Debuting its first season tonight, March 21 at 10/9c , SyFy's new competition reality show, Cosplay Melee, will pit four cosplayers each week against each other in a battle for $10,000 and the title of cosplay champion. With cosplay growing in popularity every year, this show will be sure to catch the attention of many people involved in the cosplay, comic, convention and nerd community.
TheCelebrityCafe.com's Amanda Levine had an exclusive chat with Jacqueline Goehner, one of the upcoming contestants on the show, about her experience being apart of this exciting new reality series. Goehner has been cosplaying for over ten years with a huge fan base that has been developing over time. On her Facebook page she has 175,194 followers and on Instagram she has over 20,000 followers. Followers will best know her for her amazing handmade costumes, especially her Witchblade costume which has earned her a lot of attention for its life-like resemblance of the popular character. Not only does Goehner make all of her own costumes she is also a talented actress, singer, makeup artist and writer.
Goehner took the time to talk to us about the new SyFy series and what to expect from the upcoming season.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: What was it like to put yourself, as well as your passion and hobby out on national TV for the world to see? Was it scary? Or were you proud to show your hobby?
Jacqueline Goehner: I was very nervous about it. It's always nerve racking to be under a microscope. Everything you do, you are representing your hobby... and yourself more importantly. I wanted to make sure people saw me in a good light. Cosplayers are very kind and helpful and that is what I want people to get out of when they see a cosplayer.
TCC: What was it like dealing with the constraints of a timed competition? Normally cosplayers have weeks, if not months to complete a costume.
JG: With so few hours that we get to make our costumes, luckily we had everything [materials] at our disposal. A lot of time was cut out for shopping. Also, we had to create original designs so we didn’t have to get certain fabrics for a specific costume. There is a lot more wiggle room to change designs and fabric. Personally speaking, when I work with other people on their costumes, I tend to go really fast because the energy that everybody brings to the table is high and everyone is so positive. When people are working around you, it inspires you to work harder. Everybody works very differently. With me, I love making armor and I can be really fast at it.
TCC: Was it hard to come up with creating your own character instead of just cosplaying as a licensed property?
JG: When you cosplay so often you get some creative room with characters that are licensed. With original designs, you get to play around with it. This is my own personal vision, not a director's vision, this was my own. On the show I found out how challenging it is. Instead of working with someone's design and theme, I had to work on my own and how to design it and engineer it. You kind of have to do both at the same time (design and engineer).
TCC: Was there any part of the show during the construction with your outfit that you had literally no idea what to do? For example, were there any materials you worked with such as fabric or foam or other odd materials that you hadn’t worked with before?
JG: The good thing is, is that we were all generally familiar with the materials. Everything that I worked on, I was mostly familiar with. Anything that was electronic, I was less familiar with but I had a general idea of what to do. The big issue was trying to make things work and not having that strong of a background to understand how to make that work. If I had to make something light up I would have to figure out on my own how to make it work. It came up a few times in the show and it did force me to have to change my design a bit; but there were lots of things that were changed entirely based on how well you knew the materials that you worked with.
TCC: With cosplay being such a competitive hobby sometimes, it can be tough to not try and compare yourself to others. After being on the show, did you feel like you compared yourself to others, especially your fellow contestants?
JG: Yes, because one of the other contestant in the episode is a friend of mine. I know her work and I am very familiar with her and she is extremely talented, and I got nervous as all hell. Especially on a show when you are going to be judged against your fellow peers you have to keep in mind that you are going to be compared. You have to keep in mind how it will translate to the judges and how well it will translate.
In real life I don't like to compare myself to other cosplayers, I do it because I love it.
TCC: Do you feel being on the show made you a better cosplayer?
JG: There was a lot that I learned on the show because of the challenges that I faced. The biggest one is time management. That is the one thing that I learned most from the show. I think that has helped me with my costumes, I have noticed a tremendous difference with how quickly I can get things done and how well too. Also, on the episode there are four of us there, so I am looking at how they are doing their costumes and taking mental notes. In a way I feel like I have become a better cosplayer in terms of getting the knowledge out for myself but also because of what my character was (on the show) and the challenge I had to face, I think it's also changed my outlook on how I see femininity and things like that. Overall, I found the experience very enjoyable and fun. It was an incredible experience.
TCC: What would you tell people who want to get into cosplay but are worried that they are not good enough?
JG: Do it because you love it and your share a deep connection with a character. Especially with these “fresh” cosplayers, I feel like they have the Halloween idea of cosplay whereas someone like myself or many people that I know that have been doing it for over 10 years, we do it because we love it; because we are dorks, but you had to love it if you did it back then. These days it's just like Halloween, you dress up as your favorite character and that's it. Nobody starts out perfect. My first costume looked awful. No one starts out famous either. You have to practice at the things that you want to be good at and that you want to be known for. If you want to make armor, make armor. Start small and work your way up to the level that you want to be. It is very important to share the love.