To check out the first part of my SpartaCon Journey click here. Let’s get to it with Part II:
I went to two panels on Saturday and one on Sunday. One of the panels was a viewing of the web series Swords of Insurgency written and directed by Michael Neal and starring Rebecca Hauseman. The story is about a post-apocalyptic world where warlords rule and people mostly fight with swords and martial arts. The main character, Ali, played by Hauseman, escapes from a prison and tries to join a resistance against the warlord Taneg and his psycho son Doneg. I enjoyed the pilot, despite technical difficulties with sound and the fight scenes that were done were well choreographed. To get more information about the series (including seeing the pilot) and to support the show through their Kickstarter, go to their website: http://swordsofinsurgency.com/.
The 2nd panel was the The Generals panel featuring Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Dan Feurigguel (Agron), Manu Bennett (Crixus) and Dustin Clare (Gannicus). The room was packed with fans as the fellas discussed funny times on set including improv and horses passing gas! There was a moment of silence near the end of the panel for Andy Whitfield. We miss you Andy! I managed to squeeze in the panel on Sunday, it featured Liam, Viva Bianca (Illythia) and Anna Hutchison (Laeta). I’m really looking forward to some of their upcoming projects. There was one question asked by a teacher which was a really good question about the historical aspect of the show.
Demonstrations that I managed to catch on Saturday were the Gladiator Academy with Manu Bennett (Crixus), Vanessa Cater (Spartacus stuntwoman), Stephen Dunlevy (The Egyptian), and Ellen Hollman (Saxa). There was even a Haka done at the end of the lesson! I also got to see Anatonio Te-Maioha (Barca) demonstrate the Taiaha spear moves of the Maori, an aborigine group from New Zealand. He even did an incantation at the end! It was so cool to hear him speak in his native tongue! On Sunday I saw Barry’s demonstration with Beanie, a twice leukemia survivor, and Anthony. SpartaCon was the first time Barry and Beanie got to meet face to face so I was happy for both of them!
The cosplay contest on Sunday was a ton of fun! One little girl in my opinion stole the show because she showed such personality and she was such a cutie. There was one cosplay, the Roman soldier where the majority of the outfit was wardrobe from the show! The judges were funny, especially when asking about how many kills made on the sword and for one contestant, fruit! Congrats to the cosplayers that won as it was tie!
The DC Stunt Coalition did a wonderful job re-enacting some favorite fight scenes from the series including Theokocles vs. Spartacus and Crixus. Manu managed to finally get his revenge! Liam also got in on some fighting as well with Steve Huff! The last fight on Sunday was hilarious when most of the stars ran to the field and beating up and “killing” the actor playing Glaber! The intermission show on Saturday by Feenix Fyre was great too!
The after party was sooo much fun! Manu Bennett was a beast on the dance floor! I not only got to get a selfie with him but I got to dance with the man! He stayed way later than the rest of the guests. I talked real brief with the majority of the guests while they were there except for Dustin, Todd Lassance (Casear), and Gwendoline Taylor (Sybil). Liam and his wife Erin are such a cute couple! The music was pumping with old school songs, reggae, and the staple electric slide. Most of the ladies and Anatonio joined us for the cha cha slide. We even had some latin music where we had a few ladies work the dance floor doing the salsa. They were able to interchange being the lead in the dance so well it was great. Shout out to the ladies for killing it! There were several small dance battles going on which was fun to see!
My overall experience at the first SpartaCon was a great one that I will remember always! Thank you to all of the volunteers, security, and staff for bringing the fans a place to geek out with the stars of the show! Stay tuned for the interviews I managed to get and I will just post a gallery of photos so it’s all in one place!
How was your experience at SpartaCon if you attended? Who would you want to see as a guest next year? Comment below!
