Hal’s First Con Experience: Being the New Guy

Note: Article written by Hal.

Apparently, the answer is Diet Coke, at least in part.

This is not a non sequitur, but a question I tried to figure out during my first experience of watching Ben Browder. I guess you’re wondering what I kept pondering. It was, “How does Ben Browder stay so upbeat, cheerful, and energetic throughout a whole day of fan appearances?”

Of course, the real answer is that it is just who he is. Ben is just an upbeat, energetic guy. The Diet Coke helped, to be sure, but in the end, it was just Ben being Ben – much to the delight of all.

Let’s back up and take it from the top. The setting was Creation Entertainment’s Chicago Stargate Convention, August 19-21, 2011. I am a huge fan of Ben Browder and have been since I first saw him on “Party of Five” in the mid 1990s. Sometimes I was more eager in my support of Ben than other times, but I always kept tabs on Ben’s career. In this vein, although I checked in on Ben Browder Online for the first time many years ago, I only recently became an active member.

Among the several hundred fans, old and young, male and female, at the Convention in question, was your humble scribe wondering what in the world he was doing there. It seemed out of character for a stuffy middle-aged guy like me.

Yet, on a stormy Saturday morning in Chicago, I found myself in a large conference room with 250 or 300 Stargate fans waiting to have breakfast with Ben. Soon the oddness began to disappear. I chatted with the strangers at the table where I sat and the strangers became friends, or at least compatriots for the convention weekend.

The room roared — cheers and clapping filled the air. Ben Browder rushed in from a back door and jumped on the stage. How Hollywood! He spoke a few words and then began “Breakfast with Ben.” By this I mean he made the rounds, sitting at each table for three or four minutes and then moving on when his handler indicated it was time to go. I cannot truthfully say that we were best friends when he left my table, but I will blow my own horn and say that I was proud I did not falter nor fail in the presence of the one and only major star of Hollywood – to me at least. (Of course, the exhaustion I felt from not having slept the night before probably had something to do with keeping myself in check.)

The hour passed quickly and 10 a.m. rolled around. I would not see Ben again until 4:05 p.m. What to do with all the free time? Surprisingly, the time went quickly. Chatting with fellow conventioneers; listening to other Stargate cast members’ stories and presentations; watching a charity auction of Stargate paraphernalia.

It was 4:05 p.m. and no Ben yet. The schedule was a few minutes behind, but only a few minutes. And then, Ben took the main stage of the Grand Ballroom to thunderous applause. He really is a crowd pleaser! He made a few nonchalant jokes and then spoke seriously for a few minutes about life and its ups and downs, but quickly switched back to the out-of-control, rip-roaring, hilariously funny Ben. He was playing the room and audience better than any Las Vegas superstar.

Then, sooner rather than later, he opened the floor to questions. I’ve heard that at conventions such as this, the Q&A with the various stars is the highlight for the attendees. I had debated whether to ask a question. I mean, while I do like Stargate, I am a fan of Ben, first, and of Stargate, second. I was not really that interested in the intricate plot details of the show the way that it seemed like most of the Stargate fans around me were. Yet, feeling that I had to make up for my own lost years of missed conventions past, I had previously resolved to myself to ask a question. The question itself was not so important as simply standing up and engaging Ben directly. Alas, most of those lining up at the two microphones to ask questions were much younger than I and female. Did I really want to stick an older gray-haired dude in the mix and have the convention play a game of “which one of these is not like the other?” Apparently I did, for up I went to wait my turn. Luckily, the males came to my rescue as a young man around four years old or so or so stepped up to the microphone, helped by his mother, naturally. Ben learned that the young man’s name was Brady, so, without hesitation, Ben lead the room in a chorus of the “Brady Bunch” theme song. A nice touch for the young man.

For the past three or four months I had scanned various Stargate SG-1 episodes to glean a plot point I could question — not that I’ve been brooding over what question to ask. What can I say? This was not really my thing. Then I recalled reading that Ben liked Shakespeare. Maybe I could formulate a question around the Bard rather than ask another Stargate question? Thanks to my personal “question formulating coaching staff,” otherwise known as BBO’s own Mark, I decided to ask Ben about the relationship between Shakespeare and science fiction.

When it was my turn, hoping that no one noticed my knees knocking or heard my stomach churning, I stepped up to the microphone. The conversation went something like this: “This is my first convention and I’m having a blast. Thanks, Ben, for making it so much fun.” Ben then conducted a show of hands poll asking how many people were at their first convention and how many had watched Stargate and Farscape when they originally aired as opposed to watching them on reruns or disc. Back to me, as I said something like, “Obviously, you are a fan of the sci-fi genre.” Ben replied, with a bemused smile, “Obviously.” I then mentioned that I had read he was also a Shakespeare fan and, if that was true, how, in his view, did the Shakespeare genre and the sci-fi genre interconnect?

This was it. The moment of truth. Would he simply laugh? Would he say that was the dumbest question ever? A pregnant pause. It got longer. And longer. Why was the whole room – and Ben – staring at me? Then, relief; Ben reacted positively and gave a thoughtful answer relating to the advantages held by classically trained actors. He made the point (and I am paraphrasing) that when acting in a Shakespeare play an actor has to use his imagination to place himself in a different time and world – the time and world of Shakespeare and his imagination. Such times and worlds have different realities from our time and world. The same is true of Science Fiction. An actor has to be able to imagine his setting is literally a different world with different realities and he has to imagine such different worlds and realities while acting in front of a green screen. Further, when performing Shakespeare, the actor has to be able to pronounce strange words and deliver long soliloquies. The same is often true of Science Fiction. There are certainly odd words and the actors often have to be able to speak in phrases other than monosyllabic words.

Whew! I made it through the question and answer with no egg on my face. Hallelujah!

Hal and Ben Browder official photo, ChiCon Stargate 2011

The Q&A over and soon the Creation staff had seemingly pushed Ben off the stage. The final highlights on the day’s schedule was my photo with Ben and getting his autograph. I was giving serious thought about how to pose for the photo. I mean how does one stand next to a major star for a still photo? There are so many options that I had never thought about until now and I was in line and the photo was seconds away. Suddenly, it was my turn and my pondering really was moot because Ben gave me no time to really think; he just put his arm around me and the photo was taken. Half of the photo looks great at least.

Afterwards, came the waiting in line for his autograph, a long process. Apparently you know who likes to chat. As I approached the table where he sat I could tell that, yes, there was another Diet Coke at the end of the day, too. (This was around 8 p.m.) And he was chewing gum. That was interesting. Well, it had been a long day for him. No wonder he needed both the drink and the gum. And then, while closing in on the table where Ben sat and while chatting amicably with a new acquaintance in line with me, Ben looked right at me and waved his hand. What a nice touch. Then came the autograph. “I wish I had something witty to say,” I said to him. Ben replied: “Don’t worry. It’s so late in the day I wouldn’t remember it.” Then he looked at me and said, “but I might wake up tomorrow morning and say ‘that was witty!”

And with that, the day was over. What a wonderful day in Chicago. Now I must balance the check book to see if I can head to Los Angeles for the next convention. After that, it’s time to work with Mr. Wells on a time machine so that I can visit all the past conventions that I missed.

Photos courtesy of Sprite Lady.