STV: LA ALERT: Gates on TNG and her theatre's new rep

Of all of Star Trek's storied casts, not all the favorite faces are as prevalent on the con circuit for fans as others—though their popularity remains and even grows with each year.

Thankfully, the coming of so many national conventions lining up Next Generation tributes for the show's 25th anniversary means a lot of fans have been catching up this year more than usual with our own "Dancing Doctor" Crusher, Gates McFadden.

Gates' pet project—well, full-time job, actually—is her love of and return to live theatre as owner of the Atwater Village Theatre just east of Griffith Park near Glendale, and as artistic director of its resident Ensemble Studio Theatre-Los Angeles with its focus on encouraging and producing all-new original plays.

If you're in SoCal or plan to visit soon, THIS weekend on Sept. 15 opens the first of those new plays coming in rep, "Year of the Rabbit"—and the rest I'll let her brag about on video... after a requisite chat about everyone's favorite first sequel to classic Star Trek: