Megaplex
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
Megaplex is a furry convention first held in March 2002 as Pawpet Megaplex. The latest edition, Megaplex 8, was held 24-26 July, 2009 in Kissimmee, Florida, marking a return to the greater Orlando metropolitan area.
Megaplex's stated goal is to provide "a celebration of interactive arts and performance, with a primary focus on anthropomorphics and fantasy".[1] Programming has focused on fursuiting, puppetry, improvisation, and other types of performance, including musical performances by Toxic Audio in 2003 and 2004, 4:2:Five in 2006, and Matthew Ebel in 2008. In 2005, the convention hosted the Potpourri of Puppets, a puppetry event held in the Orlando area.
Attendance was 387 in 2005, but declined to 185 by 2007. Reasons for this include unpopular track scheduling in 2005, a disappointing hotel experience in 2006, and a forced move to Jacksonville, Florida compounded by a schedule conflict with Furry Weekend Atlanta in 2007.[2][3]
The convention rebounded in 2008 with an attendance of 255, and in 2009 the convention attracted 425 attendees. This growth has been attributed to a relocation back into the Orlando area, movement into summertime to coincide with summer breaks and vacations, popular events and guests of honor, and strong theming.
Contents |
[edit] History
| Pawpet Megaplex 1 (2002) |
| Pawpet Megaplex 2 (2003) |
| Megaplex 3 (2004) |
| Megaplex 4 (2005) |
| Megaplex 5 (2006) |
| Megaplex 6 (2007) |
| Megaplex 7 (2008) |
| Megaplex 8 (2009) |
| Megaplex 9 (2010) |
| Megaplex staff |
| Megaplex guests of honor |
Pawpet Megaplex (8-10 March 2002, 126 attending) came into being as a replacement for Furry Spring Break, which was held in 2001. FSB was unable to secure hotel space for a second convention in 2002, and folded. In its stead, Pawpet Live Experiences, Inc. was formed and held the first Pawpet Megaplex at the Ramada Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL.
Pawpet Megaplex 2 (21-23 March 2003, 197 attending) moved to the movie-themed Sheraton Studio City Resort, closer to Universal Studios Florida. The convention had its first guest of honour, Susan Rankin. This was also the first year Toxic Audio appeared.
Megaplex 3 (19-21 March 2004, 357 attending) returned to the Sheraton Studio City, with guest of honour Trace Beaulieu, of MST3K fame (Dr. Clayton Forrester, Crow T. Robot). The convention's theme played heavily on the fact the name of the con could be abbreviated to "MP3"; this was seen in promotional materials, as well as on-site artwork and the con book. The convention officially dropped the "Pawpet" from the name this year; however, the official web site remained ppmp.info.
Megaplex 4 (11-16 March 2005, 387 attending) moved into larger quarters at the Sheraton World Resort, right next door to the SeaWorld Orlando theme park. The guest of honour was professional puppeteer John Kennedy. As part of the convention, Orlando's Potpourri of Puppets was hosted on Sunday night. The convention's theme, taking into account the move and the fact Interstate 4 goes through Orlando, was a "road trip".
Megaplex 5 (17-19 March 2006, 257 attending) was held at the Sheraton World Resort. The fifth anniversary con's theme saluted the B-movies of days gone by, lending MP5 the subtitle of "...The Horror!". Unfortunately, part of the horror was the hotel, which staff and attendees alike had troubles with. Brian Reynolds attended as a guest of honour with his wife, Tracy.
Megaplex 6 (2-4 March 2007, 185 attending) was held at the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverfront. The primary reason for the move to Jacksonville was cost - hotels in Orlando and Tampa wanted two to three times what Megaplex had paid for space in the past, whereas the Wyndham's offer was more in line with past costs. The convention had a game show theme, and its guest of honour was Mike Kazaleh.
Megaplex 7 (28-30 March 2008, 255 attending) returned to the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverfront. The theme (announced at Megaplex 6's closing ceremonies) was comics, with heroes and villains battling it out in the form of convention mascot MegaPanther, and his arch foe, Baron Von Redtail. Adam Wan was the guest of honour, and the special musical guest was Matthew Ebel, who also participated in the live Rocky Horror event performing as Frank N Furter.
Megaplex 8 (24-26 July, 2009, 425 attending) marked a move away from their traditional March timeframe (and, in turn, allowing FWA to move into March). The convention also returned to Central Florida, at the Radisson Worldgate Resort Orlando, located in nearby Kissimmee, FL, and a short distance from Walt Disney World's main gate. The convention had a "Toyland" theme, with a "Christmas in July" sub-theme, and the guest of honour was BigBlueFox. Popular events for MP2009 included a reprisal of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show, with Matt Ebel as Frank N Furter, a live performance of the Funday Pawpet Show, The Big Blue Fox "Dance till Dawn", and the return of "Fursuit Deal or Big Deal".
Megaplex 9 (scheduled for summer 2010) will once again take place at the Radisson WorldGate Resort in Kissimmee, Florida. The convention will feature a Mad Science theme and will have Paul Zaloom AKA Beakman from Beakman's World as the Guest of Honor. Current plans are for a larger con area, including a larger Dealer's Den, and a 'zoo-like area' for socializing and lounging.
[edit] Rating
From its origin as a "funny animal convention" promising "good clean fun"[4] -- which has been acknowledged as a PR blunder by the convention[2] -- Megaplex has had a somewhat prudish reputation. This has been reinforced by its PG-13 rating, which historically extended to both sales and events (with the exception of the Rocky Horror Picture Show since 2006).
In 2007, con chair Carl Fox noted that, at the time, the convention staff felt that Megaplex's event rating was appropriate to the convention's location and audience, and was equivalent to Anthrocon's in most areas.[2]
However, for Megaplex 7 (2008), the convention adopted similar dealer's room rules as FWA's, allowing mature work as long as it is not displayed openly.[5] Also, some of the performances late on Friday and Saturday nights contained more mature language and material (Rocky Horror amongst them), marking a shift away from the strict rating on events.
[edit] Staff and organization
Pawpet Live Experiences, Inc. (PLEx) is a class C for-profit corporation operating out of the State of Florida.[6]. PLEx, Inc. was incorporated in January 2002, a mere two months before putting on Pawpet Megaplex 1, and went the faster route of incorporating under the less stringent for-profit statutes. The Board of Directors runs the convention on a not-for-profit basis, and intends to eventually update their incorporation to officially reflect this.
Megaplex's Board of Directors is currently chaired by Randy "Yappy" Fox, who also acts as Hotel Liaison and Registration and Communications lead. The convention's original Chairman, Karl F. "Carl Fox" Meyers, stepped down after Megaplex 7, but remains a member of the Board.
Other Board members are:
- John "K.P." Cole - Vice President and Convention Chairman
- Jim "Rasvar" Mogle - Treasurer
- Karl F. Meyers - Operations Director
- Dan "Jackrabbit" Boatright - Programming Director, Secretary
Non-board staff members include:
- Liesl Muckey - Promotions, Assistant Liaison, Volunteers
- Patrick "Mach" Dowden - Security
- Genesis Whitmore - Dealer's Den
- Josh "Jaded Fox" Strom - Sponsor Suite / Variety Show
- Brace Bear - Sponsor Suite
- Jess "Lynxcat" Kiela - Art Director / Con Book
- AnimeCat - Art Director / Art Track Coordinator
- Wild Wolf - Fursuiting Track Coordinator
- Takala - Fursuiting Track Coordinator
- Santa Fox - Webmaster / Fursuit Lounge
- Eagle Beagle - Audio/Video
- STiTcH - Audio/Video
- Salen_Storming - Gaming
There are also a number of staffers who do not have a specific function, but work with the various department leads as needed. The convention actively recruits new staffers through open face-to-face meetings and on-line chats.
[edit] Innovative Ideas
Despite its small size, Megaplex has successfully tried many creative and innovative ideas. Some of these include:
- The giveaway of custom beverage mugs to all full memberships and not just higher paying memberships (as long as supplies last). This has been one of the most popular attributes of Megaplex membership and due to the artwork on them, the mugs have become quite collectible.
- The inception of a very high dollar membership level above supersponsors called the "Megasponsor". Megasponsors were given all the perks of a Supersponsor level, and also received special gifts such as engraved pocketwatches. Megasponsors are credited for funding some of the convention's signature events such as the concerts by "Toxic Audio" and "Four:2:5".
- Introducing new game show concepts such as "Fursuit Deal or Big Deal". Traditionally hosted by 2 the Ranting Gryphon, this game allows contestants to be selected from the audience to play and go to the final round. The final round mirrors "Deal or No Deal", but instead of having models, the cases are opened by fursuiters.
- Broadcasting an internet stream of the convention's main ballroom events. Credit is given to Yappyfox for coming up with the idea of broadcasting all main ballroom events over the internet. Originally done in 2005, this was repeated in 2009 and many events were viewed around the world (as long the hotel's internet connection held up.)
- Sponsor Lounge. Instead of having a con suite that is open to all attendees, Megaplex offers a well stocked lounge open only to Sponsors and above. The quality of the sponsor lounge has been considered a significant enough perk that many attendees upgrade to the sponsor level just for access to the lounge. In 2009, the Sponsor lounge provided snow cones to all attendees on Sunday afternoon as a way of saying thanks to the general attendance base.
[edit] References
- ↑ Megaplex - About Us (23 March 2008)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Some Candid Comments on Megaplex, from the Chair - Carl Fox, megaplex (24 December 2006)
- ↑ Goodbye, 2007...Hello, 2008! - Carl Fox, megaplex (7 March 2007)
- ↑ FUR: New Convention - fur.conventions (6 January 2002)
- ↑ Megaplex 2008 policy document - Dealer Room
- ↑ Pawpet Live Experiences - Florida Department of State
[edit] External links
- Megaplex official website
- Megaplex Community on LiveJournal
- Photos, videos, reports: Megaplex resources
