So you’re the one who gets to wear the Easter Bunny costume this weekend, huh?
Or maybe you’ve been chosen to be a mascot for a school, team or other organization. Here are some tips to really bring your costume to life!
- Mascots should never speak, so communicate with exaggerated gestures and action.
- Mascot costumes limit vision, so there should always be someone with the mascot to guide them and to be their voice, if needed. For example, if a child asks why the character isn’t talking, the escort can come up with a creative excuse like, “He’s shy, but he might laugh if you tickle his belly.”
- You can communicate laughter by bringing your hands up to the mascot’s mouth and nodding the mascot head forward in a rapid motion. You can blow a kiss or draw a heart in the air and point to convey affection. You can cover your eyes and shake your knees to express being scared, and then peek out from under the hand to get a laugh. And you can feign shyness with a sideways forward kick and a hooked arm air punch as if to say “awww, shucks!”.
- Remember that children are often frightened by costumes. So keep your gestures smaller and slower with them.
- Hugs are generally welcomed from someone who looks like a giant stuffed animal toy, but be gentle and don’t run the risk of getting into a confrontational situation with a teen or adult who doesn’t welcome them.
- To be really animated and connect with both adults and children, remember to change your elevation every now and then. Get up on your toes, jump up and down, or climb up on something (if it’s safe). Get low by kneeling, or laying or falling down.
- Do your best to take on the mannerisms of the character you’re portraying. Hippity-hoppity!
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