Weekend on the Promenade

Convention
Name:	Weekend on the Promenade
Dates:	1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 (perhaps others)
Frequency:
Location:
Type:
Focus:	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Organization:
Founder:	Gayle Stever
Founding Date:
URL:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Weekend on the Promenade was a Deep Space Nine con.

From a fan in 1998:

The Weekend on the Promenade is not a convention in the usual sense. It is a celebration organized by the official fan clubs of several of the cast members of Deep Space Nine, with the express purpose of raising money for charity. This year this group of Star Trek afficianados [sic] raised over $22,000!

1997

When the buffet had been raided (and even my stomach sufficiently appeased), Irene presented the ten-minute "Save the Children" video, recorded by Andy during the Robinsons' trip to the Middle East at the end of last year, and later on edited by Sid. The film was without sound, so Irene did all the necessary talking, describing in detail the work of STC in the areas they visited, naming and explaining all kinds of projects, and it was absolutely fascinating. It was *so* special, and Irene was great.

some photos from the 1997 gathering

At some point, she ceded the spot in front of the crowd to her husband, but not before they had been presented a large quilt several club-members had collaborated on as well as a nice Arizona souvenir, a vase of local design. Prior to saying anything else, Andy emphasized how great these small, family-like club gatherings were; so different from conventions, which were more like part of the business. He talked at length about his activities in the past months (inside and outside the confines of Paramount), calling back into mind a weekend in June during which the most fascinating mystery was the riddle of How Andy Got That Cast On His Foot. -- Well, *now* he confessed the true story right away, but back then we had to wait and steam for two days until he finally admitted that, no, there hadn't been fifty Klingons attacking, but simply his own two feet and a huge portion of bad luck. It was great reminiscing, though. Some of what was said and asked wasn’t necessarily unfamiliar, but then, hey, I don't mind at all. As long as it's Andy, he could recite weather reports in Chinese, for it's not just the words. I love watching him talk just as much, his presentation of whatever he is sharing with us. His narration of those certain VERY embarrassing moments in his long career was only a minor example of the spell he casts, and yet another proof of this weekend's decisively informal atmosphere.

Then Andy told us about his co-writing effort for a screenplay his daughter Rachel was preparing. He was interrupted by Rene Auberjonois making an entrance that couldn't be ignored, albeit merely to place some items on the auction table. And in that brief moment already (as I had missed Rene coming to Hamburg two years ago), I took to that personable man immediately. So glad I was that this weekend had my three most beloved actors on the show all rolled into one event, each of them adding to the whole by generously giving the best of themselves--humor, wit, genuine interest in eveiybody’s lives, and kindness, to name only a few.

Apart from the funny moments of Andy’s Q&A (like calling Chucky from Child’s Hay 3 the ‘horrific version of the Garak action-doll’ or joking about Garak’s possible venues if he ever returned to Cardassia, “if ever, then as a politician...Elim Clinton!”), there was also a lot of serious talking.

Unfortunately, not being a resident of the Los Angeles area nor having the opportunity to just fly into town for a theater- performance, all I saw of the Matrix Theater when I roamed Melrose Avenue was the exterior which still sported the sign of Dangerous Corner. Well, better luck in two years! Andy said that the next project of his with the Matrix would probably be a play by John Robin Bates called A Fair Country, rehearsals for which are supposed to start (have started) on December 2. The play would then open around mid-February.

Other than that, he put the process of auditioning and being cast as an actor into relation with casting from a director’s point of view. The castings at Paramount were just brutal, but then there was him, directing a play at the Matrix, and he had friends coming in, asking whether he might give them a part...and he had to forsake friendship and just make his choice on the professional level. Especially with good friends it wasn't nice, he said. And as an actor, he tends to understand the people who are good actors but simply have a bad day on the day of auditions, as a lot of things influence one’s performance, be it frustration, all the private worries and problems that have piled up over the past weeks; all these things inadvertently mix with the character one was auditioning for. For example, Andy himself got so agitated (under the pressure of private worries) once that he highlighted an audition by a primal scream out of the window--after which he was perfectly calm. Thus, it's quite unpleasant to say “no” to people you like but who just don’t seem to fit the part. Andy doesn't like doing that, remembering the times when it took him a great deal of faith in his abilities and in himself to continue in his chosen profession.

Back fi-om harsh reality to DS9, Andy said that he considered it to have always been fairly obvious that Enabran Tain and Mila were Garak's parents. Even though the writers have yet to corroborate the part about Mila, he said that it had been unmistakable that Tain was Garak's father. It's in the genes. It didn't come as a surprise", Andy laughed, telling us of a fellow director whose father was an FBI agent, "And he had all these furtive little habits...:)" Andy was perfectly adorable,and when Rene came in, this time for his talk, Andy stayed for about twenty more minutes, bantering with Rene and answering questions together with him. After that, he made his exit to rest a while before the afternoon's autograph Rene was great, too. His comments about Annin Shimerman being "a slut" (for doing all kinds of shows apart from DS9, like Butiy or Stargate One) and the reaction to a fan’s remark that he should have been playing Dax (he had the age and experience... "But I don’t have the breasts!”) range among the best of the weekend, together with Andy’s remark on the possibly-slashy contents of the club zine. He is a joy to listen to and watch, especially his yoga-like position on the chair.:) The talks were followed by the autograph session. I actually found some time to chat with Irene during that time (after I had gotten mine, I think) and I enjoyed it very much. She is a very knowledgeable, determined woman, a very admirable person. Dinner was scheduled rather early, and then Antje made my day by ceding her seat at Andy and Irene’s table that night to me (thaaaaaaaank you yet again, dear!) The food tasted twice as good that night (and Gul knows, I replenished my system after three weeks of rather limited solvency in L.A.!), and the entertainment was also provided. We had the Duras Sisters singing: (MAGNIFICENT!!! Their a cappella performance and the witty lyrics had me, an admitted filker, in stitches!); we had Sid already being quietly present, (and I couldn’t help but ’stare*! GAWD, he's so much more handsome in person!), we had the raffle (wasn't it surprising that all the people who won autographs of B5's Jason Carter had already been in Daventry, for some reason or other?:)) and an auction that went on for an eternity until all the items had found a new owner. I left the room for as long as it lasted for I knew that seeing some of the items sold would break my heart.

Therefore, I stood outside in the foyer or outside the hotel, chatting with people, only re-entering in the auction's late stages. I had missed the fierce battle for the X-Files script relentlessly carried out by Uschi and Shandra Docksey. (In the end, Uschi got it, though, as a birthday gift for Tom). The evening was sort of coming to a gradual halt already, and everybody was preparing to call it a night...but I couldn't let Andy depart without having him live through my "special treatment"...:):):) He was really quite tense...a neck like a brick... It genuinely hurt having to say good-bye that evening, knowing that I wouldn't be able to return for a long, long time (the sacrifices you make for securing yourself a well-paid job!)

Sunday morning I decided to sleep late while Uschi and Tom left for breakfast (later to be told that they had met Andy and Irene in the very same place they went to...Aaaaagh! Most of Sunday morning I passed with coffee, talking to people and packing, as I wouldn’t have much time left for that on Monday morning; by noon, I had already ordered a shuttle for my transfer to the airport the next morning. Oh boy, didn't I start my final day in America with a heavy heart! Not even the lunch, nor Sid could really change that. I tried to forget and for some time, I succeeded. Sid was so absolutely gorgeous, very intense, and that incredible voice of his just made me close my eyes and listen rather than watch. I’m addicted to his voice, which may account for my hypnotized-rabbit behavior later on at the autograph session. (I was close to just to Sid- napping him, folding him up into my carry-on luggage, and take him back to Germany the next day...) He was superb, even though quite restless throughout his talk.

[...]

Why do all good things have to end? I feel so good while they last, and afterwards I sometimes think that I didn’t appreciate them as much as I should have. It's a funny feeling, this what we call "conblues", although it wasn’t even a convention, *sigh*. The sadness didn’t let me sleep until shortly before crossing the Irish coast...and six hours later, getting off the train in Goettingen, it all seemed like so much of an impossible dream. One which I couldn’t have enjoyed more, however, as I met the people I feel close to again. And then there’s proof in form of photographs...:)

1998

San Diego, California - October 3-4, 1998

• con report by Leanna
• con report by Carol

1999

Burbank, California - April 17-18, 1999

• con report by Carol

2001

"Dinner on the Promenade" took place on the Friday evening of "Grand Slam" weekend.

• con report by Marguerite