After a moderately rocky beginning, Super Soap Weekend 2004 turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had!

In order to prepare, I roamed the Net, reading accounts of the previous SSW. I knew that Michael Easton had been there then and I was determined to find out how to make absolutely certain that Dree and I would get to see both he and Renee Elise Goldsberry. So I poured over one account of meeting him after another. One thing that stood out was that we had to get there EARLY or we’d be out of luck. So we listened.

On Saturday morning, Dree and I got to the Disney/MGM Studios theme park at around 6:00 am and we weren’t alone. There were many other folks who joined us. We waited and waited for the park to open so that we could get on line for One Life to Live (OLTL). After a couple of hours, the gates opened and in we went. Our game plan was to get our Fast Pass tickets for Michael first as it seemed that his would be gone pretty quickly. When we got to the line, we were probably in the first twenty or so people on the OLTL line. The line covered a lot of territory and we stayed with it until we got one of the things we came for – a Fast Pass ticket for Michael Easton’s autograph session.

Then it was time to get a Fast Pass for Renee. We went to the back of the OLTL line and did it once again. By the time we made our way back to the front of the line, we knew we’d done things the right way because Michael’s line was very nearly on Standby. Anyhow we got our passes to see Renee Elise Goldsberry and we left the line with huge grins on our faces and our Fast Passes tucked away for safe keeping.

The pressure was now off since Dree and I had both gotten passes to see the people we’d come to see so we wandered around the park, looking for something to do until Renee’s autograph session began. We were drawn to a sign that said “Celebrity Media Interviews” and whose names were listed for the 9:45 am session? Why, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Michael Easton, and Kathy Brier, that’s who! We looked at our watches and realized that it was 9:20 already so we hightailed it over to where the interviews were to be held. There weren’t a lot of people waiting so when they let us in, we had pretty good seats. The first interview was done with Eva LaRue and Thorsten Kaye of All My Children. We were allowed to take pictures for a few minutes before the interview began but then we were asked to stop. The media asked their questions and LaRue and Kaye were funny and honest and very likeable. After about ten or fifteen minutes, the next group waiting to be interviewed came through the door on the side of the theater. Someone held the door open as Kathy Brier stepped out. Renee stepped out next, followed by Michael. You can imagine what a thrill it was to see them. Thorsten Kaye’s friend Michael Easton heckled him a bit towards the end of his interview and he responded in kind. Then it was time to thank Kaye and LaRue for their time and then it was on to the stars of One Life to Live.

One of the first media questions for Michael asked if he would recite one of his poems. I think that this was where I really began to like him as a person in addition to liking so many of the things I’d read about him. He politely declined saying that he felt that it would be pretentious for him to go around reciting his own poetry. Now I’ve read his poetry and would have been more than happy to hear him recite one of his poems but I couldn’t help respecting where he was coming from because it showed him to be a self-effacing, thoughtful person with a sense of fairness, balance, and one helluva sense of humor – all the more reason to be a fan.

We floated out of the theater, on our way over to autograph station #9 and Renee. We stood in line and waited for a couple of minutes before Renee arrived. She smiled and greeted everyone in the area who called her by either her name or her character’s name and went to sit at her station. Everyone who went up to Renee was welcomed and had a chance to chat with and take a picture with her as our own cameras clicked away. She engaged everyone in conversation and autographed photos for them. I can’t imagine anyone leaving Renee without thinking that she was the sweetest person in the world.

When it was Dree’s and my turn, we went up together. Renee saw me and stood to hug me, recognizing me from when we’d met a few nights before. I introduced her to Dree, who I’d described to her as the creator of the John and Evangeline Connected Souls website. The three of us laughed and chatted for a bit. Dree presented Renee with a gift packet we’d put together containing a beautiful John and Evangeline Connected Souls t-shirt created especially for Renee. She was touched, saying that she felt like crying, which almost made us cry. Then they snapped a picture of the three of us together. Renee insisted that they take another picture with her holding up the t-shirt we’d given her. We hugged and said that we’d see her later. We left Renee knowing that we’d be even more vigilant in supporting her in the future.

Then it was time to go see Michael. We walked across the park to autograph station #14 and as we arrived from one direction, Mr. Easton arrived from another to the accompaniment of screams. We went to the back of the line, which was around the corner from where Michael was, and waited. After a few minutes, our time was called and it seemed that we were ahead of the people we’d been waiting behind so they pulled the rope back and we stepped around the corner. I took as many pictures as I could while standing in line, waiting for my turn. While I waited, I watched and took in what I was seeing. Michael was on his feet the entire time. When it was someone’s turn, he would step over to them, look at them with a smile in his eyes, and extend his hand, saying, “Hi. Nice to meet you.” To each person waiting to meet him, he gave his full and undivided attention, listening intently to what they had to say and thanking them for their support – giving everyone their own special moment with him to remember. Dree went ahead of me and I watched as Michael shook her hand and greeted her. She gave him the t-shirt that she designed for him and they talked for awhile before posing for a picture and then Dree walked off. When it was my turn, I gave him the rest of the gift packet we’d compiled for him. He was touched and said something like “Aw, you shouldn’t have done that…”, to which I replied, “Why not?”. He was every bit as gracious and attentive as I remembered from a couple of nights before when Renee had introduced us. We talked a bit this time but I honestly don’t remember what we said (Think I was a little excited? You may be right, my friend…). Then we posed for a picture, which a Disney employee named Luis expertly snapped, and then I went to join Dree.

After meeting Renee and Michael, we knew that we’d picked a couple of the special ones. We knew that we’d be in both their corners always. That’s how wonderful they were.

And that was just how the day began! There was so much more to come!

While we were in the audience for the media interviews, a couple of terrific ladies that we met on the Michael Easton line gave us their passes for the Super Soap Special Edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, starring Kathy Brier and Renee Elise Goldsberry, hosted by Walt Willey. So, as soon as we left Michael’s line, we went over to the theater where the show was. We went in, cheered wildly for both Kathy and Renee, and watched for the next hour as they helped a couple of contestants make their way up the money ladder. Needless to say, we were a bit distracted while doing this, having just spent time with each of the two halves that make up the whole of our favorite daytime couple – John McBain and Evangeline Williamson.

Then it was on to the One Life to Live edition of Wide World of Soaps, hosted by Bob “The Bachelor” Guiney. The members of the One Life to Live cast in attendance were: Kassie DePaiva, Michael, Kathy Brier, David Fumero, Kamar de los Reyes, Bree Williamson, Renee, and Trevor St. John. They all chatted and talked and laughed a bit before turning to the audience for questions. We heard from Kamar about his passion, The Gabriel Project – the organization that helps children dying of heart disease from Third World countries where such surgery is not possible. Kassie DePaiva talked about her new CD, No Regrets. What really came across was that this seemed to be a close-knit group of people who genuinely liked each other and who all seemed to be having a great time hanging out together. And it was a great time for those of us in the audience. Dree asked Renee whether or not she had any input into how her character was written. Renee answered that she always encourages the writers to write Evangeline as the strong and confident character she has been from the beginning. When it was over, we didn’t want it to be because that crew from OLTL is a fun one!

From there, it was on to the OLTL Motorcade and Star Conversation at the Sorcerer’s Hat, hosted by Hillary B. Smith. Once again, it was all about Renee, Kathy Brier, and Michael. They each came down the boulevard in their motorcade, waving to the fans surrounding them. Then first Kathy, then Michael, and then Renee joined Hillary on stage. Both Hillary and Kathy acknowledged how great Renee and Michael are as Evangeline and John and admitted to loving to watch them together. Hillary asked Michael why John McBain won’t commit to a relationship. Part of his response was to explain to the audience that when they don’t like how a story goes, the actors usually don’t like it, either, but that they have to make the story play out anyway and hope that things get better. He said that he didn’t understand why John wouldn’t commit to Evangeline but that maybe what they needed to do would be to just jump in and make it happen and that that’s what they’d do – words that were music to my ears. At that point, Renee commented that there was a reason why she left Lion King and joined OLTL.

After the motorcade took Kathy, Michael, and Renee back down the street, Dree and I had time to take a breather. We were eager to hear Renee sing at that night’s Street Jam, which Kamar de los Reyes was hosting. Renee had told me how much she wanted to sing a song to tell her fans how much they mean to her and how she wanted the song to be just right. And it was.

For those of you who have never heard Renee Elise Goldsberry sing, she has one of the most beautifully musical voices I’ve ever heard – absolutely mesmerizing, with so much range and so much power and emotion. And the song she sang, “If It Wasn't For Your Love”, was a wonderful tribute to her fans. Afterward she and Trevor St. John did their own version of "Breakaway" – just him on percussion and her vocal. The result was magnificent. It gave us all a chance to see a different side to these two actors – the musical side. All in all, it was the perfect wrap-up to what had been an incredibly busy day!

Back on Sunday morning, we got passes for Michael and Renee again. I wanted to have him sign my copy of his book, Eighteen Straight Whiskeys, and I wanted to have her sign my copy of her CD called Everything But the Kitchen Sink. We also wanted to get passes for Kamar’s line this time out. Unfortunately the good folks at Disney scheduled the three of them at more or less the same time that morning. So we got passes for Michael’s first session of the day, went around again and got passes for Renee’s afternoon autograph session, but couldn’t get passes for Kamar by then since he wasn’t doing an afternoon session. But I am happy to report that I am now the very proud owner of an inscribed copy of Eighteen Straight Whiskeys by Michael Easton, an inscribed copy of Everything But the Kitchen Sink by Isaac featuring Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Dree had the special John and Evangeline Connected Souls t-shirt she wore signed by them both.

By the time the day ended, Dree and I had made friends with several new John and Evangeline fans, as well as meeting many of the fans we’d seen online for the past several months. On the night we arrived, we were supposed to attend a John and Evangeline edit tape viewing party with many of them. Dree compiled an extra edit tape for the occasion. But due to heavy traffic coming in from the airport and horrid directions given to us, instead of finding them, we found out all about driving around Orlando, Florida in the dark, which was the moderately rocky start I spoke of at the beginning of this recap. The good news is that we met up with a few of the ladies at Sunday’s Motorcade and Star Conversation with OLTL cast members that afternoon.

This time All My Children’s Alexa Havins hosted Hillary B. Smith, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Kathy Brier, and Michael Easton, who kept saying that he felt like the guy we always see in Oprah’s audience – the one who’s only there because his wife made him go. The conversation was fun and fast moving and it was over far too quickly. The motorcade took them back down the street and out of sight, away from the Sorcerer’s Hat stage. Dree and I said our goodbyes to a couple of the ladies who were leaving and, when we stayed to talk to a couple of others, we found that one of them was a John and Evangeline fan from London, England. When she mentioned that she didn’t have John and Evangeline edit tapes, Dree kindly offered the tapes she’d brought for the tape viewing party. She seemed so happy and we made arrangements for her to pick up the tapes later that night.

What I came away from SSW with was a new level of appreciation for both Renee and Michael. Meeting them gave Dree and I the opportunity to see just what great performers and what terrific people they really are. What also came through loud and clear is the fact that we, the viewers, have power. If we want to see John and Evangeline continue to be featured in a committed relationship on OLTL, all we have to do is to write to the powers that be and tell them so - as often and as clearly as possible.

So, needless to say, I’m still sort of dancing on air. It’s always a great feeling to know that you’re supporting performers you’ve come to like as people, too, and that’s how I feel about Renee and Michael.

So I don’t know if I’ll go back to SSW next year. After all, what can possibly top the experience I took away with me this time?