Summary of the Lakeside 15th Anniversary Party
Click Here For Pictures of Stephen and Mary
Beth (More To Come)
Note: All commentary and summary information was from my
point of view. Please be courteous and do not post my comments
elsewhere.
The Setting:
The event was held in the garden area of the Sportsman's. Linda
Pidutti and all the helpers did a fantastic job of setting it up, as
always. At the sign in table, we received our name tags, along with
beautiful yellow flowers and our choices of a Sn/MBE/Lakeside pin
or a photo key chain. We also received cards where we listed our names,
hometowns, and questions for Stephen and Mary Beth.
There were really cool centerpieces at each table. They were kind of like
"mobiles" that hung from the umbrella poles, with pictures of Stephen
and Mary Beth in different roles through the years. At each seat, there
were souvenir scrapbooks of pictures of Stephen, Mary Beth, and
Lakesiders. Carole put her special touch on the scrapbook-she is so
crafty and talented and the books came out great :) Mary Beth adored
one of the pictures that Carole created on the computer (she put Stephen
and Mary Beth's faces in these cartoon figures of a man and woman in
their party clothes :)
In back of the table for Stephen and Mary Beth, there were 3 quilts
that Linda's friends put together, and Lil took a big part in those too.
One quilt was of Stephen through the years, another quilt was of Mary
Beth through the years, and the larger quilt showed items related to their
storylines and memories through the years (for example, the lady in red
dress was in one square, a patch was in another square, etc). The quilts
were STUNNING. Just beautiful, and will be auctioned off on
ebay.
On a side table Sherry and Sandra ,from Stephen's site, displayed
some Stephen merchandise that was/is for sale. And on another side
table,some of the raffle prizes were beautifully displayed. There were
some awesome raffle prizes, many of which were contributed by Lil :)
She made some tshirts, cds...so much cool stuff!! The most special/unique
item that Lil made was an Emily and Gideon clock. I can't begin to describe
it, it was just gorgeous :) Yay! (I won a "vintage" poster from a
Greenville, SC advertising that Stephen would be there in concert).
The Event:
Stephen arrived before Mary Beth, wearing shades and looking cool. He
looked gorgeous in fact :). His hair is very golden blonde. He
wore a black t-shirt, and black pin stripe pants. He immediately greeted
the kids at our table :) Very sweet, he thanked them for their letters
and cards, and you could tell they were so happy and excited with his
attention.
Stephen decided to answer some questions from the cards we had filled out,
while we waited for Mary Beth to arrive.
The first question was about GH.
Stephen said he has taped scenes with Nik, Luke, Zander and Emily, as well
as Lydia (the girl Stefan brings for Nik to marry). When asked, he said the
new actress who plays Emily is very sweet.
The TV Guide/Logan article misquoted him as saying something about McTavish
...he had no idea who she was until he came back to the show.
Someone asked what movies he recommends, and he said "Blue Car ", which
was directed by Karen Moncrieff (ex-Gabrielle, Days). It is an independent
film
which is receiving raves. Stephen said that it was filmed in Dayton, Ohio.
His
sister had called him up when Karen was there and told him that an
actress
from his Days years was filming a movie in town.
Sidenote, for anyone who doesn't know, Karen Moncrieff is the brilliant
woman
who said this about Stephen in "Soap Opera Stars" magazine:
" Stephen is a wonderful man and the best of what this profession
can offer.In spite of his popularity and notoriety he still works his
hardest
every day...I keep my eye on him all the time because I know I can learn
a lot from him. He's a master"
Stephen also recommended another movie called "A Mighty Wind".
He read my question card, And then proceeded to try to say my full name,
including the last name (which is long and hard to read). He
butchered it on purpose, several times:). I tried to explain that I have
heard people say it every possible way you could think of so I am not
phased LOL. My question was "Who has most inspired you in your life".
He said his wife Lisa, and his children:) Soooo sweet :) Then, since Mary
Beth wasn't there to answer the question too, he said he would answer
for Mary Beth LOL and proceeded to do an imitation of Mary Beth
(which he conceded was a bad imitation LOL)...but anyway, he answered,
"Stephen of course...." and continued on, LOL. He cracks me up :)
When asked about his hair color, Stephen said his hair was so lighter than
usual for a reason. The dye he used to darken his hair
for "He Hunts" (the play he did at the Geffen Theatre), would not come out.
So he tried stuff to get it out, and then "3 dye jobs later" this is the
color
that resulted. (I like it :)
He read the question of the day...Many of the people in attendance were
Days fans, as it was also an "unofficial" Days fan event weekend. So,
over
half of the people asked if he and Mary Beth planned to return to Days.
Stephen referred us to what was said in the TV Guide article.
I think this is the point that Mary Beth arrived. She apologized, she had
gotten lost. She looked beautiful. She was very trim, wearing a
semi-transparent cream shirt with camisole, and brown pants with cream
trim. I totally loved her outfit (if only I had her figure!). Stephen told
her
about 3 times how great she looks, and of course they immediately hugged
and greeted each other so warmly.
After Stephen hugged MBE, he said "Ya we will be back in a month", LOL
because he enjoyed the hug so much. MBE laughed and said "Ya but where
is the question", and they joked about her returning to GH.
Throughout the event, they put their arms around each other, like old
friends.
Or Stephen put his arm around her waist :) You can just see how close and
comfy they are with each other.
They continued on with the Days question. Ken Corday had called both
Stephen and Mary Beth, and he had been talking to them for about 3 weeks.
He even came up with some story, and MBE said something about the fact
that Steve would not remember Kayla. Oh well, then KC called back and
said never mind, dropped it. They don't know why, but there ya go.
(The rest of this isn't really in order of occurrence, just other questions
that were answered:)
Phyllis mentioned to Mary Beth about Hunt/Craig on ATWT calling Lucy
"sweetness". Mary Beth hadn't noticed but is pretty sure Hunt didn't watch
Days. She talked about Peyton List, who plays Lucy, and said she is such
a beautiful girl, and very together and independent. She takes the train
in
to NY, half the time by herself and is only about 15 or 16. Mary Beth
mentioned calling her "dolly" (not sure if she calls Peyton that, or the
character Lucy), because thats what Mary Beth calls her own daughter :)
Mary Beth was asked about her beauty regimen: she said she doesn't drink
or smoke, and every day she washes her face with soap before bed. Stephen
asked if she moisturizes and she said not much because it makes her break
out..
Mary Beth recounted the story in the pool (as Stefan and Kat)...she had
used self tanning lotion because she knew Stephen was returning from
vacation and he would be tanned. Well she didnt think it was working so
she kept adding more on, and more...and she turned orange LOL. So she
was an orange color during their GH pool scenes....she was so cute/funny
recounting this story :)
Mary Beth said her favorite Days storyline was the Emily and Gideon story,
because of the costumes and because it was a love story. She thinks that
is
what people really love to watch on soap operas, not "people floating over
beds". That is what she loves about As The World Turns, they tell
storylines
about people, about characters, like Days used to in the 80s.
Someone asked if Mary Beth had been in touch with Patsy Pease (ex-Kim,
Days). Mary Beth said she hadn't, but was happy to read how well she is
doing in a soap opera magazine. Mary Beth says that she browses through
the soap magazines at the super market just like we all do, LOL, to catch
up on her old friends. Stephen said he doesn't because he doesn't want
people to think he is trying to find pics/info about himself in the magazines
LOL.
Mary Beth was asked if she does any scrapbooking, and she said no. She
has boxes of pictures piled up for albums and she thinks her kids
will end up just inheriting those boxes....
A fan told Stephen and Mary Beth that she and her husband modeled their
wedding after Steve and Kayla's wedding on Days, complete with sign
language
vows and the boat and everything :) Mary Beth did a little imitation of
Stephen
doing sign language and they both started to crack up.
Mary Beth said her son was 6"1 and Stephen said his 11 year old daughter
Dylan
was already Mary Beth's height (approximately 5"4).
I just have to add that they both are so naturally funny. They had
us laughing,
a lot, and cracked each other up too :)
Linda presented Stephen and Mary Beth with gifts on behalf of Lakeside.
GORGEOUS gifts. Mary Beth received a gardening kit, a gardening shirt,
along with a book on historical quilts by African American women, since
Mary Beth collects quilts and enjoys gardening. The gardening kit included
a pair of gloves that Mary Beth just loved. She wore them for a while :)
She said something like it's not even her birthday :)
Stephen was given a woodworking tool set, and he loved it too, it was one
of the best brands.
Stephen and Mary Beth presented Linda with a gift, a pretty silver
jewelry box (which was engraved). Mary Beth was still wearing her new
gardening gloves as she and Stephen watched Linda opening the gift :)
Later on in the event, Stephen gave little gifts to everyone who helped out
with the event. We got beautiful silk "scarves" (square shaped) from
the
Metropolitan museum of art.:), and thank you notes. It was so sweet
(unneccessary and unexpected but sweet :)
Stephen autographed a young fan's guitar,with a very sweet message,
that said something about always playing from his heart. The talented
young man played guitar for the crowd for a little while.
James Reynolds (Abe, Days of our Lives) was at the soap opera boutique,
and popped in for an unexpected (and welcome) visit, hugging Stephen
and Mary Beth. This is when we learned about the play Mary Beth will
likely do in the Fall, produced or directed by James's wife.
There was a salad & cookie buffet, while Stephen and Mary Beth came around
the tables for pictures and autographs. At our table, Stephen was very
sweet,
patient while we got the cameras going. He was very concerned throughout
the
event, wanting to make sure they got around to every table. It took a while
to get my camera to work, but I remember happily standing next to him for
pictures ...I sure didn't mind waiting next to Stephen and told him
so :)
When Mary Beth came to our table I admired her yellow watch, which has
the large leather bands that are in style right now. She told me she bought
it in Italy, where she and her husband had gone for a romantic getaway :)
She posed for pictures and was sweet as can be. I heard her telling someone
that she had lost weight by just eating better (she said she used to eat
constantly because she had/has low blood sugar?), and so she eats healthy
snacks now and I *think* I heard her say she is doing yoga, but she may
have said she goes jogging, with friends a few times a week, and goes to
the gym twice a week.
At another table, I overheard her talk to a reporter, about having all these
friends at these shows (GH, Days), and she never goes back there. Yet, when
she sees them again its like 15 years hadn't passed and they had just seen
each other (like James for example). Stephen was also interviewed, but
unfortunately I did not hear what comments he made.
After they were sure that everyone had their pictures and items
autographed,
Stephen and Mary Beth posed for pictures together, for us all. Then they
posed together with individual people. Then they posed for a group picture
with TCT!! :) They were so classy, down to earth, warm and gracious.
Sidenote: After the event Mary Beth headed over to the Men of Days event,
hoping to see some of her old friends (but the guys she had worked with
hadn't arrived yet).
We met some great people at this event, and as always we had a blast.
I just have to thank Linda and everyone else who put the event together
one more time. It just...ROCKED :)
Here are some pictures of the event setting:
Stephen Quilt
The table with some of the raffle items |
Row 1 across :1.)eyepatch 2.)harmonica 3.) 'lakeside' 4.)leather jacket 5.)pool table Row 2 - 1.)nurse 2.)MBE's autograph 3.) lakeside logo 4.)SN's autograph 5.)Mr. Bubble Row 3 - 1.)Emily's Diary 2.)yellow rose 3.)red dress 4.)yacht 5.)Cassadine family crest Row 4 - 1.)peace sign 2.)Baby Stefanie 3.)crystal tree 4.)castle 5.)Faberge egg Row 5 - 1.)anchor 2.)mother's plaque 3.)map of fictitious country 4.)swimming pool 5.)red convertible Row 6 - 1.)European cookbook 2.)dagger and a rose 3.)lobster 4.)kimono 5.)deaf 'I love you' sign |
Mary Beth Quilt |
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My Look Back (Event Summaries)
