+

[Adnarim]

I'm just curious as to what the cosplay community thinks about Dramatic and/or Horror-like skits? As I understand that most people liked to be entertained through comedy but when you come across a nicely done dramatic skit: What do you think?
How do you feel about them?
Would you honestly like to see more people do them?

Again, I'm just curious.

[supergeekgirl]

I'd like to see more well-done drama skits. I've done a few and won awards with them, most notably a dead-serious, slightly horrifying solo Hikaru no Go skit which won Best in Show at a con. As I've said before in similar threads, I've also seen fantastic dramatic skits not win a thing. Notably, there was a well-choreographed Naruto skit about five, six years ago at Ohayocon. I had not watched ANY Naruto at the time, but I was mesmerized by the movement of the actors and the way they portrayed their characters' emotional struggle in such a short time... on a stage hundreds of feet away. The did not win anything. At. All.

They tend to go over a bit better at mid-size sci-fi cons where we're used to seeing semi-serious presentations. One that used horror in particular won Best in Class for... Journeyman, I think? Anyway, at Archon. They did a presentation about nightmares where these creatures kept coming out from under a bed and dancing around the person sleeping. Really creepy skit.

I've been trying to get the International Costumers Guild archives curator to put together a reel of great serious presentations like he's done with great humorous presentations.

[Talossa]

For me, drama skits are the same as others. If it's well-done, I like it! At anime cons I've been to there have been quite a few dramatic presentations that have won awards. A drama skit can be just as entertaining to watch as comedy - and a poorly-done one can be just as painful.

[Slum Drunk]

I won best performance for my "Ring" costume.

I built a 5' x 6' TV with a lycra screen-- rear projected the part of the Ring where she comes out of the well and... crawled out of the lycra "screen."

Serious skits are my most favorite of all.

[LordDraco3]

I like them the best, I feel like a lot more thought goes into them than your typical "just for fun/laughs" skit. And it's also fun to destroy the happy-go-lucky atmosphere that most cons have.

Dramatic:
Here's one I was in the audience for, and it was chilling at how silent everyone was, followed by a long standing ovation. Best in Show:
http://youtu.be/VzK34H4Yd14

Horror:
And here's one I was a part of that was one of the most fun things I've ever done. The reactions we got were priceless! We even made some people cry. Mission accomplished. (Also, we went on RIGHT after one of those "magical girls talk about friendship" skits )
View from further back: http://youtu.be/yLCqGNjY-MA
From right behind the judges table: http://youtu.be/uBCeEy41kVc

[Tsukino Sora]

I would love to perform a dramatic skit, but I'm afraid it won't go over too well with the crowd...

[Slum Drunk]

Originally Posted by LordDraco3

I like them the best, I feel like a lot more thought goes into them than your typical "just for fun/laughs" skit. And it's also fun to destroy the happy-go-lucky atmosphere that most cons have.

Dramatic:
Here's one I was in the audience for, and it was chilling at how silent everyone was, followed by a long standing ovation. Best in Show:
http://youtu.be/VzK34H4Yd14

Horror:
And here's one I was a part of that was one of the most fun things I've ever done. The reactions we got were priceless! We even made some people cry. Mission accomplished. (Also, we went on RIGHT after one of those "magical girls talk about friendship" skits )
View from further back: http://youtu.be/yLCqGNjY-MA
From right behind the judges table: http://youtu.be/uBCeEy41kVc

OHHH MYYYY GAAAAAAWD <3 Pyramid Head

[Adnarim]

I wish there were more dramatic skits at conventions. *sigh* I agree it is sad when some very awesome dramatic skits don't get anything.

@LordDraco3: Those are some awesome skits! I had the privilege of seeing Pokemon Sulfur at the convention and that was definitely one of my favorites (as there were so many that were amazing there)

@Tsukino Sora: Don't be afraid! I say just go for it! If you have an idea, work it out and just do it. Don't knock it before you try it. XD

[Amanita]

I loved that heartstrings one, beautiful choreography!

Here's another saucy noodle skit that I love the hell out of, it's a nice dramatic piece that sums up a lot of the Treaty of Versailles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BQaMuUFd9M

I would love to get a group together and do up a skit- perhaps my cosplay partners for 2013 will be willing, if I can teach them choreography

BTW, I watched Pokemon Sulfur, and laughed when Pyramid Head tore the skin off that darn Jigglypuff!

[LordDraco3]

Originally Posted by Tsukino Sora

I would love to perform a dramatic skit, but I'm afraid it won't go over too well with the crowd...

Good idea: Dramatic skit with a solid or interesting/entertaining idea backing it. Are you afraid your idea won't go over? What are you thinking about doing? The audience enjoys pretty much anything that isn't a dance or meme skit.

Bad idea: Dramatic skit based on fandom. I'm sure we've all seen the trainwrecks that are pairings/shipping skits that take themselves way too seriously...

@Adnarim: Thanks! I'm happy to hear

[Illa Scriptor]

It means a lot to be linked to in this thread! <3

I obviously adore serious skits, since they're about half of what I try to do with my group. I think drama works well in a convention setting if done well because fans of the series will connect with it on a deep emotional level (what fan doesn't have ALL OF THE FEELS about certain characters/moments/pairings?) while if told simply enough, even non-fans will be able to appreciate the story.

There are two methods to approaching a serious skit: there is the "pure emotion or moment" skit and the "tell a story" skit.

Right this minute I can't think of a specific example of the first except for Heart Strings so I apologize for the vanity. This type of skit is really popular for Princess Tutu skits, and a lot of serious dance skits. Heart Strings appealed to fans and non-fans because it was simple- fans got the characters while non-fans got the relationship. It wasn't narrative or anything 'real' (the beauty of dance is it can be very abstract) but it conveyed mastery and desperation.

The second type is really popular for dramatic skits, and it's the more narrative type. This can be very tricky, as it is difficult to sum up a story in just a few minutes without cramming, dumbing down, or missing parts. However, it's been done very well by quite a few groups:
Cupcake Cosplay's Utena skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaBDfn8Gd-s
Umineko skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55sJXfj5Bew
Twinzik's Howl's Moving Castle skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjen4c1ol74

In conclusion, I love dramatic skits and want to see more of them. 8D

[Ali]

I really love a well-done dramatic/horror skit, and recently that's what I've been working on performing almost exclusively, but I think they're honestly the most difficult to pull off.

When one is done well, I think it's more timeless and resonating than most comedic skits, but as a result, I think they're a lot more rare. It's tough to fit a whole emotional arc into two minutes, especially when you can't assume your audience knows the characters or series. Too often, people then resort to lots of info-dumping dialogue, which doesn't do a whole lot for me. I think my favorite dramatic skits are relatively wordless, and establish relationships and plot through actions. (Which is why good performers are also a bit of an essential.)

But when all the elements come together, dramatic skits can be really incredible.

ETA: One thing I'd recommend for people looking to get into these, in addition to watching skit videos (which you should definitely, definitely do) is watch dramatic music videos or movie trailers, that manage to tell a story or at least emotionally engage the audience in only a minute or two. There are lessons there!

[CapsuleCorp]

It's not that people want to be entertained through comedy, it's that they have never really been offered an alternative. At least, not at anime cons. I regularly attend CostumeCon, and comedy is actually somewhat rare, tehre.

I've seen plenty of dramatic presentations and I've done a couple. The ones that stick in your head (and win awards) are the ones that competently tell a story, even one as short as "boy meets girl," in 2 minutes or less. They're accessible to all fans, not just those who know the series/source. And it really helps to have impactful costumes, too. The performance should enhance the costume, not take away from it or be solely about the performance - if you could do the same presentation while wearing paper bags, it may hurt you in the end.

[Ends Beginning]

My group did our very first skit entry together and we did a dramatic piece. We acted out the Maes Hughes funeral with a small musical piece in the middle to change it a tiny bit.
We actually had a huge problem the day fo the convention the person who was suppose to be Roy Mustang suddenly was more interested in massive group photoshoot then final prep for the skit and dropped out hours before the masquerade. Luckily I had an extra and she was willing to run to the dealer's room find a decent wig and gloves and pulled off Roy instead fo Havoc. She had only hours to learn her lines and what she had to do, but she pulled it off.
We went to the stage and my little Elicia got really bad stage fright mostly thanks to the people talking about "Oh it's so scary" "Don't fall off the stage" "Don't forget your lines" BS. I calmed her down and we finally got on stage and pulled off our skit flawlessly. We took home the Emcee's award and he praised us for pulling together like a "real" family.
The point of the story is have a back up who actually cares about the group and work as a family rather then a group of friends who want something. We went in just wanting to show we could do a skit on stage and never expected an award.