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Cosplay.in the communit

» The art of costume play in Greater Vancouver

Mercedes Deutscher
Staff Writer

ostumes are more than just
Halloween attire for Greater

Vancouver’s cosplay community, !

whose members spend days,
if not months, creating
elaborate, detailed costumes
and portraying fan-favourite
characters at conventions,
cosplay events, and private
parties.

“T do it to see the looks
on people’s faces,” cosplayer
Lachlan Belmont wrote to
the Other Press. “I love seeing
people enjoy themselves.”

The often elaborate
costumes that cosplayers wear
can be bought, handmade, or
commissioned from others
in the cosplay community.
Cosplayers often put in lots of
time working on their costumes
and props in order to yield a

: satisfying result. Many skills

: are involved when making a

: great costume, such as sewing,
: makeup, wig styling, painting,

: sculpting, and embroidery. The
costumes depict characters from
: every platform of pop culture

: imaginable, with some obvious
: favourites being from comic

: books, TV shows, anime, video
: games, and movies.

Cosplayers show off their

: creations at a variety of pop

: culture conventions, including
: Greater Vancouver's 12 different
: conventions throughout the

: year, with big events like Fan

: Expo and Anime Revolution

: drawing crowds of up to

: 25,000 fans. Greater Vancouver
: cosplayers also travel to other

: conventions outside of their

: region, such as Tsukino-Con

: in Victoria and PAX Prime in
Seattle.
“Cosplay means I have to get :

: up three hours before I normally :
: would to put on makeup, a :
: wig, and find my costume, to
: walk around a convention hall
: for upwards of eight hours on
: not very much food,” cosplayer
: Nicole Matthews wrote. “But it’s :
: all worth it for just one little girl :
: believing I’m really a princess.”

In Greater Vancouver,

: there are estimated to be

: thousands of cosplayers, and

: this costumed community

: keeps growing. While it is easy
: to spot this group of costume-

: clad, pop-culture fans at any

: convention, they are also

: noticeable in the community,

: spending quality friendship

: time together, costumes and

: all. Through cosplay, these

: people can make all kinds of

: meaningful relationships, such
as professional partners, friends,
? and romantic companions.

“Every close friend I’ve ever

Art by Jimmy Broxton via The International Comic Expo

theotherpress.ca

 

(L) Lachlan Belmont as ‘Ace Ventura’, Photo by Nox Costuming and Photograph
(C) Jesse Knight as ‘Teemo’, Photo by Terryis John Madden Xmun
(R) Nicole Matthews as ‘Lumpy Space Princess’, Photo by The Will Box

had has been made through

: cosplay,” Belmont wrote. “I met
: my best friend at a convention.

: We talked about movies, we

: called each other back after,

: and we've been best friends ever

since.”
While there can be

: acompetitive nature to

: cosplaying, most cosplayers

: participate just for the

: enjoyment. Cosplayer Jesse

: Knight has portrayed countless
: characters over many years, to

: the point that her cosplaying

: has become more than just a

hobby.

“It’s like an escape out of

: reality. A chance to get out and

: become someone who's adored.
: Getting photos, making friends,
: she wrote. “It’s something that I
: completely treasure.”

Outside of competitions

: and conventions, some of
: these cosplayers use their

: passion to earn some extra

: money. Some cosplayers

: impersonate characters at

: parties; for example, cosplayers
: who portray Frozen’s Elsa and

: Anna can make a business for

: themselves by doing “princess

: parties.”

Others participate in

: the community by taking on
: projects for other cosplayers.
: Cosplay Exchange Vancouver
: and Lower Mainland Cosplay
: Exchange are two online
: forums where local cosplayers
: and artists can commission
: requests. These forums are like
: a cosplay-specific Craigslist,
: which can be a cost-effective
: and green way of recycling
” : and reusing costumes. These
: forums are run by people who
: are deeply involved in the
: cosplay community, making
: them much more personal than
: online costume stores.

 

Laughter, language, and love at ‘Pearls 34’ book launch

» Students present works from latest creative writing anthology

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

very year, talented creative

writing students take to the
podium in the Studio Theatre
at Douglas College to read their
works from the latest Pearls
anthology. On March 27, the
Douglas College community
was treated to an evening of
emotional non-fiction, hilarious
scripts, and even a sweet
children’s story.

Personal narrative stories
were a popular choice at the
Pearls 34 event, with three of
the eight readings recounting
unforgettable experiences
from the writers’ pasts. Tracey
Carruthers read “Chapters
Metrotown,’ a story about
the unpleasant aspects of
a salesperson’s job at the
bookstore. Nina Falcos read
“Symphonic Repose,” an
emotional story of having to
choose the final music for her
ailing grandmother to listen
to. Larissa Huang, who has
four poems in Pearls 34, read a

: memoir at the event, “Magnolia
: X Alba,” about spending time
: with her grandfather.

Two of the readings were

: scripts written for the stage,

: featuring character dialogue

: as well as stage directions and

: settings. To present the scripts,

: Blake Rayment and Chris

: Francisque had their friends join
: them for the readings to assist

: with the additional characters’

: lines.

Rayment presented an

: excerpt from his comedy

: script, “Barry’s Retreat,’ about

: aconfused young man (read

: by Rayment) and his friend

: Stanford (read by Francisque)

: trying to buy soap at the

: supermarket. The reading

: ended with Barry believing

: he is undergoing a werewolf

: transformation at the checkout
: counter, though Rayment

: assured the crowd before the

: reading that Barry is not actually
: a werewolf and it’s not a scary

: story.

Francisque’s script excerpt,

“The Department of Second

: Chances,” featured a strict black
; woman, a compassionate old

: lady, and a rude young woman

: inan unconventional, humorous
: setting where the dead wait to

: receive their second chance at

: life. Francisque did an amazing

: job portraying the sassy Nene

: while his friends gave wonderful
: performances as the elderly

: Ethel and the aggressive Tiffany.

In contrast to the evening’s

: dramatic readings, Rachel

: Cobbett read “Jim the Ruthless,”
: a lighthearted children’s story

: about the son of a pirate who is
: expected to be ruthless but is

: actually quite nice. The addition
: of this upbeat, simple story

: showcased how expressive

: student writing can be, even

: when it’s written with a younger
: audience in mind.

The event concluded

with Calvin Wharton, the

: creative writing department

: chair, announcing the Maurice
: Hodgson Award winners. Laura
: Deheer, whose poem “Inside

: the Mind of Leanan Sidhe” is

: featured in Pearls 34, received

: the silver award. Jesse Pipe

: received the gold award.

Pearls 34 will soon be

available for purchase at the
: Douglas College bookstore.

 

Chris Francisque and Blake Rayment read “Barry's Retreat” at
Pearls 34 book launch event. Photo by Cheryl Minns

Jesse Pipe, gold winner of the Maurice Hodgson Award.

   

Photo by Cheryl Minns