Saturday Night Magazine
Pat Mastroianni, who played Joey Jeremiah on the Canadian series
Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, recently announced his engagement to
his real-life high-school sweetheart. To the delight of many Degrassi
devotees, Mastroianni also announced that he’d be hosting a stag party at a
Toronto bar that would be open to the public (with a charge of forty dollars
per person) and would feature several Degrassi alumni. Passing Show
correspondent Eric Rumble attended the event and presents this account of the
festivities:

THE BEGINNING

Siluck Saysanasy, who played Yick on the Degrassi series, greets attendees at
the door and collects the forty-dollar “donation.” Inside, about 100 guests
have gathered. A video collage featuring pictures and clips of Mastroianni is
being projected on a giant screen over the dance floor. The man himself —
with shaved head and goatee — is dealing cards at a nearby blackjack table.
Behind him, piles of T-shirts, hats, mugs, and pictures from the Degrassi era
are waiting to be raffled off. When a fan asks Mastroianni about the
whereabouts of an item that didn’t make the raffle table, he responds, “I’m
waiting for the television special [Degrassi: The Next Generation] to come out
before I put it on eBay.”

THE CROWD

Attendance has hit its high point at about 200 guests. Rebecca Haines (who
played anorexic Kathleen), Bill Parrott (Shane McKay, who impregnated Spike),
Michael Carry (the debonair Simon Dexter), and Kirsten Bourne (Tessa
Campinelli) form a loose circle at the edge of the dance floor. About fifteen
feet away, two fans wearing backpacks watch the group and huddle over a cast
photograph they’ve brought along.

“Who’s that?” says one, pointing to an actor on the dance floor.

“I don’t know. But is he in the picture?” says the other.

“Yeah. But who is he?”

“I don’t know. But he was on the show, right?”

“He must be. He’s in the picture.”

Other guests shuffle around the room, anxiously eyeing the circle of former
Degrassi stars. Most of the guests are armed with cameras or notepads. “I
remember having a dream once,” says one, “that was just like this.”

THE FANS

Two women lounge in a booth, chatting with Darrin Brown, who played the role
of Duane, a school bully stricken with AIDS.

“What are you doing now?” one of the girls asks.

“I’m working for a feature filmmaker in the States,” says Brown.

She grins. “So, what’s the best way for me to get into the business?”

“Sleep with your boss,” says Brown.

Both girls giggle.

“No, really,” says Brown.