2004 Xena Convention -

Burbank, CA - January 30 - February 1, 2004

by Virginia and Lourdes
Twinxenas@aol.com

A New Year and a new venue, well, it was for us, though the Annual Xena Convention has come full circle when the very first gathering was held in Burbank, CA in 1997. Next year will be the 10th Year Anniversary Celebration when Xena: Warrior Princess first aired on television on September 1995. It should aptly be called “The Big One in Burbank”, reunion of the stars and reunion of the fans.

There were new attractions and entertainment for the fans this year. There was the very first writers workshop with Steve Sears and Katherine Fugate, a Villainous Happy Hour with Hudson Leick and Charles Keating, an Amazon Happy Hour with Danielle Cormack, Victoria Pratt and Alison Bruce, a Dance Party with celebrity drop-ins and the one-woman-theatrical performance of the one and only Renee O’ Connor. The cabaret show which featured the great talents of the stars, the awesome Xena music videos created by fans, autographs and photo-ops with the stars, auctions, charity breakfast and costume contest completed the daily program for the 3-day event.

Saturday

Victoria Pratt gave out CDs to fans who got the right answers to her trivia questions. She laughed a lot on stage. She was such a bundle of energy.

Gina Torres talked about her happy life with her husband, Lawrence Fishburne. She talked about “Matrix”, having two dogs and her missing Kevin Smith. She was asked why she did not portray Cleopatra in “Antony and Cleopatra” and she replied that the part was offered to her, but she had other projects at that time. She wants to portray messed up women for a change and wishes to play Blanche DuBois from “A Streetcar Named Desire”. She ended her stage appearance by singing a cappella. What a great voice!

Xena look-alike Deborah Abbott contributed a short film of her convention experiences. It was set to the music of Kool and The Gang, “Celebrate”. It was titled, "Deborah Abbott's Xena Convention Travelogue". After seeing it, one would wonder why it was not titled, "Deborah Abbott's Kissing Video" instead. <g> She was seen kissing both stars and fans alike.

The set and props for Renee's performance were being set up while Katherine Fugate was on stage. It was distracting to say the least. She bounced onto the stage and introduced herself as Ellen DeGeneres. What a lovely person and a down-to-earth gal, too. She gave the fans the good news about the Xena movie. Thank heavens for Katherine Fugate. After she autographed the banners, she ran to the mike and announced that her friend, Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite), is now happily married and is pregnant with her first child.

The auditorium was packed with everyone seated anticipating the one-woman-theatrical performance of Renee O’Connor. As for us who were seated at the last row of the general admission seating, we stood the whole time with our trusty binoculars. The moment came and Renee appeared on stage dressed as an old Gabrielle with a wig. And may we add, she was a cute, old lady. Renee's performance was great. She did several different characters. She kept dressing and undressing until she revealed some made-up tattoos. Her performance was moving. Her dedication to her craft was evident throughout and through her teary-eyed “thank yous” at the end when she thanked her mentor/teacher, Julie, for teaching her how to open up and give her all. Bravo, Renee!!!

When it was time for the Q & A portion and Sharon Delaney asked if there were any questions, a shout from the side of the room revealed a disguised Lucy Lawless wanting to ask a question. She was wearing a Rosie O'Donnell jacket, glasses and wore a bushy, shaggy hair of a wig. She was acting like a fan (i.e. telling Renee how pretty she is...) After shouts of requests of dissing the wig, she obliged and let Renee take it off. She only stayed for a couple of minutes.

Bobby Hosea and Charles Mesure came out together on stage. Bobby talked about meeting his wife in the 7th grade. At that age, he was not interested in girls, yet, but one look at her, he knew and told her, “You will have my kids”. They have a 23-year-old daughter and soon-to-be 19-year-old son. Charles was born in England, but was raised in Australia and New Zealand. Sometimes he does not even know where his home is.

Sunday

A clip of Lucy was shown when she was filming in New Mexico. She was sorry that she could not make it to the con this year. Her son, Judah was with her. He looks a lot like Julius and he is a cute, chubby kid eating some ice and spitting it whole onto Lucy's palm over and over again.

Charles Keating hardly looked his tv character, Zeus. He looked like Sean Connery and sounded like him, too. He recited a couple of poems and had a great stage presence.

Xenaversity’s last year’s “Silent Movie” was shown again. Funny as ever.

The costume contest was entertaining, though only a handful were in costumes and this time no adorable kids. Yours truly were dressed as Xena and Gabrielle from “Old Ares Had A Farm”. Third place went to a girl dressed as Livia. She complemented her costume with Livia’s sream. Second place went to the Xenaversity people. They were hilarious! The Collector with three of her collectibles complete with plastic coverings: The Marquesa from “Here She Comes Miss Amphipolis”, The Daring Dragoon from “Jack Of All Trades” and Jamester as a cowboy. First place went to Jo Marriott dressed as Xena from “When Fates Collide”. Consolation prizes consisted of a Xena t-shirt and a Xena and Gabrielle poster.

Alison Wall and Murray Keane went on stage together. They both had funny stories to tell. Alison talked about how the goat got excited and kept leaving hoove marks on her chest.

A live commentary by Steven Sears, Alison Wall and Murray Keane ended the convention.

The highlights of the con for us were seeing Katherine Fugate, seeing Renee’s performance and Lucy’s surprise appearance and the costume contest. We now have new memories to cherish and treasure.

Virginia and Lourdes


***Pictures will soon follow.


Return to Main 2004 Xena Convention Page