2010DianeReports

DAY ONE

Di (dldanni) and I woke early Thursday morning, July 15. She had driven from her home in Pennsylvania the day before so that we could catch our plane together at JFK. Believe me, 3 a.m. comes pretty quickly, even though we were in bed by 9. Still, the thought of festival fun spurred us out of bed and out the door by 4 for our trip to the airport, which is about 2 hours away.

We arrived at the airport a little after 6, but our flight wasn’t until 8. After checking our bags, we decided that coffee was definitely in order and found a Dunkin’ Donuts inside the Jet Blue terminal. Munching on bagels and drinking our coffee, we were glad to have plenty of time to chill before the flight. Still, as soon as breakfast was over, we decided to go to the gate and wait there.

There were lots of shops where the gates were located, so we decided to do a little browsing. Knowing how expensive these stores tend to be, I resisted temptation. Di, though, couldn’t help herself when she went into this silver and leather purse shop. They had all kinds of charms and jewelry, and she was particularly interested in getting something for her mother. So, what did she settle on? A pink flamingo made out of silver (a little charm). She told me and the young woman behind the counter about the flamingo joke her family played on their parents, wherein some 50 or so plastic flamingoes were planted on their front lawn for some surprise party. From then on, flamingoes have been flying in all sorts of shapes and forms.

Something funny happened when we walked into that shop. We were standing at the display case, and the woman working there asked if we were sisters. I promptly turned around and said, “Oh no – we’re more than just sisters.” Oops – realizing what that implied, I turned beet red, but Di just laughed.

After making her purchase, we walked to our gate. We were sitting there just chatting when Di said, “Oh wow – there’s Marie Wallace!” Sure enough – it was Marie. She would be on the same flight we were. Di spotted her because she was buying earphones. JetBlue sells them for $2 apiece, but all you have to do is deposit your $2 into this box and walk away with them. We debated taking Marie’s picture but decided against it. After all, this was her time, and the fest hadn’t even begun yet. We didn’t feel right intruding on her like that.

When we boarded the plane, who sat right across the aisle from us? Marie! She recognized us and said hello and pointed out other DS fans on board with us. We chatted briefly, and then it was time for takeoff. Di had brought neck pillows and blankets for us, so we didn’t have to purchase them for the outrageous sum of $7 (it’s the principle!). We settled in, took off, and were on our way to California. The flight was set to take five hours and 54 minutes, but the captain informed us we’d be there earlier because of tailwinds. Yippee!

The flight was smooth and uneventful for the most part. The only irritating thing for me was that my TV set worked very sporadically. Because of that, one of the stewards gave me a $15 JetBlue voucher for future travel. Fine – don’t know when I’ll use it, but there you go. There was a family with two little girls seated in front of us, and they behaved pretty well except that the parents allowed them to stand up on the seats and stare at the people behind them, which just happened to be us. Di and I were afraid for the younger child, who was really just a toddler. We were frightened she’d get hurt, and thank goodness she didn’t.

When the plane landed at 11 a.m. California time, we got off with Marie, who didn’t know where the luggage carousel was. We told her to come with us, and we’d help her. The Burbank Airport has been remodeled since the last festival, and the walk to that luggage area was LONG. Still, when we got there, the luggage still wasn’t unloaded. Marie told us tales of all her various airline travels during her career while we waited. One was really funny. She said she was traveling with another actor or maybe her agent (can’t remember which). He would always go to the bar for a drink before going to the luggage carousel. He would tell her, “That’s the way civilized people live.” Well, the way those suitcases came off the carousel, we could have had so many drinks, we wouldn’t be able to walk! It was so slow! Marie said, “What are they doing? Taking off one suitcase, loading it up, and then walking back to the plane for the next one?” It surely seemed that way.

Finally, all our bags were collected, and we helped Marie wheel her one suitcase for her that was full of books. It was pretty heavy, and the walk to the shuttle bus wasn’t exactly long, but it was a chore with heavy bags. We were happy to help her, and she was so sweet. The shuttle was waiting as we arrived, and when we got on, who was already on it? Judy! We couldn’t believe it. Hugs exchanged, we settled back for the very short hop to the Marriott, where we helped Marie once again.

At the hotel, several DS friends were already milling about in the lobby. Hugs and greetings were exchanged, and we were still doing it when we were checking in. People just run up to you that way. It’s so neat! We got our keys for our room (211), but Judy couldn’t go to hers. Her roommate, Lena, had already arrived but wasn’t in the room, so Judy had to wait. She came up to our room with us so she could drop off her bags and didn’t have to lug them around.

Two years ago, the Marriott in Burbank was being renovated, but it’s finished now. We walked around the lobby and other areas to see what they’d done, and it was really nice. At least we’d have somewhere to congregate besides the outdoor patio areas.

Sunny and Mary arrived just as we were taking our little tour. We couldn’t believe it. There’d be no waiting for roommates to come in dribs and drabs as in past years. We were all there pretty much at the same time. Once they settled in, it was time to decide what to do since the fest wouldn’t start until the following day.

We went back down to the lobby and bumped into Jack Kusler, whom I always refer to as my “brother,” since he played Roger to my Elizabeth last year in the Collinsport Players Skit. Anyway, he joined our merry band, and it was decided that we’d go to Target, just as we had two years earlier in Burbank. Hey, a tradition’s a tradition, right? No matter how bizarre. The cab ride was only $7, and since there were five of us (Di, Mary, Jack, Sunny and me), it wouldn’t exactly break the bank. We did have to do some squeezing in, but we all love each other – LOL!

At Target, we got some snacks, water, coffee, creamer, wine and beer (the hotel bar’s outrageously expensive, as is the food and even water). Jack bought a dress shirt and tie he’d use to play Roger again this year, only in a different skit from the last one. We were in the men’s department when I spied something I just had to tease him with. Just so you can get a visual – Jack is a BIG guy – about 6’5” and built like a brick wall. That’s exactly why he played Adam in another skit we did a few years back. Anyway, I found these Superman briefs and waved them at him. They also had Spiderman and Batman. All I know is, my Target in New York doesn’t carry those – must be a California thing. Jack got a laugh out of the briefs but there was no sale going on there.

The cab driver was true to his word and picked us up an hour later. Two years ago, we were stranded by our cab driver and had to call the hotel for help finding us another cab to come get us. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. It’s no fun sitting in the hot sun, waiting and waiting.

We had all eaten a late lunch at Denny’s, so no one was hungry for dinner. We decided to just hang around and hit the lounge later when everyone would congregate for drinks and fun. Since we had our own adult beverages thanks to our trip to Target, we didn’t have to fork over a million dollars for a glass of wine or a bottle of beer! And the great thing is, no one bothers you if you bring your own booze down, so long as you’re discreet about it.

We partied with friends for a bit, but we were all so drained from the trip in and getting up early, we decided to go to bed at 8:30. There’d be plenty of time to party during the weekend. We needed to rest up for the festival, officially to start on Friday.

We had just settled into our beds, when there was a knock at the door. I went to answer it and asked who it was. A male voice answered: “FBI. I don’t care if you’re naked.” I knew that voice! I opened the door and in walked Chuck (Phantom from Steadfast) with his friend, Joe. We visited for a while and made plans to meet for breakfast together the following day. Then it was lights out for a good night’s rest.

DAY TWO

We awoke about 7:30 Friday morning, refreshed and rested from our journey to California the day before. We quickly got ready for breakfast and met Jack down in the lobby. It was hot in Burbank which isn’t the norm, but the walk was short – just across the street from the hotel to Denny’s, our go-to place in Burbank since the hotel restaurant is simply too pricey.

Back at the hotel, we meandered around, greeting people who were just getting in. This was the day Jonathan Frid was to put his handprints in cement at the Vista Theatre in Hollywood, followed by a showing of “House of Dark Shadows” with some restored footage. None of us had signed up for that, so we were just waiting for registration to start at 3. That’s always a mob scene, so we like to be there really early to get it over with and not have to wait in line for hours as some people do and we’ve done in years past.

Sometime around 11 or so, a nice stretch limo pulled up in front of the hotel. The chauffeur got out and told us he was waiting for some celebrity, but it wasn’t anyone he knew. However, we were informed that it was Jonathan, so we decided to give him the royal treatment when he came out. We waited about 20 minutes because Jonathan graciously went around to where the buses were loading fans to take to the ceremony. He greeted them and then came back to the front of the hotel. We gave a great big cheer when he came out, and he seemed surprised. His exact words were, “Oh my God!” Then he smiled and walked slowly to the limo as we all snapped pictures (Sunny took video) and shouted out that we loved him. As he got into the limo, he raised his cup of water to us in a toast, which was so cute. Then he was off to the Vista.

At around 2:30 or so, Judy called me on my cell to let me know that registration had started early, so we should hurry up and get there since there was no line yet. We ran down there, registered and also got our banquet tickets at the same time. The banquet ticket deal is kind of new. They used to make you wait until the day of the banquet to pick them up, and that was always a mob scene. It only makes sense to hand them out when you register, so someone finally figured that out.

On my way out of registration, I bumped into Chris Pennock. I said to him, “Hi, Chris. I’m Diane Eckert from Facebook.” He grinned, hugged me and said, “Diane! I feel like I’ve known you for years.” That was so funny since he and I have gone back and forth on Facebook, particularly concerning politics, but that’s another story for another day.

The fest officially opens at 6 p.m. on Friday night, so we had time to grab something for dinner. Mary wanted to eat at the hotel restaurant because it would be our one “good” meal for the weekend. We agreed we could do it, so we went to the Daily Grill which is right off the lobby. Since we were there early (4:30) we had our choice of both the lunch menu and the dinner menu. The problem was, it took forever to get our food, which was a puzzle. The restaurant was nearly empty so we couldn’t figure out why it took so long. However, the food is delicious, so it was worth the wait. As a surprise, Jack picked up the tab (thank you, Jack!), so we left the tip, not exactly even, but it was more than nice of him.

Off to the ballroom we went for the opening, which consisted of some remarks by both Jeff Thompson and Richard Halpern, both serving as co-emcees. At 6:30, the first Collinsport Players skit began. Amanda Trujillo (Profstokes on email) had written it, and it was excellent! It was a crossover with the “Twilight Zone” episode with Billy Mumy as the brat putting everyone in the cornfield. Amanda played Vicki, and she was fabulous as always. The kid who played David was unbelievably good, as was the entire skit and every single performance. However, when the guy who played Rod Serling came out, everyone hooted and hollered. He looked exactly like Serling! He had the same forehead furrows, the suit, the cigarette, the voice – it was uncanny! Kudos to the Players for a job well done.

Speaking of the Players, the skit I was to do (Skit II) was cancelled. Richard Halpern announced it and said it was because John Schaefer, a key player, had to work both Friday and Saturday night. It was quite a letdown since we were to re-enact our original “Golden Shadows” script wherein I played Blanche, my favorite character. Such is life, though, and there’s always next year, God willing.

Lara Parker and John Karlen took the stage for some Q&A’s, and John was his usual cut-up self. As Lara was talking, he began pulling down the blouse off her shoulder, teasing her. She giggled and tried to maintain her composure, but he kept doing it. Finally, when it was his turn to speak, she gave him turn-about, fair play. It was hilarious!

At 9, the movies began (“Race with the Devil” and something else). We never stay for those, so it was off to party! I was sort of relieved I could do this since I’m usually rehearsing on a Friday night at the festivals. This would be a novelty and a welcome one at that.

Instead of partying at the bar or in the lobby area off the bar, we all went outside. There was a beautiful patio area there, and there had to be about 40 of us mingling, talking, laughing, drinking and carrying on. Now don’t get the wrong idea here! No one got drunk or anything. We just had a few drinks and a fabulous time.

At around 3 or so in the morning, we decided to pack it in for the night. Everyone went to their respective rooms, ready to catch a few hours before the first full day of the festival. I didn’t get to sleep till about 4, but it’s like that – too much excitement. As we always tell each other, we can sleep when we get home.

DAY THREE

Despite having stayed up into the wee hours, we were up and at ‘em early Saturday morning and able to head out to Denny’s for breakfast by 9:30. By this time, we’d expanded our little group. The day before, I met Cletus Laundrie outside while he was smoking a cigarette. I somehow knew he was a first-timer, so we chatted a bit, and I told him to hang around with our merry band so we could show him the ropes, so to speak, and show him how friendly we all are. All I can say is, he fit right in!

After breakfast, we all consulted our programs and decided we didn’t want to go into the ballroom until 12:30 when Sy Thomashof, the set designer, was going to be on. Since we had some time to kill, we wandered around outside the ballroom and in the dealer’s room. Sitting outside the dealer’s room was Matt Beckoff, the host of Coast-to-Coast radio and the author of “Scream Queen,” a book I bought from him a few weeks before the festival which he graciously signed.

Matt and I hit it off immediately (those of you on Facebook can see the pics of us). He has a delicious sense of humor and is just an all-around great guy. He was attending the festival to sell his books, but at the time we were talking, he said he hadn’t sold any. I felt bad about that. However, not too long afterward, as I passed by him, he told me I’d brought him luck, and his books were selling. Nice to hear, even if it wasn’t true – LOL. He also took a shine to Judy, Sunny and Jack, and there are photos of them as well. When Matt went to take a cigarette break, Jack and I “manned” his table for him. It’s just too bad he had to leave Saturday night and wasn’t going to come back Sunday. He had a book signing somewhere else. Those are the breaks.

Sy Thomashof’s presentation is always fascinating. The man truly is a genius. He told a funny story about how Dan Curtis called him into his office when the show was set to go from black and white to color. Dan asked him, “Well, what will you have to do to the set to be ready for color?” Sy responded, “I always did the set for color.” In an age where most soaps were shot in black and white, Sy had to be a visionary.

The next guest up was Bob Cobert, the man behind the DS music we all know and love so well. Bob is the same age as Jonathan Frid, but you would never know it. He has more energy than people half his age, and he’s hilarious to boot. He gets on stage, dances to his music, faux-conducts, you name it! One fan got up and asked him who of his contemporaries did he admire. Bob thought a bit and said about three names, and asked the fan, “You know who they are, right?” The fan stood there, not wanting to appear stupid, just stammering. Bob laughed and said, “Of course you don’t know who they are. I made those names up. Do you think I’d give anyone other than me credit?” Everyone roared.

Jonathan was next, showing fans’ favorite clips of scenes he did. He had promoted this on his website for fans to submit suggestions, and he picked out those he liked the best. There were some really good ones, but my favorite was when Angelique was dying, and he finally admitted he’d always loved her. One scene that was excluded, much to my dismay, was the one where he first goes into the Old House after arriving in Collinwood and gives a speech to the portrait of Josette. It was so well done and so poignant, but I guess either no one picked it or he wasn’t crazy about it.

David Selby took the stage next, talking about his latest book which is about his personal journey during his run on “Dark Shadows,” the turbulent 1960s. It was interesting, but I was just a bit disappointed with all the politics he was spouting. Still, since it was the ‘60s he was discussing, I suppose that was unavoidable. David is just a very gentle soul, a very sweet man and a true gentleman. No matter what he talks about, it’s OK.

The next event was the cast reunion, which is always fun. The microphone is passed from actor to actor, and they all tell us what projects they’re currently involved in. Sunny has video of this, but two people stand out for me simply because I’ve never seen them at a fest before – Kathy Cody who played Carrie/Hallie and Jim Storm who played Gerard Stiles. Kathy is no longer acting but has a great job in the corporate world. Jim is now a country and western singer – how about that?

The next two events weren’t of interest to us, and I had to get ready for the Costume Gala anyway. Too, Judy had a skit prepared for us that we were to do in place of the Collinsport Players skit that was cancelled. Judy and I had performed it (the pirate play) a few years back, just the two of us, but we rounded up a cast for this one on the spur of the moment. Poor Judy was busy in the hotel’s computer room, revising the script and printing it out. The other actors set to join us were Walter Down, who’d played Willie in a few skits I was in and then Barnabas last year, Jack Kusler, who played Adam a few years back and Roger two years in a row, Amanda Trujillo was Villager #1, and Tom Massey, whose father, Michael, is the guy who always dresses like a medieval count, played Joshua Collins. Tom is about 20 years old and trying to break into show business. He’s cute as a bug’s ear and as eager as a puppy – LOL!

While waiting for the Costume Gala, we managed to get a run-through of the play in, which made everyone feel better. As for the gala itself, I was dressed as Josette in her wedding dress (I had bought it from Peter Mac last year). Di not only altered the dress for me, she made a “veil” out of lace you use to decorate wedding cakes, and I had the ringlet wig. I sang a parody of “Make Believe” from “Showboat” which went over pretty well.

Here are the words: “We could make believe I’m Josette. Only make believe that I am she. Others find peace of mind in pretending. Couldn’t you? Couldn’t I? Couldn’t we? Make believe my neck is bending for a vampire kiss or two or three. Might as well make believe I’m your bride. For if not I know, I’ll die.” Hope you all know the tune! Di has video of it.

When the gala was over, the Eagle Hill Irregulars, as Judy dubbed us, took the stage for the Pirate Play, which explains how Joshua and Naomi finally got together and how Naomi got the pirate treasure. It’s a brilliant piece, all in rhyme, which stops when we get to the part Judy added on, which concerns how to lift the curse from the Collins family once and for all. All in all, it went over very well.

By this time, it was a little after 10, early by DS Fest standards. Off to our room we went to change our clothes (those of us in costume, that is) and down to the lobby/patio to party.

We hung out in the outdoor patio area and were treated to a guitar concert by Michael Culhane, the guy who does Nicholas Blair to perfection, although not this year. He is a very talented professional musician, and a great guy to boot. He played all the Blue Whale songs as well as the DS theme and then launched into a medley of Beatles stuff. Everyone was singing along, clapping, you name it. It was too fun for words. In fact, it was so much fun, we didn’t get to bed until 3:30 again, but who needs sleep when you’re having the time of your life?

DAY FOUR

Sunday mornings at a festival are always the same. You awake with a feeling in the pit of your stomach of dread because you know everything is soon to come to an end. Still, there was a full day ahead of us, topped off by the banquet and yet another night of partying with our friends.

We made it to Denny’s by about 9:45 and groggily ordered our breakfast. Our waitress, Lisa, a pretty young woman from Thailand, had been our waitress two years ago when we were at the fest. She not only remembered us, she remembered how we took our coffee and everything. She is so sweet. We took pictures of her, and she also took pics of us! What a happy surprise. Judy taught us all how to say, “Thank you,” in Thai, and we surprised her with that. We were lucky to have Lisa wait on us yet again both Saturday and Sunday.

Breakfast over, we headed back to the hotel. We skipped most of the events that day because we were both tired and not interested, but we agreed we didn’t want to miss Kathleen Cody at 3:00 followed by David Selby and Lisa Richards. Kathleen was a lot of fun. She recalled other shows she’d guested on (they showed clips) and regaled us with tales of her romances with people like David Cassidy, who kept sending her flowers when she guested on “The Partridge Family” and Davy Jones, with whom she did a “Love American Style” episode. However, her serious love interest was Kurt Russell, whom she lived with for two years. I never knew that! Wonder if Goldie Hawn does – LOL!

By about 4:30, we decided we’d just rest a little before changing into our banquet clothes. The banquet was set to start at 7, so we had plenty of time. I decided to take yet another shower since, as I said, it was unusually hot in Burbank. Before you knew it, though, it was time to go downstairs and queue up.

Mary always gets first dibs on a table because she’s disabled. She got us table #9, but once again, we didn’t have a star seated with us. That’s fine because David Selby was at the table right next to us. As Judy put it, “We don’t want them looking at us eating anyway.” Right you are, Judy!

The shocker was, the food was actually edible, unlike two years ago when we were served the Elmer’s Glue vegetarian lasagna that made everyone who ate it sick! We had chicken, broccolini and wild rice. Prior to that, the salad was served with nice, warm rolls. Usually, you could use the rolls for ammo because they’re so hard. This year, they were actually soft. Dessert was this apple tart thingy, but I wasn’t crazy about it. In fact, I hardly ate anything, nor did Sunny.

As far as that went, we were in an area where the sound was awful. We couldn’t hear what was being said, although we could see the clips. Judy was hilarious. She was calling for closed captioning and then likened everything to the “Peanuts” cartoons where all the adults are going, “Wah, wah, wah.” Then she said, “Well, let’s just clap when everyone else does just to be polite.” So, we did. Di, though, wasn’t having any of it. She went right up to the sound guy and told him of our dilemma. His response? Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly polite, and nothing was done about it.

Kathryn Leigh Scott was unable to attend, the first year ever, because her husband, who is ill, was tired and needed to go home and rest. She left us all a gift, though – audiocassettes of the 25th. Anniversary of Dark Shadows. I still have a cassette player, so I’m happy. I bet most people do, even if they have to dig them up out of the basement or attic.

The banquet ran long this year, until 10 p.m. It normally ends at 9. When it ended, we all went up to change out of our fancy duds. Off we went downstairs to find everyone and begin our mingling and the beginning of our goodbyes.

At first, we started off in the patio area, but everyone decided to move into the bar. It was packed, but Michael Culhane was in a corner with his guitar, providing all the music and entertainment. We sang along, and Judy took a wastebasket, turned it upside down, and drummed along with him. It was a complete blast!

We weren’t ready to leave at last call, so we once again moved outside. Michael continued his guitar-playing with us singing until the hotel told us to knock it off around 3 a.m. People began drifting up to their rooms, so we gave it all up at 4 a.m.

What to do? Di and I had to leave for the airport at 5. It didn’t pay to even try to sleep. We just got ready while Sunny and Mary, who were leaving mid-morning, tried to stay up with us. Judy stayed with us for a while, too, before going back to her room across the hall. At 5, we hugged Sunny and Mary goodbye, and it was down to the hotel entrance to catch the shuttle to the airport.

After checking our bags, we grabbed some coffee (mud as Di called it) and went outside for a bit. We had plenty of time before our plane left at 7, but after the coffee, we went through security and to our gate. About 6 a.m., Rick Hatch and Rosella joined us. Both were flying out from JetBlue, too. In fact, Rick was on the same flight as ours, but two rows ahead. We took pics before Rosella had to get to her gate, and then it was time to board.

The flight was non-stop, smooth and non-eventful. Di and I slept for about an hour and a half, and this time, my TV was working, not that I was interested.

When the plane landed, we hugged Rick goodbye and went to collect our luggage at the carousel. It was all over for another year, and that’s always a downer. Still, we agreed that for us, this was the absolute best festival ever! On to next year!

ADDENDUM

To know our Silly Sunny is to love her. And if you know her, you know that she has unusual sleeping habits. It’s not out of the norm for her to go to bed with the chickens and be up before they’re even up. She can rise at 2 a.m., when most of us are only into our third dream, and start her day. Coffee cup in one hand, cigarette in the other, she will sit on the porch and plan her day. After a festival, that will most likely mean hitting the computer to work on festival pictures so she can delight us with her treats on Showcase.

At a festival, though, we roomies don’t allow Sunny to do anything but stay up with us and party as long as we do. Of course, that isn’t really hard to do since she doesn’t want to miss out on a second of fun anyway. Still, we like to tease her that we’re “torturing” her by keeping her up late.

As I reported in my official festival report, on the first day we got to Burbank, July 15th, we’d all been up from 3 a.m. to catch our flights in order to get to California at a decent hour. We coordinated it so that we all landed around the same time – 11:30 in the morning. By 8:30 that night, we had had it. There was no partying that night for us. If it was 8:30 in California, it was 11:30 at night for those of us on Eastern time and 10:30 for Mary, who’s on Central time. That meant we’d been up for hours and hours. If we were going to enjoy the rest of the festival, we knew we’d have to get some sleep.

Just as the four of us were settling into our comfy beds, Sunny piped up and said, “That dang alarm clock! I don’t like it. You can’t see the stupid numbers.” At that, I said, “What the (expletive deleted) do you want to see the damn numbers for anyway? You’ll be asleep!” At that, the four of us burst into gales of laughter! I don’t know what was so funny, but it sure tickled us.

When I say we laughed, it had to have gone on for a good 20 minutes. We’d stop laughing, and then, just as we thought we were done, someone would start up again, and the four of us wound up howling. We were so loud, too! I’m sure anyone passing in the halls had to hear us, as well as the neighboring rooms.

Tears streamed from our eyes as we kept it up. Finally, hilarity over, we were able to get that much-needed sleep. I guess we found it so hilarious because we were simply punch-drunk from our long day of traveling. Whatever it was, I still smile now when I think of it. As they say, guess you had to be there!