On Saturday, lettered, Mr. Daroga, my!Spock and I went down to Portland to see Atomic Arts' production of "Space Seed," a TOS episode. Last year's "Amok Time" was our inspiration for this summer's project, so we were excited to see the new show, advertise, and talk to the cast. (Also eat at our favorite Lebanese restaurant and go to Powell's.)

The production was, I think, better than last year's. Very streamlined, very simple, the adaptation and staging were elegant. I thought the acting had improved: Khan and historian McGivers were particularly awesome. They take a differen tactic than we do. It's clear what lines people are cast along, and it's a little more faithful to the original, while ours is somewhat more transformative--same script, more gender/race-bending (where possible). And their sets, while minimal, are more complex than ours. Their uniforms more precise.

After, we spread out and papered the audience with fliers. They all seemed really enthusiastic and thought it was a great idea. The cast came up and asked, "are you Seattle?" and seemed very encouraging and eager to see our take. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience and we've also got write-ups in several Portland papers, in reference to this production. I feel we're gonna have an audience.

Here are my favorite photos from Saturdays' performance. Clicking gets you much bigger versions at my flickr account.

( 22 pics )

Yesterday, Mr. Daroga, lettered and myself drove down to Portland to see Trek in the Park, a free, live-action rendition of the episode "Amok Time." Yes, with the "Vulcan biology" and the sexy fighting.

The play was a lot of fun, and there were tons of people. We were late, and only secured a seat through the generosity of a man whose friend didn't arrive. He'd never seen an episode, so we tried to explain to him what we love about the show without sounding rabid or anything. I'm not sure how well we, or the play, succeeded but he was really nice.

Most of the joy of the production came from everyone's knowledge of the source material. Stripped of the background and acting of the actual show's leads, the dialogue comes off rather ridiculous. If you're not a fan, maybe it does anyway, but somehow Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley are always able to make things sound far more reasonable than they are. Maybe because they've made those characters real people. None of the actors yesterday impersonated those original actors' quirks, but most of them lacked that "real person" sense. Kirk was far too passive, though Spock did a better job of imbuing his performance with some sensitivity and edge. Mostly, though, it was campy fun. There was a soprano delivering the theme song, sound effects, and Kirk's uniform was strategically pre-ripped. It wasn't great theater, but it was good fun, and I'm glad we went. We spent the drive home speculating about how we'd do our own production in Seattle, with me as Kirk, Mr. Daroga as Spock, and lettered as McCoy.

So as not to say we'd driven all the way down there just for that, we spent the day in Portland, visiting the legendary Powell's--best bookstore in the world--and seeing other sights. I didn't get photographs of everything, but here's a sample.

( grant park and ramona quimby )

( multnomah falls )

( trek in the park )