One of HawaiiCon’s stars will make a special appearance in Hilo the night before the inaugural sci-fi/fantasy convention opens.
One of HawaiiCon’s stars will make a special appearance in Hilo the night before the inaugural sci-fi/fantasy convention opens.
HawaiiCon and the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center present “An Evening with Richard Hatch,” the actor, writer, producer and director who played Captain Apollo in the original “Battlestar Galactica” and Tom Zarek in the more recent re-imaging of the series.
Hatch will present insights into his life, career and acting techniques at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at UHHPAC. The event is open seating. Tickets are $15 general admission, $7 for UH-Hilo/Hawaii Community College students with valid ID and children ages 17 and younger.
“I teach acting and everything you want to know about show business at colleges and universities all over the country,” Hatch said. “I cover the story of what I went through in this business to make it. I also get into the state of the economy and work with people on whether they want to be an artist, an actor, a writer and how to be more effective in their work.”
Hatch’s many TV and film credits begin with the long-running soap “All My Children” in 1971. At 69, his career remains active and vital today. He has numerous projects in various stages of production, including “Star Trek: Axanar,” an independent Star Trek film set for release next year, and “Cowboys and Engines,” which he describes as a “retro-futuristic, steampunk” film set in the late 1800s.
About steampunk, a type of sci-fi featuring steam-powered machinery, Hatch said: “It’s a popular genre because of the technology and the beautiful Victorian-era scenery and costuming that people really enjoy.”
He’s also in the process of completing a novel, “GWOM” — an acronym for “Great War of Magellan.”
“I’ve been developing it for a number of years and I’m finally completing it. I’m going to be doing an RPG (role-playing game) version of it, a graphic novel version,” he said.
Hatch, who also will host a gala birthday bash for Walter Koenig — Chekov from the original “Star Trek” — appears at 12 to 15 conventions a year. He said those who attend comprise a wide range of ages and occupations, but the common denominator is the conventioneers tend to be “smart, creative and interesting.”
“They draw tons of families, mothers, fathers, children. Tons of IT techs, lawyers, doctors — even people in the space program,” he said. “These conventions have become iconic. You can find them every weekend all over the world. They bring in everywhere from several thousand people to 150,000. They have actors, writers, artists, producers and directors from just about every show, every movie. It’s something the whole family can come to. There’s games, toys, and then panels and workshops and just about every conceivable subject matter from the space program to writing a novel to publishing in the new millennium.”