#magiccatjenny

Back when BroadwayCon was originally announced in early 2015, I think there was a lot of buzz and excitement for the idea.  There was also probably a little bit of skepticism in the theatrical community about whether or not this would take off.  But take off it did, in a huge way.  And my first experience at BroadwayCon was legendary.  Legendary.  I had a hard time thinking I’d ever top that.  I certainly never thought I’d ever be a part of it.

Oh, but wait...

When Mischief Management opened the floor for programming submissions last summer, I threw an idea at them for a cosplay panel.  One that focused on grabbing folks in this budding theatre convention and showing them what cosplay was about, and how to get involved.  Honestly, I didn’t expect to hear back from them.  I figured there were probably 84 other cosplay-related submissions and that I was just one of many.  To my great surprise, my program was selected to be a part of BroadwayCon 2017, and I was officially invited by the staff to host it.

If you had told me 14 years ago when I started playing with Phantom makeup for Halloween, or even 11 years ago when it turned into more of a cosplay tutorial venture, that I’d be appearing at an international theatre convention, I’d have probably laughed.  Sure, I had always dreamed of maybe hitting it big, maybe trending and getting tens of thousands of followers.  But my extremely narrow cosplay focus prevents that.  I accepted that a long time ago.  But I was happy to help whoever used my website, Phantom on a Budget, and always thrilled to hear from happy users.  Whether it was someone who just used the info for a one-time Halloween costume, or a long-term cosplay complete with their own prosthetics and wig, or an amateur theatre production, your stories and photos of your work kept inspiring me and made me feel like maybe that website was making a difference.  If it put a smile on one person’s face, I felt it was worth it.

But fast forward to BroadwayCon 2017...here was a new and exciting opportunity to work directly with a major convention and be their cosplay lead.  I hadn’t expected to be asked, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to (say it!!) throw away my shot.  I wrote the shit out of that initial proposal, and was absolutely going to present the professional product that I offered.  After the initial disbelief and freaking out at the acceptance news (right @inkedalchemy​?), I went to work putting my panel together. 

“Curtain Up on Cosplay” Panelists: @enchantedseastudio​ @inkedalchemy​ @viscountess​ @magiccatjenny​

Some might think they were chosen just because they’re my friends, but each one was chosen for a specific reason (and to be fair, I had only met Jenny briefly the year before...and yes, I keep excellent company).  I wanted to represent multiple shows/fandoms, multiple types of costumes, multiple methods of costume resourcing (handmade, commission, scavenging, etc), and present a diverse panel that would be easier for a wide variety of cosplayers (or potential cosplayers) to relate to.  I wanted a panel that could offer the important advice to beginners, as well as have in-depth, technical discussions with more experienced cosplayers.

And these ladies brought it.  Absolutely killed it, from their incredible costumes (some brilliant replicas, some new and original takes on favorite characters, even a mashup!) to their heartfelt and genuine responses to the audience questions.  You ladies represented everything that cosplay is about: creativity, passion, ingenuity, inclusiveness, dedication, and the spirit of giving back.  And most of all:  fun.  If nothing else, I know we had fun in that panel. 

But let’s not pretend it was all fun, it was a lot of work to make all this happen.  Because I’m maybe just a little OCD and a type-A over planner, there was a lot of discussion ahead of time regarding the panel outline and content, multimedia, scheduling, etc.  That was even before getting to the con, where there it was a lot of running around, preparing costumes, getting in/out of makeup, and ironing out last minute logistics.  But thanks to these ladies, everything went smoothly (tv screen not included) and we got to relax and enjoy the panel and those who attended.

We saw brilliant cosplays from CATS, Matilda, The Sound of Music, Hamilton, Hairspray, Les Mis, Phantom, Wicked, Something Rotten!, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, and so much more.  I'd say the room was maybe 75% capacity, full of vibrant costumes that to me made the whole room light up.  It was impossible to be anything but excited surrounded by all that color and energy.

It was everything I hoped it would be - a professionally presented panel at a major convention, a con that will hopefully be a mainstay in the Broadway community for a very long time.  We brought a Broadway cosplay community together, and together helped establish how we want that community to treat its members.  We helped welcome new members to that community.  Who knows if we’ll be invited back, or if this was our one moment of BroadwayCon glory.  Either way, I am grateful to have been up there with you and to share our passion.

To my panelists:  thank you ladies.  Thank you for helping make a dream of mine come true.  Thank you, thank you.  This would not have been a hit without you.  I could not have done that on my own.  Your willingness to take a risk, maybe step outside your comfort zone a little, to travel part way across the country all for an unknown made this a worthwhile experience.  We laughed, mostly at ourselves.  We swapped stories.  We listened to concerns and applauded audience responses.  We celebrated cosplay together, and it was unforgettable.

I sincerely hope this past weekend will continue to pay off for you all in the future, whether it be in the form of increased business, more followers, or continued cosplay inspiration.  I love you and cannot thank you enough for being a part of this team.  I cannot wait to see you at BroadwayCon 2018!