Communicating in a Mascot Costume

Mascots should never speak! When the person wearing the costume speaks to patrons while wearing the mascot costume, it ruins the illusion for children. When you speak while wearing a mascot costume, your voice will be extremely muffled. Not only will it be hard to hear or understand what you’re saying, but it will also sound like a normal human being.

You must remember, children actually believe that the costume is an actual living character- not a person wearing a costume!! Also, in most cases, the same person will not be wearing the costume every single time. Each person who wears the costume will have a different voice.

Chances are, you will get at least a handful of children who will ask why the character won’t speak to them. If the mascot has a guide (which they should if they are doing a meet and greet!), the guide can give the child any number of answers (ie: his throat is sore from singing earlier that day, he’s saving his voice for the show, he’s shy, etc- be creative!).

It’s a good idea to have a written description of how your character acts. That way, every person who wears the costume will know exactly how they are supposed to act. For example, if your mascot is supposed to have a shy personality, you wouldn’t want one person to be jumping around and being outgoing and the next person in the costume being shy and playing the actual character. Consistency is key!

Mascot Acting Tips #1

Acting in a mascot character costume is MUCH different than traditional acting. Mascot acting goes beyond theatre. In fact, it's bigger than theatre! In most cases, when you're acting in a mascot costume, you are in front of crowds of hundreds to thousands of people. Your typical movements will not bring your character to life. Now is the time to be larger than life!

Often times, unexperienced actors are put in mascot costumes and sent out in front of the public before learning anything about acting in this type of costume. This can result in a very boring, lifeless, and ineffective character.

Tip #1: BECOME the character

Once you put on that mascot costume, you have become the character! Leave your inhibitions behind. You must remember, to the public, you are the character. This is especially true with children. Don't be yourself- this is your time to shine and have fun!

Tip #2: Act Larger Than Life

Huge, exaggerated movements are imperative to bringing a mascot to life- especially when in front of a massive crowd, such as a stadium- you have to project the character to those directly in front of you as well as at the top of the stands! Remember- regular movements look like tiny movements when in costume (all that extra padding and fur diminishes what you would typically think are large movements). Stand in front of a mirror and you will see how large the movements must be to really bring the character to life.

Tip #3: Be Creative!

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a mascot character simply walking around and waving. How boring! Be creative with your character...what kind of character is it? If it's an animal, how would that animal move if it were real?

Tip#4: Use Your Body Language To Portray Emotion

Humans have one key tool to portray emotion that mascot characters don't: a moveable face! Mascots are all body as far as life- the character's head is not able to illustrate different emotions. Because of this, you must use your body language and movement to project the emotion of the character. And remember, big motions!

The following are two videos that exemplify good and bad mascot movement. Note how in the first video, the mascot is wandering aimlessly and the movements are not exaggerated. After watching the first video, watch the second and note how much more life the mascot has. This is due to the exaggerated movements and energy of the actor! Remember- this is VERY important to bringing your character to life!

That's all for this edition of Mascot Acting Tips- check back often for more tips!