Television Festival

This was the 8th season for Austin's ATX TV Festival, a four day celebration of television - screenings of new shows, reunions of former shows, and panel discussions about various topics. This was my first season to go, and even though I was super excited, I also worried and obsessed for weeks too. Because that's what I do.

This was going to be a challenge for me. Walking to different venues downtown. Getting downtown every day and getting home at night. Standing in line for events. Having time to eat. Finding places to eat. Making sure I stayed hydrated, but also dealing with my small, schizophrenic bladder. Keeping myself protected from the sun. Trying not to carry too much stuff. My emotions went up and down during the weeks prior to the festival.

I won't keep you in suspense. I absolutely LOVED IT! And I handled everything even better than I hoped. First of all, after much hand wringing and procrastination, I sent an e-mail to the organizers and explained my difficulty with standing in lines and dealing with the heat. I received a prompt and cheerful response. No problem at all, the e-mail said. For every event I attended, I could ask a volunteer to let me speak with the theater manager. They would give me a line card number, then let me come inside and sit down in the lobby until people were allowed in for the event. So that issue was resolved, and their instructions worked perfectly every time. No one gave me a hard time or questioned me. I had a copy of the e-mail just in case, but I never needed it.

As for the eating concern, one of the theaters served food at their events, and I was at that theater every afternoon. Problem solved once again. I ate yummy, filling grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries. For dinner I ate at Chipotle the first two nights, and at Which Which the third night because Chipotle wasn't open. Because of time I had to eat faster than I usually do, but I managed. I had a few snacks with me just in case, but I never needed them.

As for the walking, luckily all the venues were in about five blocks of each other. During the day I went back and forth between Trinity Hall and the Alamo Ritz, which are only one block from each other, so that was super easy. In the afternoon on Thursday and Friday I was able to walk the five blocks to the Paramount and State Theaters for dinner and the evening screenings. On Saturday I took a ride share because of the excessive heat. On Sunday all of my events were in that one block radius, so I didn't have to worry about the heat or the walking. Outside walking can be scary for me because I'm afraid of falling. But I was careful and I wore comfortable shoes. I took my time and didn't rush. My two wonderful friends who were also attending the festival walked with me when we were going to the same events. I have a terrible sense of direction and I got slightly lost once, but I figured it out. I didn't panic. 

It was a long four days. I left the apartment every day around 8:30, and arrived home after 10. On Saturday night my Metro Access bus was involved in an accident, so I didn't get home until after 11, and I had to be up at 6:30 on Sunday. I did it. And I wasn't injured in the accident, so all was well.

I am an avid television viewer. I watch a lot of shows, and there are more I want to see but don't have time for. I've never agreed with people who say that television is a waste of time. Television can make you think. It can make you feel. It can make you dream. You can learn from television.

It was SO awesome to be around a bunch of people who love television as much as I do. There was a such an amazing vibe being at the festival. People were excited, enthusiastic, from day 1 to day 4. And such friendly people! It was easy to strike up conversations while you were waiting for events, even for an introvert like me. Even if you didn't like or watch the same shows, you felt a connection to people. I was in the bathroom of the Alamo Ritz, and a girl was on the phone to a friend, completely fangirling out about the fact that she had just been in the same room with the cast of Archer. I have never watched that show. But I understood her excitement, her joy. It was contagious. Although I wasn't a fan on the level of that girl, I was still quite thrilled to share space with stars like Kevin Bacon, Lou Diamond Philips, Eric Dane, Zendaya, and Phylicia Rashad, among others. Highlights of the festival for me were the Grey's Anatomy and Atypical screenings and panels. But I thoroughly enjoyed all fourteen events that I attended during the four days. I got to see screenings of four new shows: Euphoria, David Makes Man, Prodigal Son, and City on a Hill.

I also attended panel discussions on interesting topics: inclusion and access, older people on television, the refugee crisis. I spoke in three of the sessions, mostly about disability. Little, nervous, back of the room sitter me speaking up in groups - I did it! Talking about issues that are important to me make me braver than I feel. In addition to a love of television, I felt that many of the people at the festival shared my viewpoints about social justice, politics, the importance of representation of minority populations, which just added to the wonderful vibe of the event.

It felt so incredible to not only survive something that I was scared to do, but actually thrive during it. I walked through the anxiety and the result was I had a fantastic four days. I even have some ideas I plan to pitch to the organizers for next year. I would love to actually be involved in planning festival events, but I'm not sure I have time for that. Anyway, I already paid for my badge for next year! Season 9 of ATX TV Fest, here I come!

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