Coming Attractions

Hey all,
Two pieces of news. First, for the short term: I will be performing on October 16th at the Alibi Room in Pike Place at 8:00 PM in the first ever Seattle Cold Readers Showcase. It’s a really cool event in which local writers bring their scripts and local actors read them. It sounds simple, but I can’t think of a better tool for a writer than to hear their doalog out loud nor a better tool for an actor than to be given cold copy and an audience and be expected to put forth a character. Great idea! The writers will be there for us to talk to, so that will be an additional bonus for our performances. Also, fellow PHOENIX cast members William Michael Paul and Stephanie Hilbert are also part of the evening. If you’re in the Seattle area and over 21, it’s definitely worth checking out.

And in the longer term: I am going to my VERY FIRST sci-fi convention! OryCOn 30 is a science fiction and fantasy convention hosted by Oregon Science Fiction Conventions Inc. and being held at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront the weekend of November 21-23. STAR TREK: PHOENIX will be on Lower Level 2 adjacent to the entrance to the exhibition hall. If you’re going to OryCon, or thinking of being in Portland that weekend, you should come by and check us out!

And in other news, I know folks are reading my blog because suddenly I’m getting spam in my comments 🙂

Starship Woes and Writing Parties

Hey there! It’s been a while and I bet that there are several of you out there thinking that I’m slacking again. Truth is I’m just busy.

Being a producer on STAR TREK: PHOENIX has been a ride already, but I’m loving that I have a say in the creative direction of the show. Wednesday night we sat up until late (in a coffee shop- THANK YOU SEATTLE) and hammered out some final design decisions as well as some detail in the overall story arc that has us planned through the end of season 2 and yet still open to a few individual episode submissions from our writing staff and the world at large. I’m thrilled to announce that one episode in season 1 and 2 in season 2 are to be penned by yours truly. As a person who wrote their first book at age 6 I must admit that I am more than a little thrilled at the prospect of writing a teleplay that is going to get shot. WOW.

I should mention, since I failed to, that the September Podcast is now online and available for your listening entertainment. And believe me, it is entertaining. The four of us producer-types met along with our volunteer coordinator, and had a few adult beverages before recording. Ben’s answers to the prepared questions were great, but then he was all miffed at mine, because they were very polished. What can I say? I was raised by an attorney and great orator, came up through Junior Miss and Miss America, and majored in Public Relations. Of course I sound like a politician.

The “woes” I speak of in the title refer to some growing pains that the series is undergiong. If any of you reading this in California or Florida are great 3D modelers and would like to contribute, we could probably use your help. Needing some new VFX people isn’t such a huge hurdle, it just makes us nervous.

Our first day of shooting will be on October 25th and it will be for two prequel mini-sodes that should be available mid-November for download online. One of them is the reveal of the moment my character finds out she’s being sent to the Phoenix. Should be a day of great fun. Speaking of great fun, there’s a cast and crew social tomorrow night- so I’ll have some pics of us in our civvies to post next week. And the October podcast is recording on the 10th, so that should be available by mid-month. We’re hoping to feature our staff photographer as well as our wacky group of producers.

Photos of the cast are being finalized as we speak (just saw a preview of two- and WOW) so there should be links up any day.

Keep eyes tuned to ST PHOENIX online to watch the updates appear.

Photo Opportunity

Today we shot the first set of cast photos for PHOENIX, and all I have to say is that the day was amazing! I will post a link to the pictures as soon as any of them are finished and made public, and I’m sure it will be worth the wait.

Our Captain, Ben A, has the old-school Captain Kirk-ish command presence and sex appeal that will make every STAR TREK fan to find this series nostalgic for the old days. Ben J, our first officer, has the charm and the presence to balance the Captain’s occasional necessary stern-ness. Nicole, Lt Vu’Shan the Science Oficer, is the perfect blend of shyness and expertise on screen. Our CMO, played so flawlessly by James Alden is haughty and snobbish and an absolute hoot to watch. Pretty boy Austin Hunt and uber-pilot Celes are played by Aaron and Jön in such harmony that it was hard to believe it was their first day working together. Roy, our resident Romulan, might as well be a clone of Nimoy and is almost scary good.

And as for me: I’m the rock star (more in the rebel sense than the celebrity sense) redhead in Engineering with just enough attitude that you can see it in the photos.

Pictures to come!

The Producers

Yesterday I was very excitd to have been invited to attend a meeting with the Executive Producer and Co-Executive Producer of ST:PHOENIX and the Executive Director of Puget Sound Access the studio in which we are planning to shoot. The meeting was very successful and we look forward to a long and happy relationship with our friendly neighborhood Public Access Television provider.

I am also thrilled to announce that two PHOENIX cast members who have been actively involved in the creative process have been recruited to the crew side as Producers; and one of them was me! The other new Producer is the multi-talented Ben Andrews who plays Captain Bryce Avari. The two of us met with Leo and Jön last night to prepare for a production meeting this Saturday during which all manner of great news is going to be announced.

Sunday is our first photo shoot and will be another chance for the cast to meet and greet one another. It wil be so amazing to see the bridge crew all decked out in our Starfleet Regalia for the first time. I love my bright red uniform and can’t wait to get my communicator badge. And my size 2 uniform pants look great with my pretty European low-heel leather boots.

Photos from Sunday’s shoot will be posted as soon as they’re released, and trailers and mini-sodes are coming soon to the internet.

August Podcast

The August edition of the podcast for Star Trek: Phoenix is now online and can be downloaded here. It can be heard in iTunes, MP3, or mypodcast.com format. The podcast has some huge information including details about the Emmy-winning makeup artist who has joined our production and the Human Trek encyclopedia who has come on board as a story editor. Next month’s podcast should feature cast and crew so it’s worth subscribing to.

Every piece of news that comes out of this production makes me that much more excited!

Hail to the Chief Engineer

Hello to all.

So the open calls for Star Trek: Phoenix have been completed and, after two long days of auditions and many very talented actors the pilot has been cast.

The cast list is availble here.

How very exciting. I had a chance to see a little of the pilot script over the weekend and I have to say that I am so impressed with the concept. Fans won’t be disappointed.

By the way: some you (read; four maybe) will notice that some old posts have been deleted. I had no use for them any more and figured it was worth it to start fresh with the new theme and all. The good news is I’ll be using this more often.