Grace Cosplay Entertainments brings Disney’s heroines to life by combining Cosplay and profession! We talk with her about Cosplay, her work and the themed children’s parties she organizes!
WHEN A HOBBY TURNS INTO A PROFESSION !
“Cosplay” and “profession” are two words we usually don’t find together! But still! Even in Greece, where the audience of our favorite Cosplay remains limited, there are exceptions! Grace Cosplay Entertainments belongs to this category!
From the beginning of 2016, she brings children’s dreams to life through her unique themed children’s parties! Birthdays, celebrations, school parties, carnival parties, Christmas bazaars, corporate events, even simple home visits! Their theme being, our favorite Disney heroines, and more! Emphasizing detail, quality and fidelity, she’s not limited to the faithful incarnation of those characters, but also goes one step further by singing each character’s songs we all got to know and love through their movies! And all that at your place!
Let’s talk to her in detail about everything!
Themed Children’s Party with Aurora from Sleeping Beauty
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DISNEY’S MAGICAL WORLD AT YOUR HOME !
1) Tell us a few words about yourself! What do we need to know about you?
I’ve been involved in various things over the years, such as acting which I studied and singing while working as a singer with Kostas Charitodiplomenos and at various trash parties. I learned makeup at ANT1 Medialab and fashion at Pansik.
Now I’m combining everything I’ve studied with what I love and what do at the moment. Children’s parties and Cosplay!
Acting helps me get into each character’s role from the beginning to the end of each party. Singing isn’t something missing from any of my appearances, since I’m singing the heroes’ songs at the parties. Makeup can’t be missing from any transformation of course! And my studies in fashion helped me to be able to make my own costumes and process them. All this in combination with my love for the child deep inside me, but also for all the children, make me passionate about what I do!
Elsa from Frozen
2) When and how did you get started with Cosplay and what got you into it? What was your first Cosplay?
Ever since I can remember, I loved transforming. When I was singing at clubs, there was a time when I dressed up as Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. But when I started doing children’s parties 5 years ago though, my first cosplay was Elsa from Frozen!
Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Cinderella from Cinderella
3) What kind of characters, sources or types of Cosplays do you choose for your Cosplays? Are these choices based on personal interests, and if so, when did you start getting interested in them?
The characters I love are Disney princesses. I grew up with their movies and songs and they are a big part of my life. I’ve always loved the toys I own and especially ones by Disney. Even now I’m a collector.
When I was little I used to visit Disneyland Paris with my family, and we also visited the USA parks twice, where I was able to meet the princesses up close and get enchanted … These trips stayed forever in my heart.
Disney heroes only bring back memories of my childhood’s good old days and my family.
Moana from Moana
Ariel from The Little Mermaid
4) Which ones are your favorite Cosplays out of all of which you’ve done until now? Which characters do you think were the most popular? Which character do you want to cosplay most in the future?
I choose mainly … princesses and girls’ favorite heroines. Out of 10 parties, at 8of them children ask for Elsa from Frozen! She’s the favorite one among the new generation’s little girls.
I would really like to do other heroines I love such as Anastasia, Thumbelina, Odette, Esmeralda, Pocahontas, Megara and many others whose existence this generation’s children don’t know about unfortunately and that’s why they don’t ask for them at their parties.
Rapunzel from Tangled
Merida from Brave
5) What’s the most difficult Cosplay you have done until today? What makes it the most difficult?
The most difficult Cosplay I’ve done so far is Rapunzel. Her wig is very heavy. When it comes to a photoshoot it’s ok … but when they ask for her at a children’s party I’m not very happy, because it’s difficult wearing a wig weighting 3kg on your head, your neck hurting, your head too, to be stressed about the wig not falling backwards due to its weight … and at the same time having to entertain the children acting your role … Also, Jasmine’s wig was quite difficult for me to style!
Video with general footage of the Themed Children’s Party by Grace Cosplay Entertainments as Elsa from Frozen at Hello Language Center – Video by Hello Language Center
6) How did you acquire your knowledge on creating Cosplays and what kind of Cosplays do you prefer to wear?
You gain knowledge about Cosplay when you become an observer … For the practical part, knowledge came through makeup, from hairdressers for wig styling, endless internet searching, exchanging information with Cosplayers abroad and much more I would say.
The types of cosplays I prefer are Disney heroines, girly characters but also famous celebrities such as singers.
Jasmine from Alladin
Aurora from Sleeping Beauty
7) What do you think about store bought Cosplays? Are they part of your ensemble as well?
If you mean costumes that someone can buy instead of sewing, I think that’s also creative, because you have to put your own touch or process it, as I do. I can’t imagine a ready-made cosplay that’s complete, I don’t think something like that exists.
I buy costumes online, but I process them a lot. This only happens when I find something I like. Then I might find a ready-made wig that I style to be the same way as the character’s. The same goes for accessories and props.
Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
8) How much effort, time and money does it usually take to create a Cosplay? What is the most common plan and methods you use to create a Cosplay? How important is wig styling and make up in all this?
The truth is that paying attention to every detail requires a lot of effort, money and time. I spend a lot of hours, sometimes even whole nights without sleeping to find what I want on the internet doing a lot of research on prices, quality, photos, countries of origin, taxes I will have to pay, talking to sellers about various things … it’s not that simple and you have to do a proper research. I’ve lost lots of money on wigs and uniforms I didn’t like and didn’t use enough or later found something better. Sometimes it might take months or years to complete a cosplay and get the result I want. Surely, from a financial perspective, I’ve spent a four-digit number on my uniforms so far.
My method isn’t specific. I might see something I like ( from accessories to clothes ) and start making a Cosplay. I might find a ready-made costume or I might create it. I do the same thing with wigs. If I can’t find a pre-styled one, I style it. A lot of times even pre-styled ones need to be fixed. Finding pre-styled and combed wigs costs a lot.
I consider wig styling and makeup to be more important than the costume itself, it brings the whole result to life. If it’s not done correctly, even if you have the best costume, the result is demoted. The same goes for the opposite too.
Elsa from Frozen 2
Poppy from Trolls
9) You offer your services upon payment where requested. What themes and what kind of events do you usually deal with? Do you consider your involvement with Cosplay a hobby or something more serious? How does that define the way you present your work?
I belong to the category of people who started Cosplaying to earn money. I saw costumes as an investment. I started when I decided to entertain kids at children’s parties. During first few years I didn’t take it too seriously only dressing up as Elsa from Frozen. Back then I also dealt with other things at the same time and I hadn’t thought about dealing only with that.
A few years ago two little girls were living one floor above me, Eva and Agapi. They often visited my home to play with my toys. That’s when I noticed how obsessed they were with Elsa from Frozen and since I also liked to sing her song, some time later I thought to do that at children’s parties. I started very timidly, since I had no prior experience with children. I thought having experience on stage would make it easier … But it wasn’t like that. By now, after many parties, I’ve found the right way to act around children and not lose their attention. I worked at a language center’s party with 70 kids present and I kept them for 3 hours entertained without any one of them leaving, it was unbelievable.
I’ve done events at schools, pre-schools, municipalities, playground parties, birthday parties at homes, stores, even hospitals and provinces. I go everywhere by car full of equipment. I love a lot what I do and it fills me completely. I want any child who suddenly sees me in front of him to remember seeing its favorite heroine forever and that it was the real one. I pay a lot of attention to this, children observe everything.
I get upset and angry whenever I see entertainers wearing cheap carnival costumes and appearing at children’s parties dressed up as children’s heroes destroying the magic … I consider it a crime … I understand that not everyone can afford it, nor have the time to choose contact lenses for all costumes … and that they are good and loved by children, but then they just shouldn’t appear as iconic characters ( Elsa, Spider-Man, Batman, Ariel etc ) and wear something neutral, colorful or be something like a fairy, princess, pirate, but not specific characters … I have seen an Elsa themed mascot who wasn’t wearing the head … an Ariel with fuchsia hair and a Cinderella with short-sightedness glasses. This shouldn’t happen … when you dress as someone the children love, you should respect the character completely and in every detail … they see their hero and their dreams in you … The same way an actor at the theater, won’t wear a carnival costume, the same way a children’s entertainer who plays a role must wear his costume.
Themed Children’s Parties with Ariel from The Little Mermaid
10) How did you feel the first time you appeared in public wearing a Cosplay due to your activities? Describe your experience to us.
The first time I got dressed up as something was when I appeared as Britney Spears at Soundmix Show with Natalia Germanou and Nikos Moutsinas, a TV show like Your Face Sounds Familiar, the first of its kind in Greece. I was 19 years old and got 5th place in the final. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I sang “Oops! … I Did It Again” and did Britney’s voice. After that I started singing professionally.
Video of the song “Into the Unknown”‘s Greek cover from Frozen 2 by Grace Cosplay Entertainments as Elsa – Video by George Papathanasopoulos
11) Do you think that Cosplay as a subject will continue to be part of your daily life for a long time? If so, what are your plans for the future, personally and professionally, in this area that you have not yet been able to implement? Is there a long term goal or personal dream that you want to achieve related to it?
I believe that Cosplay has entered my life for good by now and is here to stay! I think I’m thinking about it more than anything else! I want this bad period with COVID to end so that my parties can take place again and I have started a YouTube channel at the same time for which I’m preparing a lot of things on video for each Cosplay separately … it will have to do with music and various other things …
A dream of mine is to be photographed or to meet my favorite Cosplayer Traci Hines … ( I think we would get close ). I also want to go to a Cosplay convention abroad ( mainly Disney themed ) … to the USA if possible! And another goal is to create my own special place for children’s parties for young and old at some point …
Themed Children’s Parties with Elsa from Frozen
12) Do you think that roleplaying should be a key part of a Cosplayer or do you consider it practically inapplicable? Is it part of your activities?
Of course, I believe that roleplaying is a key part of being a Cosplayer and even more so when you do it for children! They may ask you questions about the character you are impersonating, which you haven’t even thought about! At parties I stay in my role until the time I leave.
Themed Children’s Parties with Jasmine from Alladin
13) Is there any important or funny experience you experienced during your time in the Cosplay scene that you will never forget? What has Cosplay offered you so far?
It’s really very difficult for me to choose! Every party is important to me, even if it’s related to only one child …
Cosplaying has offered me so much, I have met people I would have never gotten to known otherwise. During last the summer I hosted a children’s party in Schinoussa, where I had a wonderful time and met Anna Vissi. I entertained the children in the morning and she the adults in the evening … it was magical.
But my favorite moment is when, after a while the children get comfortable with me, some call me by the name of the character I’ dressed up as, telling me “Elsa I love you”! At first I felt embarrassed, because I felt like they were saying it to the heroine … but now I feel like they are saying it to me, especially when they hug me and tell me that, I don’t want anything else at that moment … I feel like I have accomplished my “mission” …
Themed Children’s Parties with Elsa from Frozen
14) What is the first thing you would say to someone who wants to get into Cosplay, either seriously or not? Do you think it’s easy to get started?
I would tell him not to do if he believes it’s something easy to do … It’s an expensive occupation if one wants to do it decently. It may be easy to start, but difficult to continue …
Themed Children’s Parties with Poppy from Trolls and Rapunzel from Tangled
15) Is there anything last you would like to share with our readers?
Everyone can get involved with Cosplay for different reasons … but I think that what those who do it have in common, is the love for the child they hide inside them … they never neglect it and never forget about it!
Themed Children’s Parties with Cinderella from Cinderella and Belle από from Beauty and the Beast
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