| Volume II, Issue 3 |
Welcome to the 4th issue of the Ed Wasser Fan Club Newsletter.
We have a few requests for our loyal readers in this issue:
Hope you enjoy the issue! By next issue, we should be on-line with the web page and have a big interview scheduled!
PS - We have had periodic server problems over the last several months that just came to light. Because of that, some mail to SUBSCRIBE and ED never got to us. If you have subscribed but did not get this letter mailed to you, please re-subscribe. If you have emailed Ed and not received a reply, please resend. Sorry!
(Below is the part of an ongoing interview with Ed. It will be continued in every issue of the EWFCN.)
The word "celebrity" is not my reality. I enjoy the attention. I don't feel like a celebrity. It still boggles my mind that people I don't know know all about me! I think it is all very exciting. I am very flattered. Who wouldn't be? But my reality is still a fairly humble reality.
If I could do anything? I would land a role as a regular in a highly dramatic episodic series for a three or four years, then go on to be a very successful movie personality. I think it would be fun to do a movie or two a year and still have time to pursue other interests as well.
To act, yes. I would love to come back and do Broadway! To live? Well, I would probably own a place there and spend some part of the year there.
It is called "The Misanthrope." I play the lead. It is very challenging because it so complex. It is brilliantly written, all in verse. It is kinda a monster to crack! It is hard to make sense of it so that the audience follows the story. I spend about three hours a day, five days a week working with the group, and then another three or four hours every day working on it myself. Contrast that to a B5 episode where I only have the script for a week before I shoot. For B5, I spend about the same amount of time, but like I said, only for a week!
Yeah, it s a good kind of nervousness. Presenting a work of art.
I try not to. You really can't when you are doing a classical piece, because of the rhythm. It is really hard to break out of that. But in a contemporary piece you can get away with murder. However, on B5, they are very strict about the script. If you say "I love the way it looks" instead of "I love the way that looks," they stop you. B5 is quite challenging. They really hold you to the letter. Other shows are not nearly as strict.
If I were in charge of everything? I think it would be great for Morden to remain the hugest slimeball in the galaxy, but in such a positive way that you cannot help but to like him. For instance, Morden is motivated by price, right? Well, what would happen if he were offered a larger price to turn against the Shadows? Simply because the deal is better. But this is just MY desire. JMS is understandably tight-lipped about things like that...
To raise funds for general operating expenses, the EWFC is having its first fund raiser! Ed has generously donated 150 of his Fleer trading cards to the club. In addition, he has agreed to autographed them for fans. (He will personalize it for you as well, but Ed warns that the cards are small, so don't request much more than your name!) If you would like one, we are selling them for $5 each, autographed. Simply send your $5, with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to:
You can order up to three (there are three different Morden cards, so if you want them all, it's $15).
As we expect response to be high, please give us a couple of weeks to get your card or cards back to you, as this is a lot of work for Ed.
As President of the EWFC, I would like to personally thank Ed for supporting us like this.
We will be adding to this section every issue to give you more background about Ed.
Knock Knock.....Who's There.....Kosh.....Kosh Who?.....Bless you!
(Yes, I know it is from B5, and you all know it. But it is still my FAVORITE one.)
Ed is happy to tell his fans he has been called in for another B5 episode to be aired this season.
In addition, Ed is very busy preparing for the play mentioned above, "The Misanthrope," by Moliere (translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur). Ed plays the lead character, Alceste. The show opens March 29, and runs for about three months.
The venue is the Hudson Guild Theatre in Hollywood. It shows Friday through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at 213-660-8587.
Ed says that if you are B5 fan and come to the show, please hang around afterwards to say "hello."
Because of his schedule with his play, Ed is taking a couple of months off from the "convention circuit." However Ed is available for appearances.
Before these newsletters go out, Ed always reads them over and signs off, so to speak. However, I am inserting this one AFTER he read it! March 26th is Ed's Birthday and I think it would be a nice surprise to get some cards from his fans.
I will group them all together and deliver to Ed on his birthday. If you would like to send one, send it to:
I would like to thank Wolf 359 and The Babylon 5 UK fan club for making my visit possible. Both organizations have such integrity, that if my schedule permitted me, I would always come back to be a guest upon their request. You guys are great! I would also like to personally thank those of you who attended the B5 UK convention, The Landing Party, at The Hammersmith in London. We had a lot of fun, didn't we!
As some of you may remember I spoke about a very special friend who, 1 1/2 years ago caused a car accident while under the influence of drugs. She was going through a very bad time in her life and made some horrible choices. Unfortunately, her bad choice cost someone else their life. Instead of the court system giving her a year in a rehabilitation center for her to get well and a couple of years doing community service, she was sentenced up to 6 years in STATE PRISON. She is now locked up with people with huge criminal records who specifically went out to hurt, rob and cause havoc. My friend is no different than you or me, she is a beautiful human being. But, she unfortunately made a big mistake and is paying for it dearly. I shared some letters of her first couple of days in this dark, cold, scary place. Her fear, pain and confusion were overwhelming. She's doing much better now due to a lot of soul searching, spiritual work and the help of the Babylon 5 fans that heard me speak at the Hammersmith. I was so touched by the amount of fans that wanted to send her a prayer of Love, support, and hope. I was doubly touched by the amount of Fans who actually sent a letter. Needless to say, you guys have brightened her stay considerably. I wish I could publish all of these letters because they were all so special. But I will share one with you right now:
Dear Ed's Friend,
Sorry to sound so impersonal, but I'm not too sure how to spell your name, and Ed said just to say "Ed's Friend". I was fortunate enough to meet Ed at a convention in London a few days ago (Feb.17) and he was AMAZING - so charming, talented, funny, friendly and caring. He really made the day extremely enjoyable for me, and lots of others I'm sure.
He told us a little bit about you and I was so moved that I felt I just HAD to write to you. He obviously cares a great deal about you (and I only wish there was someone in my life who cared as much), and I wanted to write and tell you that there are a great number of people out here, myself included, who are both thinking about you and praying for you to have the strength to get through your ordeal and to look forward to the future and all the great things you can do once you're released. Just remember that, no matter how far away it might seem, it WILL come and you have friends like Ed who will be waiting to greet you when it does. In the meantime have courage, take care of yourself, and remember that you are never far from my thoughts, Ed's thoughts, and the thoughts of hundreds, or possibly thousands, of others who are willing you to get through your sentence so you can greet the world on your release as a fresh start and a new beginning. Look forward to the future, take care and try not to worry.
All the best and hopes for a speedy release!
Christopher
P.S.. I hope you like the picture of the Siberian Tiger Cub. I thought he could keep you company and remind you that there IS a world waiting for you. Beautiful animals, aren't they?
When you read a letter like that, if reaffirms to me, and I hope to you, that we have some pretty incredible people on this earth!
If any one else who feels so inspired to write to her, please feel free. See mailing instructions below. Once again A VERY Special THANKS to those of you who have taken the time to write-to my friend.
A QUOTE: (I just received a letter from this friend I've been speaking of. She said something I would like to pass on to all of you)
"The Universe Matches It's DREAM To The Dreamer.
Success Or Failure I Know The Choice Is Mine!"
Mailing Instructions: Always put the return address on the envelope as well as inside the letter. Please enclose a se1f-addressed envelope with a international stamp already affixed. This way she will be able to correspond with you with ease.
Contest # 3
The haiku is a traditional Japanese verse form expressing a single emotion or idea in which 17 syllables are arranged in lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Contest #3 is to write a Morden Haiku. We are not going to give any more refinement than that.
Entries due by 2/15/96.
I must say we were overwhelmed with the quality of this month's contest entries! There were many, many good ones. We are printing several honorable mentions (no particular order):
All of these are really good! And picking the winner has never been harder. However, our grand prize winner is Sauron, with his submission:
Sauron wins a personalized autographed picture of Ed Wasser. Congrats!
Number three was kinda heavy. So let's do a lighter contest. Jokes are used in B5 pretty regularly, like Londo's light bulb joke. So let's have a contest to see who can write the best joke to be used in the B5 universe, i.e. one that one character could tell another.
BTW - in general, I assume everyone who submits something to contests doesn't mind their name being used when we acknowledge winners. Normally, I use whatever people sign to their email, and failing that, I use their internet handle. If you do not want to be publicly acknowledged, please specify in your submission.
Contrary to the rumors you may hear, we are not on the lam from the law. You can contact us. To subscribe, email to subscribe@wasser.com. Conversely, when you have had enough, unsubscribe@wasser.com will do the trick. If you want to contribute anything, we will most likely print it, assuming it pertains to Ed, Morden, Shadows, B5 (i.e. doesn't ramble on about Sunspots). Email to submissions@wasser.com. Letters to Ed are also welcome, and you have his word that they will all be read and answered by him. Ed's email is, you guessed it, ed@wasser.com. Soon, there will be a web page for us at: http://www.catalog.com/wasser. Contest submissions are sent to contest@wasser.com.
| Volume II, Issue 3 |