These
performance artists spend allot of time, energy and money perfecting their
character and costumes. Indie Fest USA and the GGCAS welcome these
artists and we will have daily Cosplay interaction and our own special contest
with awards to be presented on closing night at the awards show.
WHAT IS COSPLAY:
There are many misunderstandings on
cosplay. Even on Wikipedia there is some incomplete and wrong information on
the subject. So lets start with what cosplay really is. Cosplay is
derived from Costume Play. Literally this is nothing more than dressing up and
play. Unlike what some claim, you can cosplay any character you like and not
just a Japanese anime or manga character.
No, cosplay is more general. Any character can be an inspiration. If you
love fantasy, you can dress up as an elf or an orc. Do you like a certain time
in history or do you admire an historical figure, do not mind to look up the
clothing and costumes of the era and play it.
It does not
matter if you want to be a Gothic vampire, a Lord of the Rings character or a
robot, since it is all cosplay. Some play one character and stick to that. Some
use different costumes according to the occasion. But all do spend a lot of
time and/or money to have the finest, most authentic costume possible.
Of course,
those who love manga and anime more likely dress up as an anime or manga
character.
So all is
possible and on most Renaissance Fairs and Science Fiction Conventions, a lot
is allowed. Yes, there might be restrictions. Some Fairs only allow historic or
fantasy subjects and are not into Sci-Fi. An Example is the Dutch Castlefest:
on this occasion dressing up as a Jedi from Star Wars might be not be
recommended, but on Elf Fantasy Faire, you see fairies and Storm Troopers
escorting princess Leia together.
Of course
you will also have specific anime conventions, for those who only dress up
anime and still think cosplay is exclusive for them.
Some Conventions might also be more into
Science Fiction and many participants might be dressed up as characters from
Sci-Fi series or movies.
Another
kind of cosplay, is LARP, or Live Action Role Play. This is a role play like
Dungeons and Dragons, in which you do not play with your characters on a board,
but you dress up like the characters and play them yourself, so you are not
just playing the game, but you are in the game.
So it is a
myth that cosplay can only be done with anime and manga characters. Fact is
cosplay can be any type of dress-up event. Sending your kids out to trick and
treat on Halloween can already be a form of cosplay.
Kids do in
naturally by dressing up to play a princess, a cow boy or an Indian. If you
ever did that, you already cosplayed. But some people do not grow out of it and
there is no maximum age to attend events that allow cosplay.
So it is
not only a hobby, but for many also a way of life. You save and work up to that
one specific event, this one moment you can be whoever or whatever you like to
be.
Many spend long hours or lots of money to make or buy the best possible
costume for their character on the event. And when it is over, you dream of the
next one.
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