Hi everyone!
I am one of the members of Pizza Time Cosplay and we thought that we should clear up what happened at the FanimeCon 2013 Cosplay Spectacular. You can see (most) of our performance here thanks to ACParadise!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVLxqFGs2yc The TL/DR version is that the CS staff at the time of our performance could not get the audio system stable and it failed about twenty seconds before the end of our skit. A member of our group asked about completing our performance at the time of the issue, but we were instead removed from the stage. We were not offered the opportunity that another group was offered to complete our performance at the conclusion of the show and were later informed that we were removed from stage because the CS staff “panicked.” This after an entire day of frustrations and non-communication. Hard feelings were had by all.We found it very difficult to obtain any information regarding the Cosplay Spectacular event prior to FanimeCon as our and others forum questions went unanswered and the website had not been updated with any information. We shrugged it off and figured during the convention all of the information would be disclosed to us. Unfortunately even on the day of the Cosplay Spectacular we didn’t know what time the event would be held, what time we needed to arrive, what time the mandatory meeting would be held, what the rehearsal procedure was or even just how to access the backstage of the theater. This was further exacerbated by no information regarding the event being listed in either the guidebook or the pocket guide. At some points we even questioned if it was going to happen at all.
On Friday we went to have our costumes judged and were concerned with how few details we were given. We left with a lot of unanswered questions regarding the event. Basically it was determined we should go back to the same room on Saturday for (hopefully) more information.
So we trekked back over on Saturday to check in with the CS again to turn in our audio and try to find out the times/places important for our participation. At this time, we inquired about backstage passes and were informed that we only needed a sticker on our badge to prove we were authorized. When we informed them that not all of our group members were there, we were told to just keep them with us and we could vouch for them at the event. We also made sure to find out if our audio CD would be acceptable for the performance and we were assured it would be fine. We were told by Jack Chau that rehearsals on stage would start at 10am and there would be a mandatory meeting Sunday afternoon. We also inquired about the lighting and were told we could write it down and give it to them there, which we did - luckily we had simple instructions.
On Sunday we arrived to the convention around 10am and spent some time trying to find how to access the backstage area. We encountered another performer at the locked entrance to the venue who told us how to get to it (around the corner at an unmarked, unmanned door) and we checked in and had another judging. At this point we wanted to rehearse but were told we could not as suddenly now there was no way to play our audio CD. For whatever reason they did not have the equipment on hand to play the type of media that had been requested, and which we provided the day before. One staff member suggested he could run to his hotel room and grab his personal laptop but unfortunately was shot down by someone else who insisted a laptop was on its way.
We had lunch and returned for the mandatory meeting only to wait for it to never actually happen. We asked close to 5 times if we could rehearse and even telling them we had a digital file we could email fell them on deaf ears as we were told that no, our CD was fine. Eventually a laptop with an optical drive did arrive but at that point the band’s equipment started appearing on stage and we were told it would not be possible at this point to rehearse anymore. Dejected we found a small green room off the side of the backstage area and rehearsed there instead.
Around 3pm we went back to the theater audience as I found the Fanime website had been updated saying that Special seating started at 3:00 pm, general seating at 4:30 pm, and the event was slated to begin at 5:15 pm. Once there, we were told to sit in the order of our performances but no one on the staff actually knew that order. A volunteer from another part of Fanime eventually came over and tried to get the order established but since times were so poorly communicated many performers were missing. We were told then that we would be performance #17 (originally #11) and waited for more information.
As we sat for what seemed like forever in the theatre we noted the time of 5:20 PM and were wondering why no audience members had even been seated yet. During these hours, the band’s equipment had been on stage with no one around it. The band never appeared to do a soundcheck which explains in part why the audio during their performance was unbalanced to the point where the lead singer’s vocals were so distorted that they could not be discerned from the rest of the music.
The band began playing around 6pm and finished a little before 7pm, at which time the actual event began. It was obvious that Wendell, the emcee, was not prepared for the role. We later discovered that he was asked to fill the role last minute. He did his best and I completely empathize with the situation he found himself in. Unfortunately, he was receiving many jeers from the audience and he appeared very uncomfortable. He hadn’t even been given a list of the performers and spent his time masking for the technical difficulties the CS staff were having backstage.
Early on during the performances a volunteer came by and told us privately that we had been bumped to performance #13 (previously #17) as ours did not require video. We were totally fine with the change; at this point only performance #2 had actually been on stage.
Suddenly (less than one performance later) the volunteer reappeared and asked us and performance #12 to go backstage and get ready because we were now in fact #6 and needed to be on deck right then. We were very concerned at this point but we did as told and collected our props. When we arrived backstage Jack rushed up to us and told us we were next (group #12 was just as confused as we were). I know that I was taken aback by this but we went out on stage and tried to do our best. Again, you can see how it turned out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVLxqFGs2ycWhen the sound cut out one of our performers (in a silly joking tone) asked - still in character - if they could start the audio again. The CS staff immediately cut the lights and our same performer walked backstage to inquire what was happening with the audio and if they could just restart the CD. At that point in time stage hands came onto stage and started taking away our props. I’ll be honest that I was incredibly angry at this point. All of us in Pizza Time Cosplay were infuriated and of the mind to just leave. We left the theater with our props and returned them to our car.
In fact the only reason why we didn’t go home was that we encountered so many people along the way to our vehicle who told us they enjoyed our performance and were equally upset they didn’t get to see the ending. This helped ease our feelings a bit and we decided to suck it up and watch the remainder of the show. After the final group performed, Wendell came out and announced that “they wanted to make things right and felt a group deserved a do-over”. Everyone in our group started looking at each other, and the crowd started chanting "Hetalia! Hetalia!". Wendell then announced another group’s name - one that performed after our group and apparently also had audio issues. All the other cosplayers around us who were also involved in the show turned, looked toward us and asked if we were getting a do-over as well. We responded that we didn't know and that no one had said a word to us about a do-over. After the Madoka skit was over, Wendell addressed the audience for a final time. Once again the audience was chanting "Hetalia!". Wendell announced that the show was over, thanked everyone for attending and both the judges and the audience left. Several of our members rushed backstage to ask why the other skit had been offered this opportunity and we were not. Jack told us that the other skit asked to repeat theirs and we had not - despite the fact that we had in fact asked before. We pointed this out and pressed him as to why the audio cut out and why the lights were cut to have us literally pulled off stage. His response was that no one knew why the audio failed and that he had us leave the stage due to “panic”. Eventually he also offered us a re-do but by this time it was very late and the audience was gone, the judges were backstage deliberating and we’d only be performing for the other entrants who had stuck around. We declined as by this point it was an impotent gesture.
The performance that we had worked hard on, that the crowd enjoyed and was actively calling for completion, was stopped due to panic on the part of the CS coordinator. No one at any point could explain why audio problems plagued the event all night. All that was offered was an apology from Jack at the very end of the event when we basically asked for one. We were all stunned. Being blunt, our day - indeed all of the time we spent preparing for this event - would have been better spent doing anything else. It was clear that the present CS staff did not respect the audience, the performers, or the integrity of the event itself.
It’s been a long and detailed post but what I really want to impress upon everyone (the forum readers, current and future CS staff, and everyone else involved in FanimeCon) is that working on creating a performance is a huge personal investment on the part of the performers. We know that a lot of staff time and energy must go into creating a flawless event as well, but I think in all of the commentary regarding the CS the investment of the performers has been overlooked. The entire week leading up to the performance was hectic as we rushed to put finishing touches on costumes and coordinate around busy work/personal schedules in a group of 6 people to try and practice. We were stressed, nervous, and working feverishly to try to make our performance entertaining and memorable. Being pulled off stage due to someone else’s technical error and being later told that it was the result of “panic” was incredibly disheartening. We could have easily forgiven the technical issues since we understand that these things happen. But the worst part, the nail in the coffin, was watching another skit get a second chance for a similar issue when we were never extended the same offer. Any skit that has an issue should be immediately offered a chance to redo their skit either right away or at the closure of the event. This should not have happened and every effort needs to be taken by future CS staff to ensure it never happens again. Thank you to everyone who stopped us later and told us how much you enjoyed what you got to see of our performance - it meant the world to us!
We plan on performing a revised version at
Summer SacAnime and our members will be attending other conventions such as
Kintoki Con and
Kraken Con. We’re also planning (time permitting) to record a staged version of our performance so that everyone can see it in its entirety.
- TruePoindexter of Pizza Time Cosplay
P.S. This has already been submitted verbatim via the feedback form. It has been posted here for the community to read.
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Topic: Cosplay feedback (will not effectively reach staff if you don't use form) (Read 13133 times)