Dressing up is one of my favorite things to do. Whether it's for Halloween, Fan Expo or just for the hell of it, I always have fun props and costumes on hand and I'm always working on making new ones to use.
Cosplay is awesome. But how awesome is it when the voice actor of a Star Wars cartoon cosplays as that character? Totally Awesome!
That is exactly what happened to Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on The Clone Wars.
Ashley has very quickly become one of my favorite geek celebrities, due to her awesome line of
Star Wars clothes for girls and great attitude. (Yes, I know I blog about her
a lot, but I can't help it) She totally stands behind women kicking ass and wants to make sure that young girls are brought up to believe that they can do anything.
After seeing so many girls at cons dressed as her character, she decided that she wanted to try it out as well, with amazing results.
here's what she had to say about it.
For kids, it’s completely normal to dress up in costume.
When I was a little girl, I used to dress up all the time, and not
just for Halloween. We had a giant dress-up bag full of costumes! My
sister and I would tear through that bag during playtime, and every day
we were different characters.
We had beautiful princess dresses, a pirate costume, a Punky Brewster
outfit, a Cousin Itt costume from "The Addams Family," an authentic
Disney Alice in Wonderland dress (my favorite!) and, as seen in the
photo below, a Karate Kid costume. I was a total tomboy and for my
school pictures, I insisted on wearing my Karate Kid uniform.
Why, then, is it considered nerdy, weird or socially unacceptable by
the general population for adults to dress up as their favorite
characters, outside of Halloween?
As any true fanboy or fangirl knows, dressing up in costume is called
“cosplay,” and, as adults, many of us take this hobby very seriously.
We spend hours perfecting these costumes and find a lot of pride and joy
in debuting our works at local conventions or events. Go to Dragon*Con
in Atlanta and you will behold some of the most amazing costumes you’ve
ever seen, complete with a parade through the downtown streets
showcasing the meticulous work of many hardcore fans.
I bring this up because, at times, I feel as if I live in two separate worlds that seem completely different – but the fans are actually more alike than they think.
My husband, David Eckstein,
played Major League Baseball for 10 seasons, and during that time I
probably went to about 1,000 baseball games. I live the life of a sci-fi
loving fangirl and also the life of a passionate sports fan.
Almost every time I tell someone outside of my geeky world about the
fact that I go to sci-fi conventions, I am usually met with a rude
comment similar to, “Do you see a lot of freaks dressed up in costumes?”
Excuse me!? Why is this freaky? Why is it weird? I cannot even begin
to tell you all of the creative ways I’ve seen sports fans dress up at
games. I’ve seen guys who body paint their bare chests with their
favorite team’s colors, people dressed up as their team’s mascot, lots
of face paint, temporary tattoos, crazy hats, wild color-coordinating
outfits. Some fans practically look like clowns the way they are decked
out head to toe in support of their favorite team.
So I ask – Please tell me how this is any different than a sci-fi fan
showing up at a convention in costume. The difference is that one form
of dressing up is widely socially accepted and the other is not.
However, both types of fans are passionate about the genre that they
love, and they want to express themselves through what they wear. I
actually see a lot of common ground between the two fan bases, and there
is no difference to me. I fall into both fan bases, and I have
elaborate sports outfits for all of the teams my husband has played for.
I also enjoy dressing up as my favorite characters, and I had the ultimate cosplay experience a couple of months ago.
For the first time, I got to dress up as Ahsoka Tano from "Star Wars:
The Clone Wars." For those of you who don’t know, I am the voice of
Ahsoka for the hit animated series on Cartoon Network, but I am also a
major "Star Wars" fan.
As the voice of Ahsoka, I simply go into the recording studio and
record my lines for the show. There is no need to ever dress up as the
character, because they only need our voices to bring the character to
life.
However, I am also a fan, and year after year I have been going to
conventions, seeing hundreds of girls dressed up as Ahsoka, and secretly
wishing I, too, could someday try on the costume. Well, with the help
of my friends, my wish was granted, and I got to dress up as Ahsoka for
the day! This was just me, as a fan, having fun!
All of a sudden, I reverted back to when I was a little girl. I
wanted to have a light saber battle and help save the galaxy! I really
felt like I was a Jedi. I felt strong, and it was very empowering.
Then it hit me: As a little girl, I could only dream about being
these fantastical characters and saving the world, but as an adult, I
realized I could actually BE a real-life Jedi and do great things. For
example, the 501st Legion and The Rebel Legion are both worldwide groups
of "Star Wars" fans who dress up in costume, raise an enormous amount
of money for multiple charities every year, and attend all sorts of
events bringing smiles to everyone they come in contact with. They have
taken their love of cosplay and turned it into an opportunity to change
people’s lives.
Unfortunately, I don’t own the Ahsoka costume in these photos, and
sitting through four hours of makeup is not something that I can do on a
daily basis. But being in costume for the day made me realize that I
don’t have to just dream about being a superhero – I
have the power to be a real life superhero. I have the power to control
my destiny, make my own decisions, do so much good with my time, and
live my life the Jedi way.
You don’t have to dress up as your favorite character to change the world; however, it’s certainly more fun in costume. - Geek Out, CNN
I think it's so amazing that she speaking out for the geek community. I realize that cosplay has become more mainstream in the last few years, but I know that a lot of people still turn up their noses at it. I bet if everyone tried it at least once, we would have a lot more understanding and probably a lot more cosplayers.
So, Thank You Ashley for stepping up and supporting your followers (and for making awesome clothes)
