Review of TeslaCon

I had originally intended to write what would be a much longer post, a full blow-by-blow essay that details everything I experienced at Tesla Con. Then I realized that my post would reach new heights of tedium, so I've reformatted my post and my thought about TeslaCon.

Unless otherwise noted, the pictures used here were taken by Krista Kuhn.

 Image from http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=30804

I'm going to divide this post into Five Sections: Overall Impression, The Positive, The Negative, The Sessions, and Final Thoughts.

Overall Impression:

Where to begin? TeslaCon is the first Steampunk Convention that I have attended and I had such a fun time! My overall impression is unquestionable positive and I will be going back next year.

The Positive:

While it would be impossible to list all of the positive aspects of the Con, I will give the highlights.

1.  The atmosphere was excellent, and the attention to details was stunning.

I loved that the registration area had the sound effects of a Victorian train station. 

The staff was wearing distinctive uniforms that blended well with the aesthetics of the convention.

When we registered we received passports that had a spot for a photograph and a place for stamps!

2.  One of my favorite features was the Tea Room. This was an extra part of the Con, and you had to pay $10 for access but I think that this was well worth the price. The room was open during throughout the con and presented an intimate and relaxing corner to go to. The woman who ran the room was incredibly friendly and prompt with service, and she never broke character! The tea, coffees and pastries were free once you'd paid for access to the room and ended up saving me money in the long run, as I went to the tea room for a nibble, instead of to a coffer shop or restaurant.

3. The variety of seminars available. My group had a diversity of interests, yet we each found several seminars that piqued our interests.

4.  There was an ongoing murder mystery plot throughout the Con, I think that this helped to heighten the immersion experience. The people involved in the plot stayed in character throughout the con while interacting with the other patrons.

5.  The other people! Everyone at the con was friendly yet genuine. People were willing to interact and show off their various outfits/acoutrements and were eager to give and receive helpful hints. A lot of people were exchanging contact information and spreading word about steampunk groups in various areas. I came away from the con with quite a few new friends and people who I hope to collaborate with on future steampunk projects.

The Negative:

I'd like to preface this by saying that the positive aspects of this con overwhelmed the negative, but there's no harm in pointing out some areas of the con that could be improved for next year. Most of the things I'm about to mention have no doubt been stated/noticed by those running the con during the TeslaCon review session on Sunday. However I had to leave before that session so I didn't get a chance to speak up at that time.

1. The Program

From http://www.teslacon.com/events/TeslaCon_Program_Guide.pdf

The Program of Events was beautiful and ornate, but it was not user friendly. It listed events by room instead of by time.

From http://www.teslacon.org/events/TeslaCon_2010_Schedule.pdf

While there was a companion spreadsheet that was arranged by time it didn't have the descriptions of the events, so in order to plan out what sessions you were attending you had to consult both programs.

This can be improve by using the formal program format, but listing events by time instead of by room. If possible this could be added into the passport, making it easy to carry and consult. However this might make the passport too thick or expensive to print.

As a side note, it would have been nice in the seminars also had stamps for the passport, maybe the one's that I didn't go to did have them, but my passport only had two stamps at the end of the con, the tea party and the ball.

2. The Con started at around noon on Friday, but my companions and I were unable to get there until around 8 or 9 Friday night because of work/school conflicts. When we did get there the registration desk was closed. We also missed all of the mystery plot on Friday and a lot of the introductory seminars were held that day. This negative may only apply to my experience, as I don't know how many people were able to get out of work/school in order to attend TeslaCon in it's entirety.

3. There was no padding for time between sessions. Since the con was so small it wasn't that big of an issue, but it would be easily fixed by allowing 5 minutes between sessions for room changing.

4. Some of the more popular sessions were in rooms that were too small for what was needed. It would have been nice in the Victorian dance lessons and the Victorian erotica reading had been in larger rooms so that all who wanted to attend could have made it in. I was waiting outside the Victorian erotica room, and I'd estimate that only around half those waiting were able to get in.

The Sessions:

I am only giving a critique of the sessions that I attended.

Photo from Sarah

1. The first session that I attended was not technically a session. We arrived at the con Saturday morning a little late due to a wardrobe problem, but that did mean that our registration wasn't rushed and we were able to enjoy a game of cards in the Victorian game room. The room was run by a couple who specialize in older style board games that they print on fabric. I enjoyed learning a new card/board game with them and browsing through the various games that they had on display.

Fisticuffs Demonstration

2. After that I went to the Fisticuffs Demonstration with Bruce and Bonnie. The demonstration was interesting and a pleasure to watch. They demonstrated unarmed street fighting, staff fighting, and a little bit of early boxing. When someone from the audience had a question about the choreographing of the Sherlock Holmes fight scenes they were able to call on Mark Donnelly, who happened to be in the audience to talk about bartitsu. Overall it was an informative and engaging session.

Grooming for the Steampunk Lady

3. I then went to Grooming for the Steampunk Lady. The session was run by and entertaining duo from the Imperial Anti-Piracy Squadron. These ladys kept the subject interesting, but seemed a little scattered and unfocused in their presentation. They demonstrated a variety of Victorian Hairstyles and haircare tips, and then did the same for makeup. While I could see how the session would be very informative for some, most of this was review for me from when I participated in theatrical productions.

4.  The Victorian Aesthetic in Visual Media was a session about distinguishing Steampunk from traditional Victorian Style and also about the differences between the Steampunk genre, the gothic genre, punk, and other subcultures where the line often gets blurred. The session was incredibly interesting and involved the audience to a large extent!

5. Victorian Flirting was run by the Imperial Anti-Piracy Squadron. I don't think I've laughed this much in a long time. Their presentation was very light yet managed to be informative. They demonstrated the language of flowers, techniques of flirting through fan waving, and what interactions Victorians considered apropriate or inapropriate.

Victorian Dance Lessons

6.  Official TeslaCon Dance Lessons with Madame Bonnie Aller. This session was both fun and interesing! However, it was also held in a room that was too small for the size of the crowd. This was handled by dividing the dancers into sections and having one set dance while the others observed. The dances were interesting, but I think that teaching the Viennese Waltz might have been a but ambitious for only having one session. My friends and I had a seperate practice session for that dance and I still never got the hang of it. The basic Waltz step and the line dances that we learned were much easier to master and were well done. A most enjoyable session.

The women lined up for the line dance segment of the Ball

7. The TeslaCon Ball. An excellent experience! First I much mention the outifts that people donned for the ball, A great number of people brought formal attire for the occasion and the result was stunning. The dance opened with a set number of couples doing a small formal routine, led by Lord Bobbin. It was very well done and a pleasure to watch. After that the dances that were taught at the dance lessons were played, along with some line dances and square style dances with instrucitons called to the crowd. I had an immense amount of fun and danced the entire time! During the dance there was another segment of the Murder Mystery Plot, the first segment that I happened to catch. It was well done and seamlessly integrated into the ball. Overall the Ball was a pleasure and a privilidge to attend.

8. After the ball my friends and I tried to attend the International Anti-Piracy Squadron Evening of Reccolection and Ribaldry. This was an adult only session and there were quite a lot of people waiting outside the room to attend. Apparently the popularity of this session wasn't anticipated, as the room was too small for the event and we were turned away at the door. While we were a bit dissapointed, we took the opportunity to meet other TeslaCon goes at the hotel bar and had quite an enjoyable time.

The Gender and Race in Steampunk Hosts

9. The next day the first session I attended was called Gender and Race in Steampunk hosted by A member of Outland Armour and one of the designers who presented for the Haute Spectacular. This was another interactive session where audience participation was heavily encouraged. This was the most intellectual session that I attended, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit.

The exciting conclusion of the Murder Mystery Plot

10. I then attended the Gun Show. This session was run by Lord Bobbin himself, who demonstrated a variety of Steampunk designed weapons and managed to tie the session into the plot that had been ongoing during the con. The solution to the Murder Mystery plot was revealed and an excellent time was had by all!

After that my companions and I had to leave the Con early to attend to other commitments, so we missed the closing ceremonies and the presentation for TeslaCon II.

Final Thoughts:

TeslaCon was my first Steampunk Convention and I had the time of my life! Next year I will be more prepared with a wider variety of outfits. I also plan to stay in the Con's hotel next year to get the full immersion experience. The final thing that I plan to do differently is to have business cards printed up. A lot of people admired jewelry that my friends and I were wearing that I'd made, and I had no convenient way of directing them to my Etsy shop!

 I've already bought a ticket for next years TeslaCon (Themed 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Aether, by which I assume they mean an underwater theme, as 20,000 leagues under the aether would be ground level.) This is an excellent, well-run convention that I would recommend heartily to anyone into Steampunk.

Image from http://www.teslacon.com/TC2.jpg