Escapade/Escapade 2010

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Escapade 2010

Escapade 2010 (held February 26–28, 2010) was the 20th anniversary of this convention. It was advertised as, "...a celebration of our history, an opportunity to reestablish old friendships, and a time to create new ones."

It was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ventura. It was attended by around 135 people.

Saturday night fan entertainment included the resurrection of the Wheel of Fandom created by Ken D about ten years ago. The game was won by Denise Raymond, who solved the puzzle phrase, "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal." She won a free drink coupon for the hotel bar. The other contestants dib and daffy received the consolation prize of all the soda you can drink from the con suite.

From the program book:

The Gulf War (the first one) had started not long before the first Escapade. We wondered whether it was okay to be attending a slash con and having fun when our country was at war. The weather was beautiful, Wiseguy was the hot new fandom, Pros was the huge fandom, and we embarrassed professional strippers. (Ask anybody; it's true.)

Over the decades Escapade has grown and changed, and added wonderful staff members like Ken and Misti, but at its heart we hope it has stayed the same in one simple way: it's still your event, and it will still be what you help us make of it. It was once "purposely controversial," but now when non-con isn't risque and one of the hottest fandoms features incest, we can't even imagine what would push that envelope anymore. So perhaps we're a bit stodgy in our old age, a bit more familiar with each other and with the whole concept of flying or driving minutes or days to get to a party and see our friends. Perhaps the constant virtual access to friends, fic, and fandom has diluted the thrill of seeing people live a few times a year.

And perhaps those memories that have been built up and carried on to other cons we've allowed, nay encouraged, to utilize our formats and our experience- Context, Vividcon, Connections and more-have made even the stodgy and familiar welcome. We know we look forward to every year, and we look back with more pleasure and fondness as each year goes by.

We've lost people along the way, to other pressing matters of life or to death itself. We miss them. We remember them with love or anger, sadness or dismay, and we note their absence. We've gained people along the way who continue to interact more closely with the media and its producers who know us as a community better all the time. Some of those people wonder what the hush-hush is all about since Harlequin Romance now sells m/m romance novels to middle America.

We turned down a request from a reporter for a press pass so he could write an article about this convention and sell it to the Los Angeles Times. Maybe next year, if you all like the idea, we'll say "yes" if he asks again, and we'll share our history farther and wider, and see what comes of that. Hey! At the very least, allowing the press would be something controversial!

Programming

The 2010 program book is here.

• 

  program book, back cover

• 

  program book, front covers showing characters from Star Trek (2009) and Burn Notice

There were three tracks of programming, including: General/Meta panels:

• Welcome to Escapade!
• Damn, they're figuring it out. Is this a good thing? led by treewishes and Sandy (Canon is giving us more (and more outrageous) slash-on-screen than ever before. This past year we've seen Wilson proposing to House, Dean and Sam at a con, Holmes pining rather obviously after Watson, and, well, NCIS-LA. Is this really different from what's we've seen in the past? Is this a result of fans breaching the 4th wall? And will this trend continue to its inevitable slashy end, or will there be a backlash? Should we worry or celebrate?)
• Slash is out of the Gate: Original M/M Fiction in the Professional Book World led by De (In the last few years there's been an explosion of m/m original profic. What're your experiences with this genre? Which authors, publishers, and stores are good, bad, or indifferent?)
• The Case for Retired Fandoms led by M'lyn, Jo S. (The last year has brought new fans to some old fandoms, notably with the Star Trek reboot. Are these old fandoms resurrected by magic or the hard work of dedicated fans? What are the most effective ways of encouraging a fandom resurgence? And just for fun, a wish list of fandoms that should be revisited.)
• Back in the day... led by Shoshanna (Jenn and Charlotte pull out the program from the first Escapade and pick a panel that is iconic of that con and still valid today. Select a panel from Escapade 1, and discuss the same topic today. The panel selected was "Climbing Fandom's Social Ladder")
• Slashing the Cinema led by Dorinda and Christy (What are the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls to writing or vidding movieslash? What are some common approaches, and their pros and cons? How have you tackled it, or how would you like to?)
• Is Somebody Taking Notes On This?: A Discussion of the Role of Fannish History led by ivy, Katharine Scaritt, Sandy (In honor of Escapade's 20th anniversary, let's talk about recording fannish history. What are the challenges? Is it worth doing? Can it be done in a fair way? What are we afraid of happening if we try? Is Fanlore the right vehicle for the project?)
• Non-Con: Delicious, Yes, But Why? led by loversrain44, K'Kathy, Amalthia Sharon (Some people adore non-con, other people won't touch it. There have been several panels over the years about non-con that dealt with guilt, fantasy, and dealing with our inner squick buttons in order to enjoy the story. This time, let's talk about what makes a good non-con story. Is it structure? Is it content? Or is it about the power imbalance?)
• Academia/Fandom: Not Such Strange Bedfellows? led by Constance Penley, Anne Kustritz, Shoshanna, Henry Jenkins (For the 20th Anniversary of Escapade, let's revisit the Escapade III panel way back in 1993 that was the first to discuss the way academia looks at fandom and the way fandom looks back. What's changed now that Fan Studies is an academic field and fandom continues to produce its own histories and theories and construct sophisticated archives of its creative work? Are there still interesting tensions between fans/academics that should be brought to light?)
• Gay is Not Slash led by Katharine Scarritt, Denise Raymond (...even though slash is sometimes gay. The current argument about m/m romances by women as taking recognition *away* from male gay writers, depends on m/m writing being intended as gay lit. And slash, for one, isn't, even if there can be overlap. What overlaps? What doesn't? What examples do fans like?
• Characters of Color Lovefest 2010! led by aralf, kadymae/devilc (What fabulous characters of color have recent years brought us? Where's the good stuff in those fandoms? What looks promising for non-white characters in 2010? Share your favorites and maybe find some new fandoms to love!)
• Light Out and Look All Around (a panel in which fans shared their fannish origin stories, and other memorable events)
• What do we want to talk about NOW? (aka the Wildcard panel, selected at the Welcome to Escapade panel on Friday morning. The topic selected was something along the lines of political correctness in slash.)
• What happens when your fave show dies? led by Kathy S. and glacis/bren (How do you keep the juices flowing, when your show ends? Fandom fixes canon, so how do you fix it when the show dies? Come share ideas on how to raise the dead.)
• The OTW in Its Third Year led by Elke Tanzer and Shoshanna (Okay, sure, the Organization for Transformative Works bought its own goddamn servers and hosted an archive (that hosted Yuletide) and published a journal (with a special issue on Supernatural) and saved a bunch of Geocities sites and testified at the DMCA hearings (supporting the FFF's proposed exemptions for vidders and other remix artists) and made a bunch of lolcats—but what have they done for us lately? What do you want them to do?)
• We Are All Naked (On The Internet Now) led by treewishes (Social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter are conspiring with Google and your ISP to out your slash pseudonym to your RL friends, and to tell all your slash buddies your real name. Is there any way to stop the wave of facial recognition software or your oh-so-helpful friends who type your birthday into the cloud? Or is all this an inevitable consequence of evolving technology? Come on in and let's talk conspiracy theories!)
• Comfort Viewing in Tough Times led by K'Kathy, Dali/Ashlyn (No contest, times are tough. You many be out of a job, suffering through reduced wages or benefits, even lost a home. What do you watch or read in order to escape from it all? Do you need fluffy stories with happy endings to feel better? Do you need to laugh through light plot lines with humorous dialog? Or do you want your favorite characters to get whipped even harder than usual? Bring your favorite recs for mood lifters.)
• The Evolution of Slash Writing led by Julie Miller, Stranger (How has slash writing changed over the years? What is better and what is worse? How has the internet influence fiction writing?)
• Strength of the Triangle: Evolution of the OT3 led by Rachael Sabotini, Sandy Herrold , Sinead (Suddenly,, everywhere we look there are characters that are perfect for each other. Are the show and movies changing or our eyes? As we see more OT3s, what are we learning? What makes a sexy, compelling OT3?)

Fandom-specific panels:

• Torchwood: The Future? led by Melina (Can this fandom move beyond the events of Children of Earth, or is it doomed to become locked into its past?)
• White Collar: Love and Marriage: the OT3 to end all OT3s led by Christy, Sandy, M'lyn (Plenty of other shows have had a married couple and a cute guy (Alien Nation, Lethal Weapon, Homicide, Firefly and plenty of others). Usually the happy marriage has been an impediment to slash—but not this time. What makes White Collar different?)
• NCIS: The Original Team Slash led by glacis/bren, Stacy D. (LA may be doling it out by the bucket but the Original NCIS is no slouch when it comes to slash. Probie Tim and Tony. Tony and Gibbs. Gibbs and Ducky. Gibbs and Vance. Abby and Ziva. Daddy issues. Authority issues. Buddy issues. The team could go so many ways. What's out there? What's not? Let's fill in the gaps.)
• Merlin: A Slashy Show for the (Dark) Ages! led by treewishes (Season Two has provided even higher levels of hurt/comfort, dragon-love, eyefucking, and potential for incest than Season One - and that's saying something! But does Arthur really want to plunge his sword into Merlin's... stone? Let's watch some clips and dish about Morgana and Morgause, Lancelot and Uther, the fabulous guest stars... what exactly is not to love about this show? And what can we expect from Season 3??)
• HL: Let's talk about Highlander at Escapade - again. led by Dali/Ashly, AnneZo (Let's revisit a topic (or several topics) from past Escapades. What's changed in your view of Highlander, and what hasn't changed?)
• Holmes: The New Holmes Movie: Re-envisioning or Abomination? led by Taz (The new movie has been called everything from dumbed-down to a tired repetition of worn-out 19th-century plots. But even the most hostile reviewers saw chemistry between our heroes. Is there potential here for a re-envisioning of Holmes and Watson that integrates physicality with the intellectual aspects of the Holmesean universe that have been gone over so many times before? Is this the Holmes universe that comes the closest to giving us canon slash?)
• Leverage: Team Slash led by Kris (Talk about a perfect heist - is there anyone on this team who couldn't be paired? Or tripled? Eliot and Nathan and Hardison, oh my; Parker and Sophie, oh yeah. Come hash it out and have some fun )
• NCIS: LA: Buddies in Ensemble's Clothing? led by Stacy D. (NCIS:LA sells itself as an ensemble—but Sam and G are an old-fashioned cop-buddy slash pairing. What does this mean for the show? Does it affect the fanworks? Must it be just OTP, or can the ensemble work with the buddies?")
• Holmes: Baker Street Irregulars led by Taz (It's not a new fandom, but damn, isn't the new movie a slash dream? Let's talk about all the incarnations of Holmes/Watson and whether the new movie will bring good new life to the fandom.)
• Riding the Range: Western slash led by Dorinda, M'lyn, Jo S. (What are your favorite westerns to slash, and why? What is it that draws you, and what's the hardest part? Could you use some encouragement to tackle a western? Tips, tricks, and resources.)
• Dresden Files: The Other Wizard Harry led by glacis/bren and Kris (It only lasted a season on Sci-Fi, but the books count ten and growing. Have you met the Other Wizard Harry? Dresden is ripe for the picking with Michale "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone, Megan, Carlos, even Bob the pervy skull and Thomas the sex-vampire (yeah, they're brothers, so?) If you love Harry, or think you might, come join the matchmaking fun.)
• Pros: What Does it Have to Keep it Going? led by kris, glacis/bren ( Explore the aspects that keep old fans and entire new ones.)
• Burn Notice: Michael Westen, Good Guy or Good Spy? led by K'Kathy, Tracy Lee (While Michael loves his mom and his ends are just when he solves his client's problems, his means are literally explosive, surprisingly visible, and violent to the extreme - all traits usually linked with terrorists rather than spies. We've seen Michael kill only one person onscreen, but his machinations have killed many. We don't know yet why Michael was burned, but perhaps his flamboyant working style brought on his own downfall. Let's discuss this fascinating, if contradictory, character and figure out if being a good spy precludes being a good guy.)
• Doctor Who -- Present & Future led by Julie (The 10th Doctor (DT) and the Master (JS) -- it's complicated. What are the strengths of this series and where is it headed with #11?)
• ST: Kirk/Spock: Is 40 years enough? led by Kathy Resch, Stacy D. (We have a new generation of Star Trek but what happened to the original Krik/Spock? Will the AU-Trek still focus on OTP or will it be just one of many options? Is a strong Uhura too much for the boys? What's next and how do we get more K/S?)
• White Collar: The other side of the heist led by Christy, M'lyn (Finally a show that gives us the elements we love from cop shows, and combines it with the fun of the con game.)
• SPN: The Good, the Bad, and Sam In between led by lovestherain44 (Sam has been the baby of the family (sweet, bookish, innocent) and Lucifer's preferred meatsuit. Dean once compared Sam to John and it wasn't a compliment How do Sam's good qualities stack up against his bad qualities? Bring your ideas and let's talk for an hour about Sam.)

Tech/Workshop panels:

• Introduction to Kindle/Sony PRS-505/and the Nook led by Amalthia Sharon and Melina (The low-down on the popular e-ink portable reading devices and how they can save you from carpal tunnel and tendonitis.)
• Formatting Fan Fiction into Ebooks led by Amalthia Sharon (This is an advanced panel for people who already have a ebook reading device or who would like to know how to format their own stories into ebook formats such as MOBI/LRF/EPUB. The panel will cover conversion tools, how to create a Table of Contents, and how to use Calibre.)
• 2010: A Vidding Odyssey led by smutcutter, jerice (Current trends in vidding, including what's changed and what's remaind the same when it comes to slash, vidding in particular. We will show some examples of "classic" slash as well as some of the newer develpoments in constructed reality.)
• The Perfect Archive (What features would we want in the perfect fiction archive? What features make us cringe? Which existing archives are the prettiest, most useful and appealing?)
• Planning for the End (not in the program book?)
• Tech Toys led by De (With each passing year there are more new toys: ebook readers, netbooks, tablets, PDAs, mp3 players and portable game systems.)
• Vid Review

Alternate Panels:

• Vid Retrospective Teaser (scheduled but did not happen due to technical difficulties) (A flashback to those thrilling days of yesteryear... We'll be leading off the convention with a few vids from Escapades past)
• Sons of Anarchy: The devils we know? led by Jay Tryfanstone (A round-table talk on issues—boy, do we have issues. Our tough broads, within the show and from an external view. Gemma's arc for Season 2. Children as victims and levers. Non-linear storytelling. The Shakespearean models. Or whatever else burns your tattoos.)
• Slash With A Bite led by glacis/bren (Vamps are all the rage, but what about us? Why can't we have a team Edward/Jacob? How about Henry in Blood Ties? For those vamp-fans, who do you like to slash? Come, share, convert!)
• SW: Walk Softly and Carry a Big Light Saber led by KatBear (What were the Jedi and their true role in the GFFA - enlightened guardians of the peace, badass warrior-monks, dupes of Palpatine? What did the rest of the Jedi Order do that we didn't see on screen? What really went on in that Temple? The Council - Defenders of the Faith or hide-bound traditionalists? And who were the biggest, baddest Jedi of them all?)
• The Bra Is Your Friend / Steel Reinforced Undergarments led by kadymae/devilc, Jennifer (If you hate your bra, you're probably wearing the wrong size. Come with us to Aphrodite's Lingerie. It's just 3 blocks from the hotel, on Main Street. They'll have experts on hand to assist us with the right size & type of bra. Sizes 30A to 44H, and P/S to 6X, plus a fun assortment of toys and videos.)
• He/He, Round Robin in minutes! led by JenCat004 (A round table, round robin story game. Ridiculously fun and easy to play, we've been playing it at cons for over 10 years, and there has only been ONE person who didn't laugh themselves stupid. Come join the giggles!)
• Got BigBang? led by Denyce (Let's write. Bring your laptop, and work on your bigbang... also to discuss, get advice, resources etc, but to schedule time to write.)
• CM: Those Wacky Profilers Pimpfest led by Hippediva (Criminal Minds offers massive slash potential. With guest stars! Dawson does Reid with online h/c. Femmeslash opportunities abound. Come visit the dark side of the mind. We have cheesecake!)
• TFaTF: Stairway to Hot Rod Heaven led by kadymae/devilc (It's only subtext if it's subtle. Let's get together and gush about all the slashiest movie franchise EVER. Brian/Dom, Brian/Rome, Dom/Han, Han/Sean, and hot steamy car pron—it's all good here.)
• Make a book today!
• Free Range Pimping
• And several showings of "Songvid Flashbacks" (which consisted of putting in an older songvid tape or DVD in, and letting it run.)

Vid Show Playlist

DVD cover

The vid show is published for the membership on dvd. This year's DVD collection was the fanciest yet, a gorgeous design by feochadn based around California peaches.

To link to this vid show, use: Escapade/Escapade_2010#Vid_Show.

First Half
Fireflies	talitha78	Up
I Want Candy	Laura Shapiro & Zen	Multi
Blood Makes Noise	Phil	Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
So What'cha Want	bradcpu	House
Liquid Bird	hollywoodgrrl	Stargate Atlantis
Have a Little Faith	Clucking Belles	Torchwood
Sweetspot	Anoel	Glee
Strangelove	Gianduja Kiss	The Inside
The Dark Half	M'lyn	3:10 to Yuma
All We Are	Romanse	Multi
Sweet Spirit (Fade Out)	SabaceanBabe	Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Read My Mind	Mary Crawford	Sherlock Holmes (1984)
The Driver	Jo	Stingray
Little Lion Man	Killa	Supernatural
Second Half
The Llama Song	wyomingnot	Multi
California Love	Deejay	Californication
I'm For You	Romanse	Pirates of the Caribbean
The Pirate Song	Seah & Margie	Crusoe
La Maree Haute	Buffyann	Lost
Somebody's Child	SabaceanBabe	Supernatural
Candyman	jagwriter78	Multi
Fever	talitha78	Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Stand By Your Man	Jackie K.	Wild Wild West
Follow You Down	Gwyneth Rhys	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
I'll Be There for You	wyomingnot	Leverage
Imma Be	talitha78	Leverage
Our Lips are Sealed	Clucking Belles	NCIS
Hurricane	Laura Shapiro	Battlestar Galactica/Farscape
NOH8	Smutcutter	Multi

Convention Reports

• Escapade con report, ^{Archived version} by talithia78
• Escapade Vid Panel, ^{Archived version}, notes by talitha78 which refers to Vidding for Dummies, aka Vidding Tech for People Who Hate Vidding Tech, ^{Archived version} (panel notes from 2008)
• Characters of Color Lovefest, ^{Archived version}
• Escapde: Best On Ever!, ^{Archived version} by the shoshanna (February 27, 2010)