Hello and welcome to eighteenth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. Every year Whitney attends several of the biggest conventions in the US and one of her favorites is Dragon-Con held in Atlanta, GA. Dragon-Con is a big convention with an intimate feeling, because it allows you to have up and close interactions with the guests and it never feels too over crowded. The Dragon-Con staff are super organized and they are dedicated to ensuring fans have the best experience. Whitney also loves Dragon-Con for its diverse programming, especially the puppetry and anime/manga tracks. She was privileged to chat with puppetry track coordinator Beau Brown and anime/manga track coordinator Jake Trabox about the special events for Dragon-Con 2015.
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- Jake Trabox heads the anime and manga track at Dragon-Con.
- He missed the entire anime and manga boom in the US, because he was in Japan.
- Jake has worked in the Japanese comics industry
- Dragon-Con is a huge convention, but it hasn’t gotten outrageously huge as San Diego Comic-Con.
- Voice actors Samantha Inoue-Harte, Josh Greel, and Melissa Fahn, and many more awesome people will be at Dragon-Con
- There won’t be any Japanese guests this year, it is difficult to get guests from the land of the rising sun to visit the east coast.
- There will be two rooms playing anime 24/7.
- Funimation is making a special appearance and showcasing their newest shows and other great anime
- Dragon-Con isn’t unique amongst anime/manga conventions, but you’re going to have a great time, meet great people, and be in the center of the action.
- Anime and manga fans have encouraged other fans to cosplay and wear more elaborate and intricate costumes.
- Darius Washington will hold a panel about how anime has shaped the animated heroine.
- Jake and his staff are going to be working very hard during the convention. Jake keeps going by drawing on his inner chi.
- Jake explains to Whitney how the convention scene works in Japan and it is practically nonexistent. There is one huge convention, Comiket, and then companies host smaller events featuring celebrities.
- He also tells her how the European and Dubai convention scene is growing.
- Beau Brown heads the puppetry track at the 2015 Dragon-Con.
- There are thirty-eight hours of puppetry-related panels this year.
- There are going to be many special guests from Sesame Street, including Carroll Spinney, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrera-Rudolph, and Pam Arciero.
- The Sesame Street performers will be featured guests at panels as well as holding workshops on puppetry.
- DJ Guyer and Steve True have their own LA puppetry studio and they make a lot of commercial puppetry. They’ll be handling workshops on construction and design.
- Jim Henson’s daughter Cheryl Henson will be a guest along with Henson archivist Karen Falk.
- They will be discussing Jim Henson’s unfinished holiday special Turkey Hollow.
- Steve Whitmire who performs Kermit the Frog and Debbie McClellan vice-president of the Muppets at Disney will be appearing to speak about the new Muppets show.
- Beau explains how Dragon-Con has worked with Henson guests in the past, including Fraggle Rock related guests from 2013.
- Dragon-Con has the special focus of helping amateur puppets improve their skills and interacting with professional puppeteers.
- Dragon-Con’s puppetry track has the biggest selection of puppetry material for at a comic convention.
- Puppet professionals Matt Laird, Mike Horner. Madison Cripps will be featured in panels. There will also be a panel discussing the Center for Puppetry Arts expansion.
- In the art show, there will be a special pop art exhibit featuring items from the Center for Puppetry Arts.
- If you are a puppeteer and want to learn more about perfecting your craft, there will be workshops for adults only to learn more about improving technique.
- If you want to attend an entertaining and mature show, check out the Dragon-Con Puppetry Slam, one of the most attended events at the convention.
Links
- Toon-In Talk Podcast
- Toon-In Talk Facebook
- Dragon-Con’s Facebook Page
- Dragon-Con’s Puppetry Track
- Dragon-Con’s Puppetry Track Facebook Page
- Dragon-Con’s Anime/Manga Track Facebook Page
- Dragon-Con’s Anime/Manga Track
