The Fabulous Disney Babe
Page 4 of 20

Finla Hughes, Vincent Irizarry, Terri Ivens and Marj Dusay (Vanessa Cortlandt) and hostess Rae Cummings
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Pine Valley Live!
Hosted by Linda Dano of Attitudes in the 90s and now part of the One Life to Live ensemble, this is a fan question-and-answer session that takes place in the Golden State Amphitheatre. The which? It's the amphitheatre they use for Luminaria seating. The stars come on stage and sit in director's chairs, and several very cheerful Cast Members, armed with microphones and handed with Mickey gloves, run to raised hands, make sure the question isn't too erotic or too psychotic, and introduce the questioner by name and city. The cast plays off each other wonderfully, and they slip into character sometimes, with hilarious results. A good half of the questions are requests for hugs, and the actors oblige.

Again, there is no shade and long queues, but the show, about ten questions/thirty minutes long, is worth it. This coming weekend, it will be called "Llanview Live!" and the weekend after, "Port Charles Live!" Linda will host the show over all three weekends. Now if only they'd have some of the writers come...I want to ask about that moment with Rae and Hank where the air simply crackled between them...

Casting Call
Do not miss Casting Call! This is kinda sorta like Superstar Television, one of the Disney-MGM Studios' opening attractions. If you want to try out for a part in the show, queue up under the Golden Dreams mural. If not, queue up in the Golden Dreams queue. Walt Willey, who has hosting duties all three weekends, calls the names of three audience members, one at a time, to do a scene with him onstage.

The audience then chooses, by applause, which contestant wins the chance to act onstage with a "secret" actor. I'm using quotations because this has got to be the worst-kept secret in Christendom, as it's stated in the Soaps In Depth issue handed out and on the ABC.com website, which has the full schedule online. When I saw the show, the "secret star" was Cameron Mathison, who is a very talented actor, but famous for taking off his shirt "every time someone sneezes", according to my companion. Bring me a cat and some ragweed!

The first contestant was Erica Payne, who gave a funny, attitude-heavy portrayal of Erica Kane (see, it rhymes!) and was very popular with the audience. The second contestant, from my old hometown of Oceanside, endured Walt's teasing and did the same scene. The third contestant, Brianna, was a young girl who just fell apart upon reaching the stage, weeping with joy and breaking the hearts of everyone in the audience. She won.

Cameron bounded out of the rear entrance door to the theatre and grabbed her in a tight squeeze. The shy, tearful young lady took this opportunity to try to remove his shirt, as a joke. The audience roared their approval, so Cameron spent the rest of the time onstage taking off and putting on his shirt, and being very affectionate during his scene with Brianna, sitting in her lap at one point and flipping himself over the furniture. After the scene was over, he asked her age: she was just barely a teenager. "I'm going to jail." he announced to the crowd. Cheers.

It's the question I've been asked the most by Soap Fans I've talked to this week: "Did you get any pictures of Cameron with his shirt off?" Why, yes. Yes, I did. See?

SoapNet
I took the SoapNet test, which is located across from the entrance to Muppet*Vision 4D, next to Schmoozies, where the pin cart usually sits. Who am I most like? Erica Kane. Not one person I showed this to was surprised. Actually, the games seemed to lean toward Erica, as she's the most popular character; somehow, I have a feeling that would have been my fate anyway. After you take the test, you get a prize, usually a button telling which character you are most like:

The buttons
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When they ran out of buttons (usually around one, so do this right after you get your Millionaire tix), they gave away mints in a SoapNet dispenser, lipstick pens, and fans. I'd like to see these move into SoapLink, taking the place of the 80s-ish video wall. The screens don't match. Move the vids up to four hi-def flat screens up top, one for each soap, and have the "Which Character..?" screens below it. They are show-specific, but would just have to have one extra screen at the beginning: "What is your favorite ABC Soap?" Then they could sell mugs and shirts that say "I'm Most Like..." and make money and people could have fun. And while you're at it, stock some "I'm like the Evil Queen" stuff in Drawn to Animation!

On the next episode of One Life to Live....
My Mavica was sick, and had to take an all expenses paid trip to Warrantyland (it's apparently in Boston), so thanks to Doobekah for loaning me The Mavica of the Gods and to Dave for taking all of the pictures I missed and showing me that cool moon plus low light trick.

I hope this guide helps you if you're thinking of going. Unfortunately, there is no nighttime street party bash thing here, which is unfortunate, as the fans really seem to love it. Some stars even get up on stage and sing for the crowd, and it's a fun party atmosphere. Maybe next year? Please?

It will be interesting to see what's different this weekend, what experiments they try and what lessons they are learning. I had an absolute ball last weekend and look forward to more sudsy fun this weekend - and I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

Look for my next Soap Opera report early next week!

Pictures!
On the next 16 pages are more than  70 pictures from the first Soap Opera Weekend.

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