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Costuming for Work and Play

From Cosplay to Theater and Back Again

By Chris ClarkePublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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At 39 years of age I decided to go back to college and earn my degree. I had attempted to go to college several times before that. However, I was never able to finish because I suffered from severe Bipolar Disorder II and spent much of my twenties and thirties in and out of hospitals and had very little focus in my life. I was diagnosed at the age of 21 following my first suicide attempt. The diagnosis was a relief in a way, explaining why I behaved the way I did, always either languishing in hopeless despair and anxiety, unable to even leave the house or swept up in short-lived bursts of chaotic energy which often felt like I was not in control of my own actions which would find me abandoning whatever I was doing to hop on a plane or train and head half-way around the world on a whim or focus so intently on a single art project, completely neglecting every other aspect of my life such as school or work, leading to expulsion or termination.

But, in 2012 I decided I wanted to try and make a living out of something that had been a passion of mine since childhood, making costumes. Since I was a kid, Halloween had always been my favorite holiday. Other kids would buy store-bought costumes. But I would make my own costumes and attend parades and contests. I remember creating costumes for the Wolfman and the Mummy. In High School I won the Halloween competition dressed as Marge Simpson. I was also in high school when I discovered science-fiction conventions. They were not the large events that they are these days. Back in the late 80’s they were smaller events, usually held on a single floor of a hotel. I would attend these dressed as some of my favorite science-fiction or comic book characters.

In 2010 I had joined a costuming organization called a costuming group that centered around two things: creating screen accurate replica costumes worn in the Star Wars films and doing charity work such as visiting children’s hospitals and fundraising events. It was at this point that I realized people actually made costumes for films and theater for a living and so could I. So, I went back to college to study costume design. Because of my spotty academic record, I was only able to get into a local community college. But I quickly fixed my academic standing and excelled, even getting on the Dean’s List and winning awards. Being an older student and still dealing with my bipolar was challenging. I still suffered from crippling depression and an occasional manic episode, but I did finally graduate and began working as a costume designer in off-off Broadway shows in New York City. It took me 26 years from the time I first went to college until I managed to graduate.

I continued to attend science-fiction/comic book conventions into adulthood. At some point in the 2000s, attending conventions in costume became very popular and people began to call it cosplay. My newly acquired costuming skills allowed me to build more elaborate costumes than ever before and I began to compete in costume contests. I felt like I had finally found the thing I had been missing all of my life. To me going to conventions became a sort of spiritual experience that revitalized my soul, gave me focus, and could help me work through the darkest depression. I spend 10 out of 12 months of the year designing and fabricating new costumes specifically to bring to competitions.

My proudest moment as a costume designer and as a convention attendee came in 2013 when my wife entered and won first place in an annual sci-fi themed pageant for women in costumes based on a popular television series. It was the first time I had patterned a complete costume on my own, including a quilted military-style jacket with over-sized shoulders. She performed a dance routine I had choregraphed for an audience of about a thousand people, who erupted in thunderous, wild applause when she finished. I try and carry the energy of that moment with me and use it when I am in a depressive state to help me get through it.

As a costume designer both for stage and cosplaying, I have made robes for a king, a gown for a queen, cheerleading outfits, soldiers’ uniforms, costumes spanning from the Elizabethan age to the Victorian Era, from the Great Depression to modern times to post-apocalyptic futures. I’ve made giant caterpillar, a walking, talking Marshmallow man, various alien beings, and a 9 foot tall robot. I incorporate all kinds of skills in my work from sewing to sculpting, painting to carpentry, electronics, to pattern-making, computer drafting to 3D printing. And, I work with all kinds of materials including fabric, various types of foam, silicones, resins, plastics, thermoplastics, clay, latex, and wood.

This last year has hit me hard. In March 2020, we had just opened our newest show, at the theater where I work. A week later we had to close down due to Covid-19. Theaters were the first businesses to be shuttered in New York and will be the last to open. As a non-union costume designer and artist, I was not eligible for any unemployment. Not only have I not been able to work but conventions have also been cancelled. I miss seeing the friends I have made around the country. And I miss competing. I had hoped to be able to get to some conventions this fall. However, that does not seem financially possible at this point. But I will keep hoping that the theaters open, and I can get back to work doing what I love and one day be able to get back to the conventions I miss so much.

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