By BetteAndTinaForever

WARNING: Contains some spoilers for season 5

Disclaimer: I began writing unofficial convention reports since the first one I attended in London in November, 2005. I don’t know why but I always felt compelled to share my experiences and everything I heard and saw with those fans that didn’t have the opportunity to travel to any TLW-related events. So here’s once again my report from The L Word Convention in Los Angeles, organized by Starfury and its founder, Sean Harry. This is, of course, only the account of things that I experienced personally, so if I wasn’t present during certain events, I’m pretty sure there are others who can share their experiences about this Convention.

Friday at the Convention is usually the day of registration, opening ceremony and the Meet&Greet, where the fans can mingle with the cast members in more relaxed atmosphere. Convention in LA was a little different, probably partially due to the fact that it was Sean’s first American TLW convention and partially because Leisha Hailey’s new band Uh-Huh Her was performing the same night at the Knitting factory.

So after the registration and a few leisurely hours spent with friends, we all went to the concert. The small place was quickly filling with the fans. There were people from the convention but mostly those who bought the ticket just to see Leisha in concert. We got our seats on the balcony on the right side of the stage. The concert was great and I took a few shots of Leisha in action.

After a few songs, we spotted Pam Grier in the crowd. She was cheering and taking pictures as well. I turned my camera back on and went down so I can mingle with the audience and find out if any other cast members were inside. And of course, they were. I saw Kate Moennig and Rose Rollins, who were standing at the back of the crowd.

I went to the bar and saw Rachel Shelley buying beer. We said Hi to each other and she told me that they all just came from finishing filming. The filming began at 4:30 am but they came here to support Leisha. At that moment they are still filming season finale. I thanked her and Rachel went into the crowd and joined Pam in front of the stage.

I continued walking around and saw Mia Kirshner, who also moved into the crowd in front of the stage and began cheering for Leisha, dancing to the songs.

After making few more rounds I also saw Ilene Chaiken and Ken Dixon, Jennifer Beals’ husband. They were standing behind the crowd and I stopped by Ilene to say Hello. I’ve met her a few times already and I wanted to share my gratitude about the show again and ask about the new season.

Ilene said that they will finish filming season finale next week and the whole cast is in LA right now for that. When I asked about the possibility of season 6, since it seems like not one Showtime’s show went beyond that. Ilene replied that it’s not a Showtime policy to have only 5 seasons, and though she didn’t know about season 6 yet, The L Word is still strong so the season 6 is a definite possibility, and it also depends on the support of the fans.

I couldn’t help myself but I told her that all she needs to do is put Bette and Tina back together and the ratings will go high up. Ilene laughed at that statement and said, “We will see.” I also told her how wonderful it was to have this show picked up by the Showtime, and that the show reaches so many people and is known in all different countries. I thanked Ilene again and left her to enjoy the concert.

I wanted to go back upstairs when I noticed one more person who looked really familiar. After a few seconds I realized that it was Cynthia Summers, the fashion designer on the show, who was at the club with her girlfriend, Michelle. I introduced myself and also asked her a few questions about the filming, her favorite characters and any spoiler she can reveal.

Cynthia told me that they are still filming and her favorite characters are Bette, Jenny and Alice and a new character, Clea. From the season finale sides we know that Clea is fashion designer as well, and she is a friend of Alice. Cynthia couldn’t remember the name of the actress who is playing Clea, she only said that she was originally from New Zealand…there was an article in the Advocate from last year where I read that Lucy Lawless said that she auditioned for The L Word before but didn’t get the role and she is from New Zealand, so could it be her? Well, we can all dream.

Cynthia also answered my question about Patricia Velásquez, who was rumored to be added to the cast in season 5 and already signed up for season 6. Cynthia said that Patricia is indeed joining The L Word and will play the role of Begonia, the actress who is playing Karina/Marina in Jenny’s movie.

After the concert was over, all the cast members went to a room behind the stage but Pam Grier stayed and mingled with the fans. She was with her hairdresser and she was really friendly and nice, though she would tell me any spoilers. All she said was that season 5 is “Hot, hot, hot and fun, fun, fun…” When I asked to tell me at least if Angus was back, she looked where Ilene was standing just a few feet away and said, laughing “You can’t expect me to tell you things with my boss standing over there?”

Pam is really one of the nicest people I’ve met. She was really excited about the show and the upcoming season, even though she is straight herself. She talked a lot about politics and encouraged everyone to vote for Hilary Clinton because she is electable.

Pam also told me that for the season premiere next year all the cast members are trying to go to different cities but they are told where they will go, so they could all attend many places, but she wouldn’t tell me where she or anyone else would go.

Finally, pretty much everyone left and day one of the Convention was over. I know some people were disappointed because there was no Meet&Greet that night but the concert was great and it was better than Meet&Greet because of so many surprising appearances by the cast members.