It’s that time of year – next week is the annual Official Star Trek Convention out in Las Vegas, and Creation Entertainment who runs the event has just released the five-day schedule of events for the big bash out west (August 2-6), including a first-time appearance from some Star Trek: Discovery cast members!
Wednesday is certainly Discovery day in Las Vegas, with a number of panels featuring cast and crew begin that afternoon. Along with the captain’s chair photo-op and prop/costume exhibit which will open on-site Thursday, the first Discovery event begins at 2:30PM Wednesday with a writers’ room panel hosted by show scribes Kirsten Beyer and Ted Sullivan.
Following at 3:30 is a cast appearance featuring Mary Chieffo, Ken Mitchell, and Sam Vartholomeos fresh in from Toronto, a group who was not at last week’s Comic-Con event. Creature designers Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page are up next at 4:30, discussing the alien creations seen in the series.
Rounding out the Discovery day is the reveal of series tie-in novels and comics – first announced last September – from Kirsten Beyer, Sarah Gaydos, Mike Johnson, David Mack, and Ed Schlesinger who will be offering a first look at the publications at 5:30PM.
In addition to Wednesday’s Star Trek: Discovery afternoon, there will also be featured panels covering all that’s new in Trek gaming, plenty of actor and behind-the-scenes contributor Q&A sessions, costume contests, and the usual fun all week through Sunday afternoon.
A few other notable events:
Thursday, 12:45PM: Inside Trek: Star Trek Authors & Their Books – Meet the authors and editors that are expanding the Star Trek universe with new novels, travel guides, science books and unique (and funny) views of Trek fandom. Hear about their favorite stories, writing Trek and the stories they really want to tell. (Panelists: John Van Citters, Dayton Ward, David Mack, Kevin Dilmore, Ethan Siegel, Robb Pearlman & Ed Schlesinger.)
Thursday, 2:30PM: Deep Space Nine Confessional – Join the “What We Left Behind: DS9 Documentary” team for interactive fan sessions. (Panelists: Ira Steven Behr, Adam Nimoy & David Zappone)
Friday, 9:00AM: The U.S.S. Aegis and Beyond. Star Trek: Bridge Crew’s Quest to Create New Ships for the Star Trek Universe – We’re pulling back the curtains on how new ships such as the U.S.S. Aegis were created for the new virtual reality game, Star Trek: Bridge Crew. Join Programmer Ryan Barber from Ubisoft’s Red Storm Entertainment as she shares the process from behind-the-scenes.
Friday, 9:15AM: John Eaves Presentation: The Kelvin Timeine – ship and prop design from the latest 3 Star Trek films. This panel will show the design process of the major ships and props from Star Trek 2009, through last year’s Star Trek Beyond. This will be a great panel to see how the key elements of the films were designed and then seen on film.
Friday, 10:15AM: OKUDAGRAMS: The Development of the LCARS & Next Generation Graphic Design – Join long-time STAR TREK Art Department members Mike Okuda and Denise Okuda for a discussion on graphic design in bringing Gene Roddenberry’s universe to life.
Beginning with Mike’s early contributions to Star Trek: The Next Generation, including his groundbreaking development of “Okudagrams,” which were named for him, we’ll discuss the development of the LCARS design style and the role of graphics in creating futuristic/alien technology, as well as in the practicality of producing a weekly television series. (Moderated by John Van Citters.)
Friday, 5:30PM: The Production Meeting: Making the Leap from Page to Stage – Celebrate the impressive technical achievements of TNG’s production personnel by understanding the complexities in Star Trek episodic production and the process of coordinating the work of multiple departments in order to deliver a unified creative vision.
Using “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”, panelists will explore the use of the production meeting so each department understands the director’s needs and so the producers can be sure that plans are achievable on time and on budget. )Panelists: Roger Lay, Michael & Denise Okuda, Michael Westmore, Doug Drexler, Herman Zimmerman, Ronald D. Moore)
Friday, 6:00PM: The Official 30th Anniversary Reunion of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Starring live and together on stage: Sir Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Denise Crosby and John de Lancie!
Join us for what will likely be the only reunion of the TNG Cast in this 30th Anniversary year! The cast will be joined together on stage to warmly celebrate with fans in a special 90 minute show that we know will be a time for the record books. All of the guests, will be appearing during the convention days, but this is the only time virtually all TNG regular cast members will be together on stage at once in what is sure to be a fabulous evening of fun, memories and revelations.
Saturday, 11:15AM: The Make-Up Artistry of Joel Harlow – With the release of Star Trek Beyond in 2016, viewers were given a spectacular visual thrill as a whole host of new aliens made their appearance for the first time in the rebooted franchise.
At the heart of the process of bringing these breathtaking intergalactic species to life was Academy Award-winning make-up artist Joel Harlow. Together with his team of amazingly talented creatives, Harlow set to work on creating aliens from over 50 different races for the film and documented the entire creative process for each one in exhaustive detail, from preliminary sketches to final make-up application.
In his Star Trek Las Vegas debut, Joel will discuss his work on this blockbuster film and showcase art from his upcoming book, Star Trek Beyond – The Makeup Artistry of Joel Harlow.
Saturday, 4:30PM: Inner Light Panel with Sir Patrick Stewart, Margot Rose & Morgan Gendel – Take a very special look at the classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is going to be a great, one-time only panel!
Sunday, 10:30AM: Q&A with Karl Urban of the “Star Trek” Kelvin Timeline films.
Sunday, 12:15PM: What We Left Behind Panel & Exclusive Sneak Preview – We are proud to welcome the distinguished team behind the upcoming full length documentary about the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine saga.
Included in this panel will be Ira Steven Behr (DS9 showrunner and creative genius), documentary producer David Zappone who has done so many great Star Trek documentaries to date, editors/producers Joseph Kornbrodt and Luke Snailham, producer and Indiegogo campaign manager Kai de Mello and director Adam Nimoy.
If you’re heading to Vegas, have a great time!