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7th Annual Gathering of the Gargoyles
New York, NY, USA
June 27-29, 2003

As seen through mine eyes.

About a week ago (June 27) the Gathering 2003 kicked off and I was fortunate 
enough to attend.

I arrive, via train, around 4pm. The Gathering was being held at the Hotel 
Pennsylvania which is right across the street from Penn Station where I had 
arrived. Finding the place was not difficult. It was also not far from where 
the first Gathering was held in 1997. 

This year I was rooming with IRC Goliath and Wingless. So after checking in I 
headed up to our room to meet up with them but no one was home. So I dropped 
my stuff off and headed up to the London Suite where the radio play auditions 
were being held. I was a bit disappointed I was unable to arrive in time to 
catch the panel on voice acting held just before the auditions. It may have 
helped a bit.

While standing in line for the auditions I met up with IRC Goliath and Stephen 
Sobotka and Gabe among others. Chyna Rose was handing out audition forms that 
had to be completed before the audition. Among the questions was "Can you 
growl?" Well I checked off that I could. This comes back to haunt me later.

As I start to get closer to the front of the line I see there are scripts 
being given to the next three in line for an audition. Each page has dialog 
for a specific character from the show. The idea is that you pick one character
and read that for your audition. A couple minutes before it would be my turn I 
got my hand on a copy of the script and started to thumb through it. I had just
barely skimmed it when it was my turn to audition.

So in I walked and was greeted by Greg Weisman (creator of Gargoyles) and Thom
Adcox (voice of Lexington). Greg asked that I go to the back of the room when I
 read the lines so that way they could better judge what kind of volume I had
 behind my voice. Since the radio play was done without microphones in a large 
 ballroom this would be important.

Then Greg asked who I wanted to read. What? I hadn't even read through one
complete page to get my bearings on what I would be reading. I flipped through
the pages quickly and they fell open to Xanatos. "Xanatos" I tell Greg, and off
I go.

I tried to put some emotion into the lines but I was far more focused on making
sure I didn't lose my place and that I was delivering the correct lines that
there really wasn't much there.

I was asked to re-read the last paragraph and to boost the volume a little bit.
That wasn't a problem.

Then Greg asked to do a big growl so I let loose with something that was more a
scream than a growl but at least it was loud.


After that IRC Goliath and I headed out to find Wingless before the opening
ceremonies. We quickly found him on the top floor and headed down to the opening
ceremonies.

The opening ceremonies started off with a quick intro by Greg Bishansky and then
the Gathering 2004 group took the podium to unveil the Gathering 2004 mascot. He
needs a name! There should be an entry form or details on how to submit your
suggestion(s) on the Gathering 2004 website which should be active soon.

Some of those who helped with this year's con were then introduced.

Then Greg Weisman took the podium to deliver his annual Gargoyles speech. During
key points Greg would ask the crowd to complete parts of the now famous story
about how Gargoyles came to be. It truly is better than Barney. He took
a quick show of hands as to how many previous cons people had attended. A few
brave souls admitted to having attended every single Gathering since this whole
thing began. There were also a few "con virgins" in attendance. Greg mentioned
that we, the fans, might be slacking a little bit. Attendance this year was down
compared to previous years. I don't know how the LA Gathering will ever be
topped, but his message was clear, let's get excited again about the show and
get more people interested in it.

Greg then mentioned that Gargoyles would be coming to DVD in 2004 to coincide
with the 10th anniversary of the show. Greg said it was a move made more for
marketing purposes than anything else. He said that tentatively the DVD would 
contain all episodes from season one. It would also include a commentary track 
by "some guy named Greg Weisman". Very cool news to hear.

Greg then moved on to showing us the usual videos. First up was the video pitch
Greg made back in the early 90s for Gargoyles. Next up were the Dark Ages and
New Olympians pitches which I had never seen before so I was very happy to get
the chance to see them. Greg then played the Bad Guys leica reel which was the
one spin-off of Gargoyles that got the farthest along. The lieca reel was
something of a mini-episode put together with rough pencil sketches patched
together and with a dialog track. The story goes that the day before the lieca
reel was to be completed Disney pulled the plug on the project. So Greg put up
his own money to finish the lieca reel. He asked (as always) that no one take
pictures or use any other recording devices while the tape was playing.

After the videos Greg went over some of the panels that would be happening
during the Gathering and closed up the opening ceremonies.

I was hoping to attend the jalapeno eating contest which started right after
opening ceremonies. However I decided to go out and grab some dinner with some
friends. 

Later that evening was the Othercon mug-a-guest with Greg Weisman and Thom Adcox.
The idea behind the Othercon is that more mature themes may be explored that
might otherwise be inappropriate for the general audiences of the Gathering. So
at the mug-a-guest there were no limit on what the questions could cover.
Probably the only real noteworthy fact that came out of the mug-a-guest was that
Lexington was gay. Greg said that was never the plan going into the series but
rather something that just developed over time. He said that Lexington seemed to
stop his pursuit of Angela long before Brooklyn and Broadway and that may have
been a sign. When asked who Lex's mate would be were his storyline to continue,
Greg would not provide a name nor a species. He made it a point to say he
wouldn't provide a species. Curious.

The following day, Saturday, was filled with all sorts of cool stuff. I had to
make the most of it as I would be missing out on all of Sunday's events to catch
a plane to Las Vegas for another con. (That's an entirely separate story)

Wingless wanted to catch the "Showstoppers and Scene Stealers: Creating Memorable
Characters" panel so he headed off to that while IRC Goliath and I visited the art
room. Disney had loaned to the Gathering some early production artwork from the
show. This included a lot of work done by Greg Guler who did a lot of the early
character design. There was also some character sketches for the comedy version of
Gargoyles. As you may or may not know, Gargoyles was originally pitched as a
comedy. Disney (Michael Eisner) didn't go for the idea and so the show was
reworked as a drama. Many of the characters in the show as you see it today are
based largely on characters first developed for the comedy show.

You can see some of this artwork in the video pitch Greg made for Gargoyles.

Also in the art room was a table with all sorts of materials relating to the
episode "The Reckoning" including the complete storyboard done by Victor Cook who
was also a guest at the Gathering. I spent about 30 minutes going through the
storyboards. There was some very cool insight into the episode and how editing
story-boards are done. The opening shot was originally done with Goliath looking
through a pair of binoculars. Lots of panels had white paper pasted over them to
show that the scene was to be cut or changed, but you could see through the paper
and get a glimpse at the panel underneath. Several panels had pieces of paper
pasted over only part of the panel with the piece of "edit paper" cut in such a
way as to retain part of the original panel such as an arm or head. Then the
piece of paper was drawn over again with the correct poses for the rest of the
panel. That was kind of cool to see.

There was also a copy of the script and what appeared to be an edit sheet which
kept track of what shots are to be placed where for the episode. Very cool.

Also in the art room was a large collection of fan art. There was some really
amazing pieces in there. I especially enjoyed the water-color pieces. Just
something about the texture of water-colors on the right kind of paper that I
like... can't really put a finger on it.

Kanthara had a nice butt-shot of her character on display. For some odd reason
that sticks out in my mind. There were many great pieces of art on display. So
I made sure to take my time going around and selecting pieces to vote for. I
liked the Gargoyles cards, a set of king and queen cards done up with characters
from the show. There was some nice work by Kythera and Dreamie as well. The art
was not limited to just painting and drawings, there were some 3D art pieces; a
pair of Brooklyn heads by Kelly Fay and a t-shirt with a front shot of Demona
on the front and a back shot of Demona on the back (if my memory recalls
correctly...) although I do not recall who made it at the moment. If you wish to
clue me in, toss me an e-mail.

After visiting the art room I headed over to the Roughnecks / 3x3 Eyes Q&A panel.
The panel was hosted by Greg Weisman and I don't believe Thom Adcox was there even
though he was slated to. We snuck some Gargoyles questions in there but mostly it
was talking about 3x3 Eyes, which Greg Weisman directed the English dub of, and
Roughnecks which was a series Greg wrote for. Greg showed us a tape of silly bits
that the CG animators put together for Roughnecks. One included the cast singing
"I Just Can't Get Enough" which cracked me up. There was also a music video montage
which started (and ended) with some of the more violent scenes in the series with
the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong playing over them. Greg also
showed us a scene from Roughnecks, a funeral scene from an episode he wrote which
he felt was really well done by the animators and wanted to share that. Greg then
showed us some clips from 3x3 Eyes trying to showcase some of Thom Adcox's work on
the project. He picked out a few really goofy scenes that were fun to see.

After that panel came the "Writing for Animation and Series Development" which I
was especially interested in as we had been promised a sneak peek at a new series
that is in development created by Victor Cook with Greg helping out on it as well. 

Greg and Victor Cook talked a bit about what it was like pitching a series during
the time of Gargoyles versus what it's like now.

Back in the day (1992 or so) a pitch was made directly to Michael Eisner and he
would simply give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down. When Gargoyles was first pitched
Eisner gave it the thumbs down but Greg was asked to rework the pitch and try it
again. Greg talked about how the first time out, the pitch had about 40 or so
pieces of art and included a lot of detail about the series. The second time around
there were about 20 pieces of art and a lot of detail was cut. That pitch got the
show green-lit. 

Greg talked about how when pitching a series, less really is more. It also helps to
allow the studio you're pitching it to to feel that they could have a hand in
developing or fleshing-out the series. Thus leaving a lot of room for tweaking can
really help sell a series.

Greg and Vic talked about how things have changed now. Back in the day, Disney
could syndicate it's cartoons out to independent television stations. As Fox, UPN,
and the WB networks grew, they bought up all these independent stations and
syndication was no longer possible. Thus Disney bought ABC so it could have a place
to put it's cartoons. Disney also opened up the Disney Channel from a pay channel to
one that's now part of a regular channel package for most cable companies. This
change in structure added new layers to the approval process. Now when a series is
pitched it goes before a group of people to be approved. If even one member on that
board doesn't like the show, then you're screwed. If it gets approved then the pitch
is passed upwards to another group of people for approval. These extra layers with
many more people now involved in the green-lighting process, make it very difficult
to get a show made. People are more afraid to green-light the next television bomb
than to block the next television blockbuster.

The television world is tough business. Especially animated television.

To end the panel we got to see a preview of a show Vic Cook had created and which
Greg Weisman was helping to develop. Greg asked no pictures or recording devices be
used during this time. Since the show is still being shopped around I figure I
won't go into much detail about it. I'll just say that it seems like a cross between
Bubblegum Crisis and X-Men with maybe a dash of Bionic Six. We were introduced to
the main characters, given the basic story behind who they are and what the special
attribute they all share is and some basic plot points. There's a seemingly Xanatos-
inspired character trying to control things from behind the scenes in the series.
I wasn't able to get a good idea of what the target audience is but Greg and Vic
seemed to indicate that the show could swing from kids to young adults depending on
what the network that buys the show wants. Greg and Vic mentioned Disney, when they
saw the pitch, wanted to make the characters younger while the WB wanted to make the
characters older.

I'll say it again: The television world is tough business. Especially animated
television.

It was a great insight into a business I've never had any direct interaction with
and I enjoyed it immensely. Probably my favorite panel out of all those that I
attended.

Next up was the radio play rehersal. Earlier in the day 18 names were posted as being
assigned to the radio play and I was lucky enough to be included. However we weren't
to find out who we were playing, or what we would be performing, until the rehearsals.

After a brief introduction, Greg Weisman announced we would be doing "The Reckoning"
which was an episode story-edited, and put to teleplay form by Gary Sperling. Gary
Sperling worked close with Greg Weisman during Gargoyles and was a key figure in the
show's development. Gary passed away a couple months ago from lung cancer (having
never smoked a day in his life) and Greg felt it would be a proper tribute to do "The
Reckoning" and perform it in Gary Sperling's honor. There were other episodes written
by Gary Sperling but none of them had Lexington in it. Greg had assumed Thom Adcox
would want to play Lexington... well guess again, Thom decided to take the role of
Sevarius. Greg then announced who would be playing the rest of the roles in the
episode. I was assigned to the role of Burbank who is Hudson's clone; 7 lines, 6 of
which are growls. Looks like I did okay in my growling during the auditions. 

IRC Goliath was picked for the role of Claw who, of course, has no lines. He was to
be an under-study of sorts should someone fail to show up for the radio play. Like
the idiot I am, that was nearly me.

We read-through the first act and then Greg gave pointers to those involved in the
first act. We then did a second read-through of the first act. We were short on time
so we did a single read-through on the second and third acts. Greg talked a bit about
the need for volume and that should any of us make a mistake, to not apologize for it
(which would draw attention away from the story) and to just move on. He gave tips on
what kind of attitude certain characters had during certain scenes. Be more innocent
here... be more cynical here... really have fun with this part... and so on.

Then we had to clear out of the ballroom while it was prepared for the banquet. There
was some miscommunication as we were suppose to have more time to rehearse but the
food services people wanted to get into the ballroom to setup. So we left and waiting
for the ballroom to be prepared.

Once the ballroom was ready, we would go back in and start the radio play followed by
the banquet. So Greg Bishansky comes out and lets the crowd outside of the ballroom
know that it'll be about 30 minutes before everything is ready. So how to kill 30
minutes? I decided I ought to change my clothes. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt
which, I thought, were very unfitting for a radio play that had the kind of meaning
and importance as this one. I headed up to my room, got cleaned up, and changed
clothes. 

As I'm getting my belt on there's a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

"GORE?! They need you in the ballroom NOW!"

"What? ... I thought I had 30 minutes..."

"Well they're ready NOW!"

DOH!

So it turns out that at about the time I got into the elevator, the ballroom was
reopened and everyone was ready to start the radio play. So much for those 30 minutes.
Instead, I wound up holding the show up for about 10 minutes while Kelly Fay scrambled
around the hotel trying to find me. I felt like a total jackass at that point. The one
thing I didn't want to screw up... and as I entered the ballroom there was a large,
sarcastic, applause to greet the asshole who held up the show. 7 lines... just
7 lines... I wouldn't have waited for myself, but they did. So for everyone in
attendence, I am very sorry for holding things up.

I scrambled into line and the radio play began.

From there things went off without a hitch. Batya was exceptional as Demona. Stephen
Sabotka did great as Goliath. The lady (whose name I do not recall) that played Angela
did probably the best job as she seemed to capture Angela's innocence and naivete
perfectly. The guy who played Thailog and Thom Adcox had a great moment where Thailog
and Sevarius share a maniacal laugh. The two really did it up like something out of
Austin Powers 2. Everyone was cracking up on that. Come the third act, Claw is
introduced by Greg Weisman and IRC Goliath stands up. The scene continues and then
ends. IRC Goliath sits down. Everyone roared with laughter at that one. I let fly with
my growls and for that one line of dialogue I do a bad impersonation of Bill Murray's
character from Caddyshack.

Fin. 

The radio play was fun. But I felt horrible about holding things up. But everything
went smoothly after that point and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Then we cleared out while final preparations were made to the ballroom for the banquet.
Nichelle Nichols, Uhura from Star Trek, the voice of Diane Maza (Elisa's mother) in
Gargoyles, would be attending the banquet.

A line was formed for those who wanted to be assigned to the table of a special guest.
I decided to get in line. Everyone in line was give a number to correspond to a
special-guest's table. I was assigned the number 1 which turned out to be Greg
Weisman's table.

The doors were opened and we all took our seats. First we ate and then a Q&A session
followed. Greg became the emcee of the Q&A and most of the questions were directed at
Nichelle Nichols. Nichelle talked a bit about her sci-fi books as well as a bit about
how she came to work on Star Trek. A general question for all the guests came up
asking if there was a special or favorite episode. Greg talked about working on Mark
of the Panther with Nichelle and how great she was. There's a point in the episode 
where Diane Maza delivers a story about the panther queen. Greg said Nichelle busted 
through that in just two takes. Vic Cook talked about how he enjoyed working on that 
same episode as that story sequence was done in a very different style than the
typical Gargoyles style and how much fun it was. 

After the banquet a lot of people stayed around while things were cleaned up in
preparation for the masquerade ball. Nichelle Nichols took the time to sign a few
autographs.

Next up was a great masquerade. Check out the images, my words couldn't possible
do those costumes justice. It was really fun.

After the masquerade I headed back to the room as I was really tired. IRC Goliath and 
Wingless showed up later with Gabe and they talked well into the night. 

Early the next morning I left for Vegas.

But that's another story.