Terrance Zdunich and GMX
Overwhelmed*giggles*
Terrance is a total -blast- to be around and talk to. He's a lot of fun to talk to and he enjoys the company of his fans.
*Shameless plug incoming*
Buy a copy of The Molting! It's his comic, very cool, nice style and a really interesting premise so far.
Con was amazingly fun (save on Saturday night but that's no biggie by comparison) GMX in it's inaugural year had 517 con-goers. A lot of great cos-players and a lot of really great people!
Now I'm not going to go into a lot of stuff on it, BUT, let me start by saying this much...
Don't try to dye your skin with concentrates kool-aide.
It hurts.
A Lot.
Like... a -whole- lot.
As in I have chemical burns on my chin from trying this on Friday.
Blech.
HOWEVER! I won in the costume contest for being best on theme. And Oh. My. God did I make an Obi Wan cosplayer mad when I was announced.
Allow me to set it up for you.
Saturday evening. I have spent most of the day walking around as Tonks and Ace/Shilo (The diff being a sweater, my hair being up or down and a jacket) and have sought the grand lay out of Opry Mills for both purple cream make-up and a Zombie walk that was supposed to happen.
I manage to get some eyeshadow to paint my skin with, as well as orange for my husband's costume and get him painted up and his lekku in place and he looks good.
I manage to paint my own face despite the chemical burns weeping, once again, on my chin and finally wrestle my own lekku on only to realize I've forgotten to put my Jedi robe and boots on.
I'm late to the masquerade and luckily sent hubby to the judging table with our forms for the secret judged costume contest.
No biggie.
The lekku are pulling on my head, I'm having to hold my head at a funny angle to try to keep the wet acrylic paints from staining my Jedi robes while the last touch or two of it dries where my lekku have cracked open.
Again, no problem. I did the work for them, I did a damn good job on my and my husband's lekku and costumes and I'm LOVING the attention people are showing to them as well as the questions people are asking. I'm talking and talking and an obi wan is showing off his storm trooper-like armour, it's good stuff, but it's modified storm trooper armour and he's really kind of stuck-up about it, not seeming to have too great of a time. Me, in all my purple glory, I'm trying to talk to him to find out how he sculpted the pvc and am having a blast talking to my friends (both from the forums and from other cons) and when he wouldn't say I just kind of walked away.
I'm having to constantly adjust my lekku over my eyebrows because my headdress is just a tiiiny bit too loose and it's annoying but they're staying on my head.
I'm ignoring the people I don't know or who aren't talking to me, and I start dancing with my hubby to the Diva's song in order to get people out. We're out there and I'm swinging man. My lekku are flying all over the place but they're staying on my head and looking -awesome-. I manage to grab a dance with the sweetest little pirate at the con. (Bostwick's little daughter) and go back to talking to my friends after a while. And end up getting interviewed by a guy with a huge camera about my cos-play.
I don't give one real whit about the costume contest. I never win these things, why should I worry, right?
They tell the participatants to sit in the middle and get comfy for the reveal of the winners. My friend, whom I didn't even know ad managed to get her sheet turned in won "Con-Chair's Favorite". I whooped and hollered for her as loud as I could.
Then they're ready to announce "Best on Theme costume" And I'm looking around thinking Obi wan, this totally awesome Jedi in storm trooper armour is gonna get it.
The announcement comes "We really loved the creativity and originality of Number..." Obi wan is ready to spring his way up the stage "Number 18!"
It takes me a minute before I realize that's -my- number. The first words out of my mouth? Something so graceful... "Holy Shit! That's me!" I squeel, my friend's start laughing and trying to shove me onto my feet which had decided they didn't want to put me on the ground and obi wan is giving me the death glare from -hell-.
Gods... Imagine how it'll go when I get the things done fully properly!
The 501 cos-players there thought I was a 501st player! How freakin' awesome is that? I'm flattered... I'm not joining 501st without a -damn- good reason but I'm really flattered.
Okay! After the Masque (Where the beautiful dresses and costumes were freaking -amazing-) I HAD to get the masses of purple make-up off my face and quick. I also had to make an appearance at the GMX girl's Pool Party. This solved both problems with a dip in the pool after I'd scrubbed my face off a bit.
I swam for a while and rushed as fast as my throbbing legs would carry me to my most looked-forward-to-event of Saturday: The screening of Repo: The Genetic Opera with Terrance Zdunich introducing it. The reason I looked forward to it? I was shadow casting as Shilo.
For those who don't know (I didn't until this) Shadow casting is having people in costumes acting and singing out the parts of the movie being played along with audience participation. Easily summed up? Rocky Horror Picture Show Midnight Madness showings.
I was ALL for this. I have Shilo's songs already dow pat, as well as -most- of her blocking and nearly all ofher cues. I was already practicing for when Ai Okashi Cos-play (my cos-play group) does a huge Repo group for GMX next year. So I was ready and waiting for this to happen. I kept telling the others in the "show" that I -wold- be there, but I might be a little bit late due to a costume change and needing to wipe off a LOT of make-up.
I get down there and start the show when a second shilo rushes onto the stage... I politely back off, thinking they replaced me. So I'm alright, shocked because she was later than me, but alright. So I wait until there's a break for me to slip out of the way, get to the side and start talking with our Blind Mag, who was fecking awesome as hell I might add, and find out she's an Opera Major. This is just serious icing on my cake of good day and she asks if I have any formal training. I answer no, and she laughs.
Well, when Shilo gets off stage we decide to split the parts. I give her her cues and she sings Infected, Seventeen, Zydrate Anatomy and gets to do the bridge parts. I'm more than alright with this just as long as I got the two songs I -really-wanted. Chase the Morning and the last scene where Shilo bawls her eyes out and walks off out of the theatre.
That's all I wanted, so it worked for me perfectly. I got the second act of the show, she got the first (minus one song). This was great enough for me, but it got even better.
Remember the Opera Major I mentioned. She gave me one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. We were singing over concert-style speakers, ten feet tall, six feet wide and five feet deep monster speakers. Hearing our Blind Mag was no surprise, she's a pro. But when our scenes ended, she said I sounded awesome! I got so many compliments on it! And during my favorite part at the end of the movie, I had people in the third row seriously concerned for my mental health.
Third row! And my friend in the fifth row hear me just fine too. I was projecting, on key, over the speakers!!
How I wish I could afford a voice coach sometimes. Honestly. As is, I'll settle from getting high praise from an opera singer. *squees in glee* I got to bawl my freakin' eyes out all over our poor repo man, apologizing afterward for getting salt tears on his outfit. So glad he didn't mind because the expressions on the people's faces I could see was priceless when they saw my face and heard my bawling and when I just.. stopped and got up to leave.. they just kind of stared. By the way, that just made me walk even taller and try harder.
How badly I Want to get all of this right when my group does it. And if the group putting the shadow cast together in Nashville ever gets really started, I'm -so- putting in with them for Shilo.
Content
Frustrated
Tense
