At 12:03 PM 5/10/2009, you wrote:
A few comments on Kayta's excellent write-up.
Decades ago, William Rotsler came up with what got called "Rotsler's Rules"
for what to do and what not to do in Science Fiction costuming (actually,
they were more like guidelines...). Some were signs of their time, like the
one about plus-sized women being cautioned against the wearing of Spandex
(he missed the example I saw where the plus-sized woman in question was
downright sexy in it).
I wouldn't call it a sign of the times, except that it mentioned only
women and it should apply to men as well. The intent of no spandex
(which also applies to any other fabric really), was to make sure you
look like you want to look and to be honest with yourself. Twenty
years ago I could easily get away with spandex. Today, I'm going to
think long and hard about it. You can look sexy or dangerous or just
plain fabulous in spandex or anything else regardless of your shape
or weight. You just have to plan for it.
Others were good basic advice which applies to historical
costuming. So anyone who remembers Rotsler's Rules will see some of
them put into my words here. I write this for the folks who have not
encountered those Rules (and for the folks who have written to me asking for
them).
-snip-
For our purposes historical also includes those wacko twists we call
historical interpretation, and pretty much anything goes for the
presentation of a historical interpretation. After all, you're choosing to
do something differently than what was correct for the period it's based
on. So for a theatrical interpretation you might decide to base your
presentation on how an actor would move on stage playing the character
wearing that costume. Other kinds of interpretations might want different
ways to show them to their best advantage.
But from a historical purist's standpoint, any interpretation, even a valid
theatrical one, is doing something "wrong". And historical purists complain
about the costumes from historical movies all the time. So go for it with
your interpretation, and do it "wrong" with style (Jack Sparrow's costume
comes to mind). I'm a historical purist most of the time, until I do it
"wrong" for comic effect. There's nothing wrong with deliberately doing it
"wrong", and the results can have a satisfying mind-tweaking effect. I just
make sure I do it "wrong" enough that people know it's my choice, not a
mistake.
I am most definitely not a purist unless you're telling me you are
historically accurate. If you're wearing Swamp Thing Tudor, I have no
problem. Put if you're Lady Jane Grey you had better be perfect in
garment, movement and attitude.
*Do I need to make up a character for my stage presentation?*
-snip-
*Never try speaking from the stage.*
This applies even if you have theater training and know what you're doing.
(The usual effect, with hotel meeting room acoustics, is "What was that?")
Record all your words and lip-synch them, or have the MC read them. Again,
keep it short.
Let me re-iterate: NEVER EVER EVER TRY TO TALK FROM THE STAGE!
You should keep dialog to a minimum even if you have it on tape. A
voice-over is good, but again, keep it succinct.
*Don't do anything dangerous on stage (or off it).*
-snip-
*Don't mess up anyone else's costume/props with your costume/props.*
Don't have sharp pointy bits that will damage costumes or people. Don't use
messy, drippy, sticky, or otherwise icky substances that might rub off on
someone else's costume. (The most famous of Rotsler's rules was the "no
peanut butter" rule. I was told someone had come to a convention as a turd
from the planet Uranus, wearing very little but chunky peanut butter, which
rubbed off on everything and everybody, tracked up the hotel carpets, and
then went rancid.)
He also plugged up the plumbing system when he showered.
*Make two copies of your music.*
Keep one with you and hand the other one to the appropriate tech person.
* Do I really need music for my presentation?*
Again, the simple answer is no. But the right music can really set the mood
for what you're doing. It may calm your nerves, it may keep you in
character, and music cues can help pace your presentation.
I'm going to disagree with Kayta a bit here. While most rules don't
require you to have music, I have seen many costumes suffer from its
lack. Music helps set the mood for your presentation. It is more
powerful than just words and can tell you more about you, your period
and your character than a dissertation can. Please, please bring music!
*Don't wear your Con badge on stage unless it's part of your character.*
*If you intend to be funny, make sure the audience thinks you're funny.*
-snip-
*Practice, practice, practice (direct quote from Rotsler, I think). *
Be ready for things to go wrong, and plan extensively for when (not if -
remember Murphy's Law) unexpected things happen. This includes bringing
your own safety pins, a couple of replacement buttons, spare batteries, etc.
Practice your choreography, blocking, and gestures till you can become the
character you're doing. Practice with your props till what you do with them
becomes second nature. Practice with your long skirt, uncomfortable shoes,
limited-vision mask, cape, etc. till moving in them is a no-brainer.
Practice your music cues till you can remember them in your sleep (and, in
the middle of the night one night, you will).
Not historical, but for Trumps of Amber back in 2003 our group
rehearsed two hours a day for five days. Now we did have 18 people
and a complex presentation. But the practice paid off. We moved
flawlessly on stage.
*Everybody in your presentation should practice, practice, practice.*
Find out the size of the stage, lay it out in masking tape on your driveway
or someplace, and have everybody practice their blocking and choreography
together. A multi-person presentation is only as good as its weakest
performer.
See above.
*Never skip the tech rehearsal if there is one. *
-snip-
*Make sure all your pieces make it to the convention.*
Can all your props fit out your door? Into your car? Through airport
security? Onto the airplane? Across that international border? Across the
Hotel lobby, in front of Hotel security, on their baggage cart? Into your
hotel room with that big bed in it? If you answer no to any of these, you
may need to redesign something. And make sure what you bring is legal to
own/wear/display in the city/country where the convention is, without
violating things like fire-arm or endangered species laws. (Have a back-up
plan for what you're going to do if one of your pieces gets lost in
transit.)
Good example story. Back in 1984 Karen and Kelly Turner, Rusty and
Dianne Dawe and several other BNCs (Big Name Costumers) presented
"Night on Bald Mountain" at LACon II, the Worldcon that year.(By the
way, Karen tells this story in public panels, so I'm not giving
anything away here.) Chernobog, the big demon from the Fantasia Film,
actually stood in a mountain. The group lived in the Bay area at the
time and the convention was in Anaheim.
This group, being very experienced, knew they were going to have to
rent a trailer to get the mountain (and other pieces) to L.A. They
went to the rental company and carefully measured the inside of the
trailer and built the mountain to fit. The day came to leave for L.A.
and they brought the trailer home to pack. They went to put the
mountain in and the door was, of course, smaller than the inside. The
mountain wouldn't fit. They had to take a chain saw and cut off the
back end and reassemble it in L.A.
The lesson is: Think of everything.
*Other notes that didn't fit anywhere else:*
-snip-
*Never throw away a compliment.*
If someone gives you a compliment, and you stand there telling them all the
reasons they shouldn't have complimented you, you've just thrown away the
gift they tried to give you. (Smile, say thank you, and close your mouth -
it took me years of telling other people that before I could remember to do
it.) If your mistakes don't show, they didn't see them, and it's more
information than they needed to know if you point them all out. Certainly
it will ruin the initial good impression you made on them. If they ask if
what you did was difficult, say yes and leave it at that, without agonizing
over all the problems you had - costuming skill is overcoming things like
that.
Many of us are taught as kids to be self-effacing and humble. That's
not a bad thing to be, but it does mean a lot of us don't know how to
take a compliment. Like Kayta, it took me years to learn to say
"Thank You" and leave it at that.
*Everyone makes mistakes, including the person wearing that nice costume
you're looking at.*
-snip-
*I'm afraid to enter. I don't want to be judged.*
Enter Not for Competition, and grab the chance to get some free, no-fault
stage experience. That way the entire audience can see what great things
you did and you don't have to cope with being judged.
A great way to get stage experience.
*I'm not going to enter my interpretation in historical, I'm entering it in
SF.*
Why? As in, why should SF get all the cool historical interpretations? At
CostumeCon you get to enter these in historical, because SF isn't the only
masquerade at the Con.
At a CC, definitely. The historical is always smaller than the F/SF.
It doesn't need "padding" Show off in the Historical.
Pierre
"Those Who Fail to Learn History
Are Doomed to Repeat It;
Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly -
Why They Are Simply Doomed."
Achemdro'hm
"The Illusion of Historical Fact"
-- C. Y. 4971
Andromeda
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