Ahoy from
Disneyland!
On May 19th, POTC 3 At Worlds End, World Premiere was held at Disneyland for the world to enjoy and see the grand announcement of the third film of this awesome trilogy. Of course, yours truly has been eagerly anticipating the release of At Worlds End, me being crazy in love with Capt Jack Sparrow! I was honoured to have been invited to play at the World Premiere with Kapt Kulas Pyrat Party piratical band. What better way to get onto the red carpet, be broadcast worldwide and be a part of this wonderful event!
I was told by people there that the fans began queuing up before midnight the night before, and many arrived before the park even opened at 6:30 AM to make a break for the most coveted spots along the red carpet. Fights even broke out among fans who had planted themselves and staked out their claims. Some people were ejected. Many had to be moved because room for the media, cameras and the necessary ingress/egress and safety requirements, which of course caused further dissention. By the time I arrived in the mid afternoon, many in the audience had been waiting 8-12 hours already, much in the hot sun baking, standing and jostling elbow to elbow.
After going to two employee parking lots and discovering I was at the wrong lots, I finally discovered the Cast Member/employee lot designated for performers and others hired for this event. The rest of the band met up and we were shuttled through the bowels of the backstage areas in Disneyland, to finally arrive at a soundstage/warehouse which had been converted to a dressing/costuming area, makeup area and check in area. We checked in and were handed a wristband and schedule as to when and where we were to perform. The red carpet had been divided into (8) sections and we were scheduled to perform on 4 of them. The Doxie Chicks, a fellow pirate band, was scheduled to perform on the other 4 sections at opposite times as us. There was also a parrot/pirate duo, pirate stilt walker band, jugglers, acrobats and even a lady on stilts wearing a pirate ship made out of balloons!
After receiving our assignments, we were told to report to the costuming area for costuming (many did not wear costumes and were loaned authentic-looking costuming by the costume dept.) After that, we were told to report to the makeup dept for makeup application. Of course, I refused to have my costume altered or gunk smeared on my carefully applied makeup (come on, Im the most prima donna pirate princess already!) Most of us in Kapt Kulas band and the Doxie Chicks band were perfectly good in the costumes we came in. Then to wait for the shuttle to take us to the green room waiting area where we would wait when we are not playing on the red carpet. Of course the shuttle could not drop us off where the break area was and we got dropped off at the Inn Between backstage where numerous Disney cast members were taking their breaks. Then we were escorted to the performers break area by a stage manager where we had to wade through the crowd and other cordoned off areas.
We were led to the back entrance to the Oasis which is the Aladdin performance area in Adventureland. Here we could sit, rest, tune up, rehearse and relax until we were needed to perform. There was boxed lunch sandwiches, water, soda and snacks provided for us, as well as the most important bathrooms and shady spots. I took a couple of photos standing in the lions mouth which is part of the stage for the Aladdin show. Even with all the organizing, it was still mass confusion and hectic, plenty of hard work! This was my only opportunity to wear my full pirate costume (sans weapons) in Disneyland, as the normally strict regulations prevent me from doing so and I have to wear a semi-pirate outfit when I go there.
We were escorted to the red carpet and boy could you feel the energyit was electric! The crowd was screaming and it felt like walking on stage at a huge rock concert! There were five of us, John the flute/wind player, Mike the fiddle player, Diane the accordion player, Ray Kula the bandleader and mandolin player and myself playing bodhrán and percussion. We sang pirate shanties and played seafaring instrumentals and were initially welcomed by the crowd, who had been waiting for hours for something to happen. Cameras and video rolled and tons of footage was taken of usbut most of it ended up on the cutting room floor because the fans wanted to see the stars arriving! I only have a few pics of us playing, my favourite being under the grand entrance World Premiere sign to Main St. The TV lights were blazing and it was at least 100 degrees just standing under them. We walked down and back over the red carpet, sometimes walking and playing, sometimes stopping to entertain the crowd. Towards the end, the crowd mainly wanted to see the stars arriving and wanted us out of their line of sight to whatever star they wanted to see and we had to strategically position ourselves so as not to block the cameras and audience from the stars. We eventually were escorted to the Horse Shoe restaurant where we played to the private party being held I the VIP area. We were always guided as to where we could go and were not allowed to wander unescorted outside of our designated areas.
I ran into my friend Brandon, the Disneyland Capt Jack Sparrow as I walked out down the carpet and he was working the crowd going the opposite direction. Of course I stopped for the mandatory smooch we always exchange when we meet! Then on we both went in opposite directions. I was actually grateful we were not on the red carpet when the major stars like Depp & Bloom arrived, as it would have been way too crazy for me. I would not have even considered attending this event had it not been for the fact I was working and performing at it. Some people I know even paid $1,500 for the privilege of walking the carpet and seeing the movie! I heard someone call my name Liberté a few of times but it was impossible to figure out who among the crowd of thousands was yelling at me. People actually tried to talk to me as I was playing and some stars actually tried to pose with us when we were in the middle of playing and singing! I got several e-mails later from people who saw me, and when I was at Disneyland celebrating my birthday two days later, couple of girls who were huge POTC fans recognized me as I was standing in line to get a smooch and take a pic with the Disneyland Jack Sparrow.
Once we were finished (just before the movie showed) we were shuttled back to the dressing area. One pirate lamented, Oh-Oh, NO Makeup Removal! when he returned to the area he got painted up at. From the dressing area, we were shuttled back to the employee parking lot where we could leave and go home. Nope, seeing the movie was not part of it and I will not see it until tomorrow (Thursday) at El Capitan in Hollywood.) But I can always see the movieit was performing at the World Premiere that was what meant the most to me!
See link below for my website page with pix from the premiere. Also link on the lower right hand corner of my home page.
Yo Ho!
http://www.libertesparrow.com/POTC 3 World Premiere.htm
Liberté Sparrow
Too funny! It's just a very entertaining restaurant to go to and watch the workers (all men except 1 woman who is hostess). They crack me up! 
GIVE NOTHING BACK
