new one in the lobby and all I had was my UNIT ID so Paul had to vouch for me while I recited my address.




Karaoke running late


Paul sings Loveshack with Phil Ford and the gang

We got to the room where Van, Teri and Brian were already fast asleep. Paul inflated his air mattress in the bathroom trying to finangle it in the bathtub to keep quiet but luckily everyone was dead tired or deep sleepers. We sat up, waited an eternity for the staff to bring extra blankets and towels (for the morning) and finally mercifully crashed about 3:30AM.

And this was only Day Two!



Part V (Sunday) of the Gallifrey One 23 Con Report concludes here:

http://honorarydoctor.livejournal.com/20071.html - Sunday

-Honorarydoctor