Confessions of a Cosplay Girl: Live Cam Work

On Friday, July 17th I traveled to the studio of WMMR, home of Philadelphia’s number one morning radio show, Preston and Steve. Contrary to popular belief, I do not live in the city of Brotherly Love and had to drive a good distance to get there (crashing at my boyfriend’s place the night before helped save on travel time). This marked my second trip to the studio; the first taking place back in May when Steve Morrison granted me an interview (along with co-host Preston Elliot) to discuss issue two of their humorous comic book, the League of Extraordinarily Stupid Gentlemen.

I had first met Steve at the Brave New Worlds comic shop where I was working as Supergirl in celebration of the grand opening of the store’s new location. After chatting a bit, I told him I was a reporter and would love to interview him about his comic. He invited me to the studio for a sit down interview (my first) and after seeing my cosplay website, invited me back to be featured on the WMMR Hottie Cam.

The crew wanted me to wear various costumes and so I made arrangements with the Masquerade Costume Superstore to loan me outfits in exchange for advertisements. The studio reserved a Slave Princess Leia costume for me and I selected a Batgirl costume, sexy Police Officer uniform and school girl outfit (which I made into a makeshift Hermione Granger). On our drive to the studio, my boyfriend and I tuned in to the station and I was mentioned several times on air. As in true Preston and Steve fashion the comments about me ranged from being gorgeous and adorable to being compared to a baby wallaby (because of my petite frame). I arrived at the studio at six thirty am and after being greeted by the staff, was taken to a room for costume changes.

I decided to make Calie Liddle my first costume to showcase since it would be easier because I could use my real hair (two of my costumes required wigs and one required a hair extension). The camera was set up and I was given a clipboard full of paper and a box of markers so that I could make signs and notes. I decided to advertise for my cosplay site as well as Major Spoilers, the Masquerade Costume store, Brave New Worlds and Zenescope.

The idea for the Hottie cam is to be sexy and flirt with the camera to please all of the viewers at home. I blew kisses, waved, played with articles of clothing and sat in positions that showed off my legs. I also drew pictures of cartoons such as Batman and made a sign declaring my love for my boyfriend.

During the commercial break I made my second costume change; the naughty cop outfit. My third outfit was Hermione Granger which was basically a school girl uniform mixed with my Gryffindor robe, official movie wand and long curly wig. Because of time restraints I didn’t wear my Batgirl costume on camera and was told to switch to Slave Princess Leia. I was frantic as I raced to the bathroom outside the offices and down the hall (the “dressing room” didn’t have a mirror) to attach the braid into my hair. Since I had to be ready by the time they came back from commercial, I decided to skip the hair pieces.

The Princess Leia costume was hands down the most popular and although positive instant message were being received by the station throughout the morning, I was told they were pouring in for that costume. When I asked Preston if I could sit on his lap for a photo, his response was priceless stating:

“For the love of God, YES!”

I tried to be myself on camera and not just flirtatious. Other than drawing cartoons I also borrowed a Storm Trooper keychain from one of the other guests and made it walk across the camera. I also pretended to choke myself using the chain around my neck (from the Leia costume). Yes, I showcased my nerd side! I chatted with many fans of the show that were audience members and posed for photos. When all was said and done I put each of the costumes back on and was taken to an empty room to take pictures for the stations website. I am now an official Preston and Steve girl! You can see my gallery here: http://www.prestonandsteve.com/picview.php?id=15386

I met Steve afterwards to thank him and say goodbye and he invited me back on the Hottie Cam not only to help me win Zenescope’s Girl of the Year vote (at the end of the year) but to be featured on the webcam again! Yours truly will be back and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Although I was a bundle of nerves before arriving at the station (wondering how the hell I got there and if I was worthy to be on the Hottie Cam), my worries melted away once I got there. Everyone was so nice and made me feel completely comfortable; we talked and joked in between breaks and at one point when every chair was filled and I was waiting to go back on camera, Steve himself gave me his chair stating:

“A lady shouldn’t be standing.”

I had no problem that all eyes were on me. It was nice being treated somewhat like a star and of course, being able to cosplay for a huge audience.

The week before my appearance, I had done a photo shoot for my website using the Princess Leia and Batgirl costumes. Leia was easily my favorite of the two although it was a little difficult. The costume (made by Secret Wishes) is primarily made of rubber and the smell was over powering. The rubber takes a mind of its own and sticks out in several directions making the bikini top look unflattering at times. The arm band was far too big so I used a gold bangle made by Juicy Couture from my own jewelry collection as well as a few gold bracelets. The hair piece’s were the worst and would stick straight up. I had to scotch tape the top to secure that it would stay down and tuck the side pieces into my hair. The hairstyle itself was actually very easy for me. I use to wear these types of hair extensions when I was in high school and am familiar in styling and attaching them to my natural hair.

After seeing the photos it was clear it was worth the effort (and is all in a days work for a cosplayer). I was beyond pleased with the photos and the overall look of how the costume, hair and makeup came together.

Although the Batgirl outfit was fun it is something I would never want to own. Cleary it is a sexed up version of Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl and isn’t accurate to any look she has had in the comics (I’m obsessed with cosplaying characters as accurately as possible). I’m thankful I all ready own a reddish wig because I feel it made the costume look that much better and I was very happy with the photographs I took for my website.

I hope in the future to purchase an authentic Slave Princess Leia metal costume, priced at $375 plus shipping. What do I have in store for my next appearance on the Hottie Cam or the Big Apple Con coming in October? I’ll be sure to keep you guys posted!