Technik Museum Speyer 2016

For the ninth time it was "Fiction meets Reality" at the Technik Museum Speyer, when on September 24 and 25, 2016, over 240 costumed members of the German Garrison were guests at Europe's largest space exhibition. The annual Science Fiction Meetup, where fan groups from Star Wars, Star Trek and many other film series show off their replica costumes, is a real eye-catcher for visitors to the Technik Museum.

After "The Force Awakens", Star Wars fans in particular could look forward to the two star guests Phoenix James (stormtrooper) and Bern Collaço (First Order general), who both appeared in Episode VII and were there for the fans of the saga with several autograph sessions at the event. In a relaxed talk on Sunday, hosted by our Tim as in previous years, we gained lots of new impressions of the new Star Wars film and the guest stars and were able to shed light on some fan questions about the new episode.

Besides many familiar faces, and in front of the impressive backdrop of the museum, which we still haven't tired of in our fifth year, this year's event also had a few new things in store. For one, the event gave us another opportunity to perform our current stage program "Ein Funke der Hoffnung" ("A Spark of Hope"). For another, our show was moved from the Forum to the large hall of Hangar 10, where almost 600 spectators could follow the exciting battle for the map to Luke Skywalker with optimal lighting and sound. With lots of lightsaber action, after our kickoff at Legoland Deutschland, we were able to present the battle between the last surviving Jedi Knights and the Knights of Ren once again.

We showed our new stage show six times in total that weekend. What had been the usual routine in recent years posed special challenges for us this year: Hendrik, who plays a central role in the show, fell ill at short notice for a longer period, so Tim had to step in and learn all the choreographies in one weekend. Accordingly, tension was high when we performed our show for the first time in the packed hall. But once the first run was over without any major mishaps, euphoria and anticipation for the days ahead grew. And the other shows also went off without injuries or incidents. Only Tim, on the second day, forgot the bag with the hologram figure backstage and only noticed his mistake when the voice of Hans-Georg Panczak, who voices Luke Skywalker in the German dub and whom we had won over for our show, came out of the speakers.

An exciting new feature, for us too, was the livestream of one of our shows, so everyone who couldn't be there could still enjoy our show in real time via Facebook.

Our thanks go to Corinna Handrich, who organizes this event every year with great commitment and incredible dedication. We wish Hendrik, who was able to follow our livestream from home, a speedy recovery and hope he'll soon be back in our program. 
Last but not least, we thank all participants, visitors, technicians and helpers who made this event an unforgettable memory and already have us dreaming of 2017, when it will once again be: Fiction meets Reality.