The Panel in Detail

This was the first time I have ever seen Creation have an almost ComicCon style panel, and it was very interesting!

The guests were:

Fulvio Cecere
As Stargate SG-1’s Colonel Davidson, cammander of the Oddesy,  Fluvio is very proud that he is the only person to have commanded one of earth’s ships while fully manned and not been killed in the process! Sadly, he’s incorrect! Colonel Ronsen was not killed, and Cam Mitchell was in command in Ark Of Truth and lived to tell the tale . . . just.

Heather Doerkson
Heather’s character on Stargate Atlantis has not been given a name in more than one episode, and it’s possible she has never played exactly the same role twice! According to IMDB, she was a bridge pilot in “The Intruder”,  Meyers in “No Man’s Land”, an Apollo tech in “First Strike”, a crew man in “The Kindred Part 1”, and a lieutenant in “The Last Man”.

Kirby Morrow
Kirby may be most easily recognized for his role as a Jaffa warrior in the Stargate SG-1 episode, “The Warrior”. He has also appeared on Atlantis as Captain Dave Kleinman.

Michael Kopsa
Michael may be best recognized by Stargate fans as General Kerrigan in the episodes “Prodegy” and “Proving Ground”. Fans who are esspecailly astute may remember him in one other role in the series. Can anyone name it without looking at his IMDB profile? That would be cheating! : P

Jody Racicot
Even with the beard, it’s impossible not to recognize him as Vernon Sharp from “Sight Unseen”. I spotted him in the lobby as he arrived for the panel and did a very good double take!

and Patrick Currie
The only role that you can recognize Patrick for by sight is Fifth, the bad guy you just can’t help but sympathize with . . . that is until he starts torturing Sam! If you listen to his voice, Eamon from “Space Race” may come to mind, and you’d be right! Finally, he played Chaka in “Enemy Mine”. The role had previously been played by Dion Johnstone, with great success I may add, but when Dion was unavaliable to reprise the role, Patrick was called in to save the day!

Each pratically admitted to looking themselves up online in preperation for the panel so they could give a full account of their work, so I have linked each of their names to their IMDB profiles!

Please Note: Though I have used quotation marks, this is not exactly word for word what was said. It is only as close as I could get by taking lots of notes and translating them now into something everyone can understand. No video or audio recording is allowed at Creation conventions.

The audience members were very interested in hearing about how the panel members go about finding work, doing their work, and working their way up in the business. Patrick Currie said, “You’ve got to keep busy, you’ve got to keep paying your rent, and you’ve got to have a whole lot of [something I couldn’t catch!], and still be able to make those auditions and be in top form. It’s tricky, and if you don’t love it you can’t stay in it. You see a lot of people after 5 years going, ‘whoa I can’t do that.’ Once you hit the 15 year mark I think you’re in. (Checks with his fellow panel members) 15? 20? (Laughs).”

One aspiring actress asked about what kind of auditioning is best; should you just do anything and everything that you can get or should you avoid certain types of roles? Fulvio Cecere said in regards to trying many things, “It might actually benefit you because you get experience on a local level, you build up a resume, and a demo reel, but I think the most important thing is – and it’s awful to say but – it’s agents. You need really great representation. You need people who believe in you, and hustle. But ultimately it’s all about you. So, just kick ass, don’t give up.”

Heather Doerkson said, “As a woman, it’s important to have your boundaries of where you’re gonna go, and where you’re not gonna cross, and your bottom line. Just know that and stay true to that because it’s actually ok to say no. I’ve learned as I’ve gone along and sometimes read the audition and then phone my agent and said, ‘Ah, won’t be doing that scene in the elevator . . . for The L Word’ (grimaces as we laugh). But I was in The L Word. And some other episodes. Just not in the elevator scene. But I think it’s ok to say no when it’s something that you don’t feel jives with you. Just be selective, and go for it!’

Jody Racicot had a very interesting story to tell us on this subject. “Does anybody remember a movie called Good Luck Chuck?” There was a little smattering of yes’s and applause. “I was asked to audition for that, and the stipulation was that they wanted a guy to play a woman, and they really wanted to try to get it to pass. It was a pool side scene – I’m telling you this story because I’ll tell you where to draw the line! – And I got the phone call and they said, ‘this is an explicit request by the director and the producer who’ll be in the room, is that you show up in a bikini. And ah . . . I needed a job.” Everyone busts out laughing! Oh, but wait, he’s not done! “There were a few of us out in the waiting room, sitting there just (still, hands in his lap, staring straight ahead) it was like going to the gallows. We’re all fully clothed but I know he’s got a bikini on. The worst part about something like that is that you didn’t actually get the job or get paid for it. You’re shame is left there in the room. But they did give me a little consolation prize and gave me a little part in that film but man, yeah, my mind has come WAY back since then!”

If my notes are in the correct sequence, this is where Patrick Currie said, “Think long and hard because the internet does not go away.” Hmmm, I wonder what that’s supposed to mean . . . : P He added to that saying, “I’m going to say one word. Jeremiah. And then we’ll move on!” Is anyone familiar with this?

The three panel members who have been on both Stargate and Battlestar Galactica were asked to describe the difference in the working environment between the two sets. With the Stargate series being so light compared to BSG, are the experiences on set as equally different? Heather Doerkson was first. “On Stargate Atlantis I was being directed by either Peter DeLuise or Martin Wood, and they were joking and Martin Wood would go (attempts to go an impression of Martin) ‘And cut! And the airman and the bridge pilot lean in closer, closer, closer, CUT! Love at first sight. Perfect! Wrap it!’ And everyone was kind of jovial and it was that kind of atmosphere for sure. Battlestar was still an upbeat set, but it was a real actor’s set. All the crew left for rehearsal. It was just the director and the actors sitting together discussing scenes and walking out the scene. It was very intimate.” It’s very difficult to describe what Heather did next without pictures, which I was too busy writing notes to take, but she said that the fan who asked the question wasn’t wrong. If I can describe it with gestures and sounds, Atlantis is (pops upright in her seat and makes a bright sound) while Battlestar is more (hunches over, narrows her eyes, and displays her hands like claws with a low growl – a performance nearly worthy of a Wraith queen!)”.

Fulvio Cecere was put on the spot next. “My experiences were a little different. If you know Lieutenant Thorne . . . [some laughter from a few BSG fans] we had to keep the set a little light hearted otherwise we’d all . . . kill ourselves. The difference I find is that Stargate is like this well oiled machine, and everybody knows what they’re doing and everyone as a great time. If you’ve been in this business in Vancouver, you work with the same people so it’s – you’ve heard the cliché ‘it’s like working with family’ but it really is. You know everybody in the crew. So it’s really fun. The difference with Battlestar was, I had the exact same experience, but it was like shooting a feature. Whereas a TV show you have to get it done in 7 or 8 days of shooting, it’s the same thing for Battlestar but they take their time. It’s just like shooting a film. They discuss the shot, and they rehearse it. It’s night and day in terms of the actual production, but being on the set I had the same thing (looking at Heather). They’re fun, they’re great crews to work with, and it was a blast.”

Patrick Currie took the easy way out on this one. “Two hot chicks. [The audience laughed as he shrugged, unashamed]. Yeah, Luciana of Battlestar. She was great. We got to make out. And Amanda (cough) teased me a lot.” Patrick did add, “Interestingly, Tahmaoh Penikett who was Forth? [No, he was Third, Patrick! Forth was a woman!] He was the first person I met on Battlestar Galactica, so that was a really warm, cool way to enter the set.”

When a fan came up to the microphone to comment how Amanda Tapping has said that Fifth is SG-1’s cutest bad guy, Patrick Currie decided to share an Amanda story with us. “The first time we had to do the ‘mind meld’ thing in the first episode and we were practicing, we were rehearsing it for the camera. Every time I went in she would go, (leans his head forward and blows though his lips to make a sound like a horse snorting) or something like that. We were killing ourselves laughing so that was a really endearing moment, and it was just the first day of my directing!”

Kirby Morrow had two wonderful stories from Stargate SG-1’s “The Warrior”, in which he played the character that Jack O’Neill dubbed “Stick Boy”. “I was staff fighting this warrior. I had this staff that I’m flipping all around (mimes using the staff) and I’m supposed to kill another guy. Richard Dean Anderson comes running in with his gun, he’s supposed to stop me (mimes RDA blocking the final blow with his P90). And he comes running in and he trips and he goes BAM! I’m like, (looking down at RDA on the ground) “Guess we need to cut, huh?”

Kirby got to stay on set for the final fight scene between Teal’c and Kytano, and it’s a good thing too or we may never have heard about this one! “We were in the middle of this very serious scene where Teal’c is being accused by the tribe for killing one of our members.” Ah, I have to correct Kirby here. It was Teal’c that was accusing Kytano of sending his men to their deaths for him. But that’s ok Kirby! We know what you meant! “The situation is very tense and the one guy yells ‘He killed my father!’ and all the sudden we hear Chris [Judge] go (makes a sound like a light saber from Star Wars – or at least that’s what I thought it was but really it was Chris – ahem – cutting the cheese!) “And everybody just kinda stopped and he goes (again, but it was a bit more obvious this time . . . ) And then we all broke out laughing. And then he did it a THIRD time! And he was chewing some gum at the time and he took it out and stuck it on his butt as a joke, and then this poor costume person had to come over and remove it. You could see he was going, ‘Oh no, don’t let it go again!’ . . . Chris is gonna kick my butt.”

I only just realized that I have no notes of what Michael Kopsa had to say, and I’m not sure why! I think it’s largely because he didn’t share any personal stories, and his advice regarding the acting industry was short and along the same lines as that of his fellow panel members. I got the feeling that perhaps he was slightly less comfortable and familiar with the convention scene than the others. That’s ok though! It was still wonderful to have met him!

Immediately after, the panel members signed autographs for anyone who purchased tickets for them, and each was very friendly. I somehow managed to spend a good minute chatting with Jody Racicot. I think it was because he was the last at the signing tables, and I moved a long a little faster than the person behind me. Jody asked me where I was from, and was very surprised and interested when I told him I drove all the way from Chicago. He said, “But you have your own convention there! What are you doing here?” I told him it had always been a dream of mine to come, visit the loactions and sets, and see the actors who never get the chance to travel as far as Chicago, and I told him he should come to the Chicago Con. He shook my hand before I scooted out. Hand shake #1 of what was a record-breaking convention for me!

Next week look for my in depth report on everyone’s favorite gate technician, Gary Jones!

It was sad that we couldn’t have more time with each of these actors. You could just tell that some of them had some great stories to share, particularly Jody, Patrick, and Kirby. Hopefully they will attend more conventions in the future and be given an hour all to themselves!