Here it is, the final installment of the convention reports I wrote at OzCon International. This one was sent out moments before my husband and I left the hotel.
===
Sunday morning, as usual at any convention, came far too early. Oz fans peeked out of their rooms like chipmunks watching for late owls, then zombied their way to breakfast, car-packing and check-out. The movement in the hotel of Oz fans was considerably slower than previous days, as the programming didn't start on Sunday until 10 a.m., giving everyone an extra hour for the last morning of the con.
At 10 a.m., panelists Eric Gjovaag, Gina Wickwar, Lee Speth and John Bell started an open and energetic discussion of the later L. Frank Baum books, with an emphasis on The Lost Princess of Oz. The audience was engaged and there was a lot of feedback on favorite parts of the books along with magic words and manuscripts. Opinions flew like arrows and every one seemed to hit a pertinent point. Serious discussion about which of Baum's four final books was the best triggered a lot of thoughtful commentary on specific scenes and memories from people of when they first read each book.
After an hour of scintillating conversation, the convention had a short break before the annual business meeting. A number of people left to head home or check out of the hotel. Jay Davis, Lee Speth and Colin Ayres started the business meeting with a discussion of next year's venue, the Kellogg West Conference Center and Hotel at Cal Poly in Pomona, California. The convention will be held Aug 10-12, 2018.
Discussion included a request for the return of the treasure hunt, a warning that Pomona will be hot in August, and the comment that Disneyland is fairly near to the location. People also were concerned about how publicity and information will be spread on next year's convention. Publicity was also discussed heavily. As the people who were going on the cruise prepared to depart, Jay showed off the promotional image for next year's convention on his t-shirt.
The folks going on the cruise gathered in the lobby and rafted off together to the event, while those left behind got lunch and gathered in the lobby to discuss a variety of topics, with a lot of planning and thoughts on next year's event.
After a pleasant hour and change, John Fricke started the next program: a retrospective about the history of the radio show the group saw last night. Also on the panel were Travis Ashmore and Jean Paul Archambeault, who directed and performed the radio play. Fricke explained that NBC has all the scripts and even the negotiations with the book publishers in its archives. He was unable to make copies of any of the material, but was able to go back several times and take notes, writing two articles about it for the Baum Bugle. Later, Chris Sterling wanted to perform some of the plays, and got permission to print the scripts from NBC. These same scripts were the ones performed at this year's convention, many years after their first convention debut.
Fricke also talked about where the play was heard - and noted that it was never aired on the west coast. Ashmore talked about the work involved in putting on the show, how he hunted down the actors and auditioned people via phone, "I didn't need to see them, just hear them," he said. Timing and cadence were crucial, and he found people he thought were the best for each character. The most challenging part was finding the "On the Air" lights and vintage microphones, along with the items used to create sound effects by the foley artists.
He said the assistance of David Ian and Sam A. Mowry was vital in getting the sound effects put together, including the loan of a number of materials from Mowry. Eric Shanower also assisted by helping Ashmore make contacts with Portland groups who could help out.
Fricke asked Archambeault about his opinions, being an Oz outsider who was unaware of the radio play or even most of the Oz books before getting involved in this. He'd done some work on radio and doing voices for Anime, so he jumped at the chance to try something new. He had seen the MGM Movie and Return to Oz, and said the event was a bit of a culture shock, but he enjoyed the passion of the attendees and plans on starting to read the Oz books.
Archambeault played Jim the Horse, the Braided Man and the Dragon, and during the play when he switched from Jim to the Braided Man he removed his hat to reveal braided hair with ribbons in it, which got a big response from the audience. He said the idea to do the "costume" that way came early in the process. Ashmore said he wanted the actors to look like they might have come into a studio dressed that way in 1934, while still reflecting their character's nature. If you see a photo of the staff as they were performing, there is a good chance you can identify each of the characters by how they are dressed.
A short break allowed many of the handful of remaining attendees to wander off, leaving a sparsely populated room for the 2 p.m. panel about next year's convention. With maybe a dozen people in the room, Jay Davis started discussing plans for guests/events for next year and potential fundraising to help secure those guests/events. Jay also discussed the places of Oz history that are close to Pomona that Oz fans may want to visit, and whether or not a group bus tour might be a fun way to accomplish the visits.
The classic discussion on whether or not meals should be included in the cost of registration was again brought up. Also discussed was whether or not the banquet should be included as part of the standard cost.
The convention ended as Lee Speth announced he is no longer the Chair, and handed the figurative baton to Jay Davis. Jay told everyone that he hopes to include upcoming convention information on his podcast, if people want to subscribe to the Royal Podcast of Oz.
Reminder: OzCon 2018 will be held Aug 10-12, 2018, at Kellogg West Conference Center and Hotel in Pomona, California. The theme is Tin Woodman of Oz, which will be celebrating the centennial of its publication next year.
Some final notes:
* Another group in the hotel over the weekend were the Jehovah's Witnesses, but as they were on the other side of the hotel we hardly ran into them at all.
* The banquet room was just across the main lobby from the OzCon area - but the main lobby was cut off thanks to the construction. People had to detour all the way around the construction to get to the banquet.
* This year's convention was also the 53rd Winkie Convention.
* The heavy construction that plagued the group with noise on Friday was not happening on Saturday and Sunday - although workers were still laying carpet in some areas.
* After listening to the radio play, some people were wondering exactly how to make Jell-O flakes.
* These newsletters have been posted online at ye ol' editor's blog under the tag OzCon2017, so you can direct other people to them if you want folks to read them.
Quote of the Day:
"Here there be Skeezers" - during a discussion of maps of Oz
The reviews are in (responses to these reports):
"Have a great time!!!" -Diana
"Thank you for these summaries - the next best thing to being actually able to attend!" - Gili
"that was a fun read, Laura! thanks!" -Glenn
"Pomona! That's great news. I will be there with my family." - Lorin
"Making plans for Pomona convention." - Micki
Monday, July 03, 2017
OzCon International - Day 3
Sunday, July 02, 2017
OzCon International - Day 2
Once again, my newsletter report on Winkie Con 53/OzCon International 2017
===
Saturday at OzCon featured a cloudy morning by the Portland airport. Fans stumbled down from their rooms to get breakfast at the hotel restaurant or find another nearby place to break their fasts. Bleary-eyed fans greeted each other, including a few people who enjoyed too much of Ozma's Enchantment last night.
About 9 a.m. the dealers room opened, as did the silent auction in the main room, the Emerald City room. The quizzes started in the Winkie room, overseen by Quizzard Eric Gjovaag. As is the tradition, last year's winners created and presented the quiz this year along with providing the prizes. There were four levels of quizzes: a quiz on just the movie, the novice quiz, the standard quiz and the master's quiz.
After the quizzes were done, Oz Show and Tell was held in the Winkie Room. Another tradition, the show and tell allows people to bring their favorite Oz treasures to show off to other fans. As that started, Eric Shanower started a presentation on Nomes and the Nome King in the Emerald City room. Show and Tell finished quickly, and the majority of the fans joined Shanower's presentation.
Meanwhile, in the lobby, the children's programming started with a couple of young men making slime and using it to create strange and fantastic shapes. They were joined by a few adults who cannot resist such things. There were also coloring books, beads and other activities available - but the slime was the number one most popular thing.
The dealers room was also hosting a couple of signings, with Robin Hess kicking off the fun with a Friday signing of his books and Gina Wickwar signing at 10 a.m. As is usual at this convention, groups of people congregated in other areas to chat about Oz and other topics.
At 11 a.m. two panels competed for people's attention. Eric Gjovaag hosted a fantasy casting of the Wicked movie in the Winkie room, and the Emerald City room had Jay Davis interviewing Doug Aberle about filming and discovering Oz. Ye ol' newsletter editor got a moment to tell Aberle about the nightmares she had after seeing the Mysterious Stranger segment of The Adventures of Mark Twain - at which he laughed and said he was known for supplying nightmare fuel.
Lunch was a scattered affair, with people coming and going as programming ended at noon but the break was only a half hour before the auction started with the ever amazing Bill Thompson and Susan Hall at 12:30. The auction finished shortly after 3 p.m. One participant noted that even when she didn't bid on an item, she usually learned something thanks to Thompson's descriptions. Bidding was vigorous, with some items going for unexpected prices.
A half hour later Eric Gjovaag started a presentation on upcoming Oz television and movie projects, followed in the same room by a presentation on The Rundelstone of Oz by David Maxine.
At 2:30 a line formed in the dealers room to get autographs from Inanna McGraw, while people were encouraged to prepare and register for the costume contest.
Inpromptu discussion groups continued to pop up in the St. Helens lobby, and two young locals, Alysia and Linden, began to play Oz songs on violin to the joy of those in the area. A discussion group with Doug Aberle that ye ol' newsletter editor was involved in ranged from Betty MacDonald's autobiographical books to medical school to the Raveled trailer to the Aroma of Tacoma and beyond, proving that Oz and Oz Fandom is far more than the sum of its parts.
At some point, ye ol' newsletter editor was plied with chocolate, making her very happy.
Many strange Ozian creatures started to filter through the crowds into the lobby, including Polychrome, a Big Lavender Bear, Cayke the Cookie Cook, General Jinjur, a couple of Frogmen, Button Bright and a member of the Lollipop Guild.
In order of appearance, the entrants were:
- Rylan Andrews as a Lollipop Guild Member
- Karyl Carlson as Dorothy with critters
- Dee Masters as the Frogman
- Lea Thorin as Polychrome
- Caitlin Masters as General Jinjur
- Katrina Marier as Mrs. Sew-and-Sew
- Lynn Beltz's hand as Ugu the dove
- Karyl Carlson as Dorothy with the Magic Belt
- Susan Hall as the Big Lavender Bear
- David Hall as the Frogman
- Gina Wickwar as the Peach Pit
- Marilyn Carlson as Cayke the Cookie Cook
- Eric Gjovaag as the Wizard
- Brian Russell as Button Bright
- Susan Johnson as Corporal Waddle
- Lacey Carlson as Glinda
- Alysia Gaylord as Scraps
- Linden Hosack as Ozma
- Movie Quiz: Kevin Thomas - Prize: Judy Garland photos
- Novice Quiz: Dee Masters - Prize: Wicked Witch Mug
- Standard Quiz: Gina Wickwar - Prize: Oz Coloring Book
- Master's Quiz: Susan Hall
The adult costume was a tie, with both Lea Thorin and Caitlin Masters sharing the top prize.
A special Theme Prize for a costume that most embodied the convention theme of searching for the Lost Princess was awarded to David Hall.
The Winkie Award was given to John Fricke, who has made a big impact on Oz fandom and even turned Oz into a career. The Winkie Award is presented annually to a person who has contributed to Oz fandom and to the Winkie Convention (OzCon International). It is voted on each year by the attendees of the previous convention. Fricke gave a brief thank you speech, noting he's been involved in Oz since he was the age of Rylan (who is five).
Chairman Lee Speth finished the announcements by thanking the convention's special guests, Doug Aberle, Inanna McGraw, Peter McGraw, and John Fricke. He also thanked the many fans and volunteers who assisted in putting on the convention. Speth then turned the podium over to John Fricke again for a more somber moment.
Fricke gave a memorium speech for Robin Merle Olderman, a longtime convention attendee. He said that last year, Robin was at the convention but only was able to come down for the Saturday night program because she felt so ill, but was still determined to attend to give out awards. Fricke told the crowd how Robin was a big fan of the books - so much so that when she was taken to see the MGM Movie she protested that Dorothy was too old and had the wrong color hair, then when Dorothy got to Oz she had to be removed from the theater because she complained too loudly that the wrong witch showed up. Fricke told the crowd how she got into Oz fandom and first started attending conventions. He ended the speech by saying that while Robin is no longer at this con, she is in Oz, where we all want to go.
Next up was the Wizard of Oz radio show from 1934, re-created live on the stage by a number of talented actors. The show is indescribable to folks who didn't attend... I'll just say the actors dressed as if they were in 1934 and the crew had an "On The Air" light and vintage inspired microphones. The crew also read all the commercials for Jell-O that were scattered throughout the program. I wish I could tell you just how great they were, but I don't believe I have the words. It truly felt like we were sitting in a studio listening to the people actually working on the program on air. It was truly excellent.
Intermission music was supplied by Alysia and Linden on violins, who delighted the milling crowds with various songs, including a healthy selection of Oz works. Fricke referred to them as the Merry Munchkin Musical Maids.
The radio production was highly appreciated by the audience. The first act took place in the Vegetable Kingdom of the Mangaboos. The second act featured the Pyramid Mountain, the Land of the Gargoyles, the Den of the Dragonettes and the Land Where Wishes Come True. Jim the horse had a lovely habit of mixing up his words, which had to have been difficult to keep up. Amusingly, the characters kept allowing Jim to use the magic belt, and he kept messing up the words - and thus the magic spells. I also adored the adverts for The Little Wizard Stories, that children could get by sending the package front from one box of Jell-O. And I almost want to try "Jell-O flakes" thanks to the ads.
The cast featured John Fricke as the Announcer, Allie Mgrublian as Dorothy/Mushroom, Ben Caldwell as Scarecrow/Gargoyle, Evan Wollam as Cowardly Lion/Gwig, Jean Paul Archambeault as Jim the Horse, Braided Man/Dragon, Travis Ashmore as Tin Woodman/Capt. String Bean, Doug Mitchell as The Wizard of Oz and Laura McCulloch as Pig/Lead Ensemble. The play was directed by Travis Ashmore, music director was K.J. McElrath, David Ian was the sound effect director, Sean Carlson was the sound tech. Costumes were provided by Karyl Carlson and Pamela Miller. The script was adapted by Chris Sterling and John Fricke. The program was designed by Eric Gjovaag with Rob Roy MacVeigh illustrations.
Travis Ashmore, who directed the program and also was responsible for Thursday night's screening of the MGM Movie, was given a gift by the cast. They somehow found a copy of the Jell-O Little Wizard Stories send away book and presented it to him at the end of the play.
The after party was announced as the last item before the crowd broke into separate islands of chatting people. Ye ol' newsletter editor again made an appearance at the party, which had a bit of chocolate to keep her happy. The crowd of more than 30 people was, alas, a bit too much, so the editor retired without spending too much time chatting and eating. However, the party was only starting when I left, and the cups of Ozma's Enchantment were flowing freely, indicating plenty of people would be lost princesses overnight.
Reminder: OzCon 2018 will be held Aug 10-12, 2018, at Kellogg West Conference Center and Hotel in Pomona, California. Start planning now for a fun-filled weekend with fellow Oz fans!
Quotes of the day:
"I'm gonna show mama my slime!" - one of the younger fans walking away from the children's activity area with his father.
"Don't give it to your parents, keep it! It must be very valuable if she wants it so badly!" - David Maxine channeling the good witch after giving Rylan his $50 prize for the costume contest.
Saturday, July 01, 2017
Oz Con International
I'm at Oz Con International (Winkie Con) in Portland, and here's some fun moments from the first couple of days... in the form of the newsletter that I send out daily during the convention.
Winkie Newsletter OzCon 2017 - Day 0 Report
Oz fans gathered at Cinema21 in Portland last night to watch the classic MGM movie and enjoy commentary and a trivia contest hosted by John Fricke, the preeminent Judy Garland and MGM Wizard of Oz historian.
Fricke asked if anyone had never seen the movie, and a couple of hands went up. Then he asked how many people had never seen the movie in a theater, and many hands went up. He said we were about to enjoy the movie as it was originally intended and gave some hints at what to look for - including the length of Dorothy's hair in the Scarecrow introduction scenes and the horse of a different color attempting to eat itself.
The movie itself was glorious on the large screen, with details rarely noticed suddenly apparent. The loving work that went into the production was obvious with the screen so much larger than life. While some fans sang along and even quoted the movie, others watched and laughed at the Lion's antics.
As the movie ended and the lights came up, a number of people left the theater. However, quite a few stayed for the trivia session. Everyone had been given tickets as they entered the theater, and as numbers were drawn, members of the audience were invited to answer questions posed by Fricke and sometimes other members of the audience.
Among the prizes were an original doll of the Scarecrow by Karyl Carlson, 2005 DVD Wizard of Oz collection, a Wizard of Oz Monopoly game, the Munchkin Oz game, a three-day pass for OzCon, a $25 gift certificate for the dealers room at OzCon, John Fricke's 70th anniversary book, and Eric Shanower/Skottie Young's comic book adaptation.
Two young fans came dressed for the occasion, one as a member of the Lollipop Guild and one as Dorothy. The gentleman dressed as a guild member won the monopoly game while Dorothy was given the comic book hardcover by another winner (and she got the book signed by Eric Shanower, who was in attendance).
Both before and after the movie, John Fricke and Eric Shanower were available for autographs and questions, and had good crowds.
Now it's Friday morning and the convention is setting up... look for the next update tonight if ye ol' newsletter editor is awake enough to write it.
Winkie Newsletter OzCon 2017 - Day 1 Report
Follow or contribute to discussion of OzCon 2017 on Twitter with the hashtag #OzCon17 or #OzConInternational.
Registration was open bright and early at OzCon 2017, with people trickling down through the construction-filled hotel to the convention's lobby. The convention was located in the St. Helens wing of the hotel like last year, but thanks to a remodel currently in progress, the main lobby was blocked off and people had to weave past the restaurant, main desk and gift shop to get to the area.
Ye ol' newsletter editor settled down at a table to write the day 0 report while various people ran around setting up the audio/visual equipment in the two presentation rooms and the dealers set up in Baum's Bazaar. At 10 a.m., the first panel kicked off, featuring Eric Gjovaag, Lynn Beltz and Jay Davis talking about the Emerald City television show and other versions of Oz.
At 11 a.m., Jay presented a number of animated Oz shorts by Ted Eshbaugh and the Oz cartoons continued after lunch with a presentation by Colin Ayres and Sam Milazzo on Cinar's version of Oz.
A lunch buffet was ready at the restaurant for con-goers, who congregated in the lobby to chat and catch up with each other. Although the construction was, at times, a little loud, it didn't affect the presentations and rarely did more than slightly annoy the people in the lobby. During lunch, a large group of attendees got into an involved discussion of the history of Oz fandom and how it is changing.
Just before lunch a news crew arrived from KGW8 Portland to interview Peter Hanff, John Fricke, Eric Shanower and young fan Rylan (who was dressed as the Cowardly Lion and gave a mighty roar to the cameras on live television). The video are available at http://www.kgw.com.
Ashley of KGW interviews Peter Hanff and Colin Ayres:
Ashley of KGW interviews Rylan the Cowardly Lion and Eric Shanower (be sure to watch until the end to see Eric roar):
At 1 p.m. a panel moderated by Jay Davis talked about Oz Conventions and how to get the most out of them. It was basically Oz Conventions 101, and attendees reported it to be useful and interesting.
The Cinar presentation in the main room (The Emerald City Room) ran a little late, but after it finished, Karyl Carlson led a discussion on costuming while the smaller conference room (The Winkie Room) held a discussion by Lee Speth, Lynn Beltz and Rick Wiegand on Ozma of Oz. Live coverage of the panel was provided on Twitter by J.L. Bell at https://twitter.com/jlbellwriter
At 3 p.m. the Emerald City room featured a presentation by Peter Hanff, Lynn Beltz and John Fricke on the 60th birthday of the International Wizard of Oz Club. Meanwhile, in the Winkie room, Eric Gjovaag led people in a rousing edition of the British game show "Just a Minute" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_a_Minute) adapted to an Ozian audience. Both events ran a little late due to some set up issues.
Erica Olivera won "Just a Minute" against Colin Ayres, Rick Wiegand, and David Maxine.
A little after 4 p.m., the programs let out and everyone gathered in the lobby and dealers room for meetings and greetings. People slowly drifted away to dinner, with the main program scheduled to resume at 7 p.m. The bar created a new drink for this year, called the "Emerald City", and some fans were seen trying it out as the dinner hour progressed.
At seven, the Oz fans gathered in The Emerald City room for the evening programs. The festivities started with Peter Hanff giving an overview of the history of Oz books leading up to The Lost Princess of Oz along with a slideshow of images from the first edition of the book. He then summarized the book for the crowd, while showing slides of images from the book.
After a short break, Colin Ayres was next up with a presentation on Oz animation, starting with a 1933 short by Ted Eshbaugh and covering a number of other pieces in mostly chronological order, including Tales of the Wizard of Oz. Yes, a significant portion of the audience sang along to the theme song. Ayres included everything from full length films to a short by the American Heart Association featuring the Tin Man. The featured works included traditional animation, stop-motion and CGI. He also included Ozzy moments in other animated works, including the Superfriend's "Planet of Oz". Colin ended his presentation with a promotion of OzCon 2018, which will be celebrating the Tin Woodman of Oz. The convention will be in Pomona, California, which is fairly close to Los Angeles, Aug 10-12, 2018.
As the clock ticked past 9:15 p.m., another break allowed people to move around and get water. The final presenter of the night was Doug Aberle, who did Claymation work on Return to Oz and was there to tell the crowd how to make our own nomes. Aberle, sporting a brown Hawaiian shirt and a well-trimmed beard, started his presentation with a film about how he killed the Nome King. Aberle explains in the film that he was never on the set, but instead was working in Portland on the claymation parts of the film. The film also included an interview with Will Vinton worked into the narrative.
Aberle was the animator on the famous Mysterious Stranger segment of The Adventures of Mark Twain at Will Vinton studios, making the people the Stranger creates and doing "a really cool destruction sequence". He then started to work on the Nome King for Return to Oz with Will Vinton's team. The film told us which animators worked on which segments. The Nome King goes through three phases of claymation evolution before becoming a live actor in a costume for a short time. Aberle got the assignment to kill off the Nome King and explained why he had to do it four times. He also visited the Deadly Desert, which is just south of Tillamok, Oregon.
After the film, Aberle took questions from the audience. He was asked how many takes are usual, and Aberle said most of his shots are first take. Having to do four takes of killing the Nome King was very unusual. He also answered questions about the type of clay they used and how long the entire process took. He said he worked at Will Vinton Studios for 18 years total, and worked on a lot of different projects. He also talked a little about his current work, including a space adventure starring sock puppets. Convention Chair Lee had a hard time getting people to stop asking questions, but finally told the group that Doug will be available for more questions on Saturday. Aberle's son said the video seen by the attendees will be put on the AberleFilms YouTube channel after a few more tweaks.
The location of the after-party was announced by David Maxine, who asked the crowd to give them a head start for set-up. The attendees wandered off into the halls - though a good number found their way to the party, where David and Eric Shanower were serving "Ozma's Enchantment", a peachy drink that will turn you into a lost princess. Ye ol' newsletter editor noted the lack of chocolate and left almost immediately.
More Media Coverage:
Auntie Em! There's no place like OzCon
5 Things To Do and See In Portland Today, Thursday, June 29
Quotes of the con so far:
"It's an Oz con, there's always a technical glitch" - Colin Ayres, right after a video he was showing crashed.
"ROOOAAAARRRRR!" - Eric Shanower
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