90s Con was a lot of fun As you probably know, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA) Members are currently on strike. That means that movies and television shows are not filming right now. Members also cannot support or promote projects from the studios that they are striking against. That is most likely why we have no news on the Candlelight Processional. But what about conventions? Cons are held around the country, and they allow fans the chance to learn more about their favorite celebrities and shows. It seemed to be a gray area at first, but conventions still are going strong.
On Saturday, September 16 my daughter and I attended 90s Con in Tampa. The strike was announced right after we bought our tickets, and I was a bit nervous that we’d end up with a subpar convention. There was no need to worry, we had a great time. There was nothing subpar about it! If you’d like to see pictures, I added some on the Disney Over 50 Facebook and Instagram pages.
We attended four of the six Saturday panels at 90s Con. Before each panel, the announcer reminded the audience that the celebrities couldn’t mention shows and characters by name because of the strike. There were a few slips, but they tried! They were still able to share stories from the set, and there was a lot of talk about how close the casts are still. The panels we attended were the casts of Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Full House, and Boy Meets World.
The actors could talk about recent commercials that they’ve been filming. They could also talk about outside projects that didn’t involve the studios. One of the highlights was 96 year old William Daniel reciting Shakespeare from memory. He and his wife Bonnie Bartlett (they’ve been married since 1951!) are part of a Shakespeare-based independent project, and it didn’t break any SAG rules to talk about it.
Unlike some conventions that I’ve attended recently, audience members were not allowed to ask questions. That was understandable, since most people don’t know exactly what the actors are and aren’t allowed to talk about.
There was also no talk of new studio projects. Podcasts were fine and promoted. The celebrities also signed autographs and took pictures with fans. I’m sure there was a lot of talk about shows in these sessions, but mostly because the fans would mention the show or movie.
If the strike continues into next year, we should still have conventions like MEGACON in February and House of Mouse Expo in March. They’ll need to follow the same rules, but the shows will go on!
I’ve attended a lot of conventions. At 90s Con it was a little bit different to see the actors try to not mention the names of their shows, and to not promote upcoming projects. Still, I had a great time. If you’re considering attending a con but are worried about the rules of the strike, still go! You might hear stories that wouldn’t have been shared if the actors were instead talking about their next projects.