Life as a Suit Character

We have all seen them.  Whether at a theme park, a shopping centre, at a sporting or outdoor event or festival, it is not uncommon to see someone dressed in as a Suit Character or Mascot.  I'm sure, like me, you have a photo of yourself taken with one, whether you were aged 5 or 50, as it doesn't matter what age you are, we still love these characters!

As an actor by trade, I have spent many years performing and parading as various characters - whether it was popular cartoon characters in a theme park, or company / team mascots at sporting (or other) events.  A lot of people think doing this work is great fun, and 99% of the time it is, but it is also hard work and not as easy as it looks.  But if its something you've wanted to know more about then read ahead:

You can't be claustrophobic - You are in a confined space and whilst the head area usually allows breathing room, it is often strapped to you and you have limited vision.  But you can't let this affect how the character acts or moves.

Be prepared to sweat - most suits are made of a thick padded material.  So it's like wearing 5 winter coats all at once.  But as they say - if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

Ideally you are only in the suit for a maximum of 20mins at a time, with a 15-20min break - but if you are working for a private or corporate enterprise (that don't really know the rules of suit character / mascot work) they may think it is perfectly acceptable for you to be in the suit for up to 60mins at a time.  Whilst this is not really acceptable, unfortunately it is common practice.  I personally believe it becomes a workplace health & safety issue - if you pass out whilst in costume because you haven't had a suitable break, then whomever hired you becomes responsible.

You must research your character - corporate mascots may be okay, but if you are playing a particular character that is already established then it is your responsibility to find out more about them.  What mannerisms do they have?  Do they have any signature moves or habits?  Then, as an actor, you must physically overact your character.  You have just put on a suit which is larger than life, so when waving to children your moves need to match!

You must NEVER talk when in costume - this is one of the reasons you have a minder / chaperone.  Not only does talking in a suit sound terrible, but it also can ruin the image of a character to the audience - especially if you are around children.  Your chaperone should be doing all the talking.

You need a great chaperone!  We've already established you are hot, you can't see well, you have to be physically energetic - but you can't do all this without a chaperone!  A great chaperone should be helping you get in and out of the costume, checking their watch to ensure you have your breaks on time, and also have researched the character.  They will be talking to the children for you and sometimes answering questions.  It comes across as very unprofessional if they don't know who the character is or can't answer questions.  They also need to point out when children are waving or are next to you - as you can't always see them, and ensure that when you are walking / roaming around that the path ahead of you is clear as it would be very embarrassing if you ran into something.

The worst thing about being in a suit is when some member of the public thinks it is funny to hit you on the head (whether they have malicious intention or not), the feeling is like someone is actually hitting you directly on the head.  A good chaperone will always be watching you to ensure this doesn't happen, but sometimes even a great chaperone will miss a sneaky hit from behind.

But despite all this, I have always found it a very rewarding role, and absolutely love what I do - to the point where I'm even considering putting together a training course for people wanting to do suit character / mascot and chaperone / minder work.  It's not regular work (unless you're working in a theme park - and they have excellent training systems in place), but if you are wanting add this kind of work to your acting resume, it can be lots of fun!

Some of the characters & mascots I have played over the years include:

* Mascots: Care for Kids, St George Dragon 'Happy', Broncos 'Buck', Literacy Planet 'Word Monster'; Easter Bunny; Quest Newspapers 'Questy'

* Suit Characters:  Rugrats (Angelica & Chucky), Dora Explorer, Eliza Thornberry, Wiggles (Wags the Dog, Henry Octopus & Dorothy Dinosaur), Ice Age (Sid), Sylvannian Families (Freya), Spongebob Squarepants, Curious George (Man in Yellow Suit), Minions (Kevin), Paw Patrol (Fire Dog Marshall), Three Little Pigs (Red Pig), Blue's Clues (Blue)

You can view some photos on my public facebook page under the acting photo album:  www.facebook.com/missrachealleigh

Red Billabong

It's not very often that I get to go to the movies - even less often to a non-Bollywood movie - and rarely to a movie premiere... but this week I had the utmost pleasure of attending the Gold Coast premiere of the Sparke Films production, Red Billabong.  A new Australian film that falls perfectly into the cult film category.  This film was not only made by some local Gold Coast talent, but also on a shoestring budget, with the whole film being shot in around 5 weeks.  Despite the short time frame, the movie is no lesser of quality than any Hollywood blockbuster, and great detail has been put into both the characters, and the story development.

I went to see this film having no expectations, and no idea really what it was about other than a mythical 'creature' in a Billabong.  Writer & Director, Luke Sparke, has taken a classic Australian/Aboriginal creature and turned it into a intriguing thriller/suspense story.  The main characters are brothers Nick (Dan Ewing  - Home and Away; Power Rangers) and Tristan (Tim Pocock - X-Men: Wolverine; Dance Academy); whom came across very much as an Australian version of the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean (Supernatural).  Drawn together to determine the future of their grandfather's property, the brothers need to make the decision of whether to pass the land to the local Aboriginal Tribe as per their grandfather's wishes, or to sell to an interested property developer for an attractive sum of money.  

Supported by an attractive cast of Australian actors including Sophie Don and Ben Chisholm, the story has a few twists and has an ending which could make this a stand alone movie, or open to a sequel.  There is little evidence of the shoestring budget - the cinematography is of a quality I wouldn't have expected for a low-budget feature, and the CGI 'creature' is well integrated within the film - there is no cheesy B-grade evidence here.  In my eyes, Red Billabong is A-grade production all the way!  Kudos to the production team, crew and cast on a brilliant movie!!

The film is screening in a few cinemas around Brisbane, and also in NSW and VIC.  If it's not screening at your local cinema, then call them and ask them to screen it - this is a movie that is best seen on the big screen.  You can find out more on their Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/RedBillabong

Now, I should point out that I am not an official movie reviewer, nor am I getting any benefit out of this film (other than the viewing pleasure).  These comments are purely my own thoughts after having seen the film, and as an actor myself, I feel it is important to support our local film industry - after all, anything that creates work for local performers, especially in Queensland, is something I'm passionate about!