"Cosplay is not theatre". That says a lot, especially coming from a prominent Malaysian theatre activist. Okay, maybe cosplay is NOT theatre. I never said it was, either. But the elements in cosplay have some things in common with theatre. Cosplayers need to understand the character that they are cosplaying. Character study is (intuitively) a part of cosplay. The main difference is that cosplay is not played out on a stage, and does not have a proper script, unlike classical theatre. However, we have more and more experimental theatre performances that are performed out of the stage, with an improvisational script. But they may not have costumes that cosplayers put on. Cosplayers have parameters that they adhere to when in costume. They will not act in a manner that is not common for the character that they are playing. In essence, cosplayers act out their characters in a similar way theatre actors do. I'm not writing this to irk theatre people, but I'm just trying to put cosplay in perspective.
Cosplay comes from two words: COStume and rolePLAY. It is essentially a form of self-expression that involves the wearing of costumes, either in public or at private functions. Cosplay is usually held during comic and anime conventions. It is usually not a formal part of the function, unless a competition is involved. Cosplayers will look for any chance they could to show off their wonderful creations. In Japan, cosplay started out when a group of people dressed up in their favourite manga and anime characters in public, to show their love and devotion to that particular character or series. This hobby spread to Malaysia nearly ten years ago.
Cosplay is an addictive past time. Once you're in it, you'll find it hard to stop. Some cosplayers churn out a dozen costumes a year, while others take a slower pace and produce perhaps one very elaborate costume in that span of time. Cosplayers spend a lot of time and money to produce their costumes. Some of them spend months, even years in research before starting on a project. A lot of reference material is often accumulated during this process, and the cosplayer's character study also begins here. Some cosplayers go to the extent of buying comics, magazines and dvd's to further refine their costumes. One would be surprised to learn the amount of knowledge these people can gather during this process.
Having built my first costume nearly 20 years ago, I've seen a massive improvements in cosplay in Malaysia. I started out making costumes for school productions, and these costumes were only used on stage. In essence, it was costumed theatre. Back then, it was something strange for people to dress up in costumes in public. Halloween parties were held in hotels and resorts, but I would not refer to these parties as cosplay events. Nowadays, it is still uncommon for somebody to put on a costume in public, but at least the public is becoming aware of cosplay.
Costuming or cosplay has been viewed as just a weird hobby thus far. Overseas, some costuming groups are gaining popularity when they join charity events and help to get donations for a good cause. In Malaysia, however, costumers are still being seen as "party freaks" who are sometimes invited to events to "attract the crowd". I am by no means feeling easy about this. Cosplayers put in a lot of effort to design and make their costumes. Organisers such as these simply put them down and does not give them any credit. There is a great difference in cosplay costumes and party costumes. Party costumes are normally cheaply produced and of poor quality. People buy them just to wear them once, maybe twice. Cosplay costumes are mainly self-made, as such the quality differs. But the main thing about it is the time and energy spent in making them. It takes skill to put together a cosplay costume. It simply takes money to get a party costume.
Just my 2 cents... =)
Posts
