Cosplay, Starring You!

 

Author Credit: Psylant_Cosplay

No one can deny that with cosplay, there is acting that goes with it. But in my case, acting was the first love, and cosplay just became a solid bonus connection.

But there are some nice parallels between the two. In fact, it's best to say that they aren't mutually exclusive. There are, however, some obvious differences to consider.

In acting, you must audition for a part in front of other people. With cosplay, the characters are auditioning for you, thankfully unmoved whether we favor one over another to dress as. But there is that part of you that connects with the theme, just as much as an actor can connect with whomever they audition for.

From there, we can make the simplest choices about how far one can go with portraying the character. Whether they are a martial artist, magician, or anything that involves hand movements (with or without props). You can study them so well that you will receive praise for the accuracy of that character, no matter how well-known or obscure they are.

The latter was the case for me as Xavier, an alchemist from the Eternal Champions fighting game series. While the series is buried into obscurity, I took advantage of that fact and took what I knew of him, and blended it with similar, more popular characters like the MCU Doctor Strange. This was a tactic I previously used to bring my spin on a theater role as Crooks in Of Mice and Men, taking bits of Joe Morton’s role of the same character from the 90s film, with some mannerism of the late John Witherspoon in much of his comedic work. Because of that, both Crooks and Xavier were a hit in their own rights.  

Even for the characters that have a commanding and elegant presence to them, it's all about the posture and confidence which can carry into your non-cosplay “normie” life. Elements of my musical comedy take on Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a mix of being both playful and malicious, loosely inspired by the Joker of Batman fame. That also came along with stylishness that being this take of the Faerie King called for. With cosplaying a gender bend of the vampiric Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil: Village, I channeled much of that into the look, though I was being less playful, and being darker and domineering.    

Also, like acting, the support you get from the audience, fans of your character, and especially those dressed from the same series as you, can be a HUGE confidence boost in playing out your part to the fullest. 

Even without acting experience, knowing that you connect with a character to where you want to dress as them can mean a lot. Mashup concepts included, feel that connection the way a hired actor feels it. You’re not a variant or an “insert skin color” version of the person. You walk, stand, crouch, with the same energy as the source material. If anything, you ARE the source material! 

By Richard Kingston
@psylent_cosplay [IG]

(AN: Pics to be added)

From left: Promo shot as Crooks for Bridge Players’ “Of Mice and Men” production (2016). Photo:  Carla Helené Ezel

Cosplay of Xavier Pendragon from Eternal Champions.
Photo: @tinasamone [IG] 

From left to right: Oberon, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Musical Comedy; Bridge Players Theater (2016). Photo: Unknown. 

“Lord Dimitrescu,” at Burlington County Footlighters.
Photo: Lauren Suchenski Photography [IG]