Nerd culture is on the rise, just look at the attendance figures from the last Comic-Con in San Diego. A big part of these public geek gatherings is cosplay — the art of dressing in costume outside of Halloween. It’s actor-practioners say it has a surprising amount to teach performers.
For instance, cosplay offers a chance to play a new role in a setting where you’ll get immediate feedback from a crowd. Jennifer Kretchmer, also known by her stage name Jennifer Segal, got hooked on cosplay after she attended her first San Diego Comic-Con. She’s since dressed up as characters from World of Warcraft and “Silent Hill,” in addition to Neil Gaiman’s beloved comic book “Sandman.”
Kretchmer says that part of cosplay is gaining an understanding of the character the same way she would for a theater or TV role. “I’m kind of interpreting in my head what they would do from an actor’s perspective,” she says.
There’s also the inspiration that comes from piecing together odds and ends to create costumes. “I believe in building an external world for characters whenever I’m acting,” she says. By putting on pieces of the costume, “you automatically feel that you’re absorbing part of the
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