Discovering your Halloween Costume

Halloween is the actor’s ultimate holiday! Check this month’s blog to maximize your Halloween character.

Fall is in full swing, the temperature is cooling down, and Halloween is upon us.

As an acting studio, we can’t help but love the creativity of the Halloween season, specifically the dressing up parts. It’s the one time of year that everyone plays dress-up, not just us actors.

It’s a chance for everyone to find characteristics within themselves that they can play with for one night. Something we as actors are quite familiar with. When deciding a character or costume you may want to ask yourself which:

Characters you feel connected to or look like, who works for you?

Characters are completely different than you and require more play, who contrasts you?

Characters that work better with others as a team, who is your crew?

What Works For You?

So who will you be? What character or monster or creative idea will you come up with?

If you’re not sure yet, never fear! The staff of The Actor’s Scene is here to help you “Discover Your Costume”.

Start with what works for you?

Sometimes it’s just a no-brainer- there are characters out there that, for better or worse, are you.

It could be that your personality matches a character like Jenna Ortega playing Wednesday: “I was always compared to Wednesday because I’m very dry and I don’t think people can tell when I”m being serious or when I’m being sarcastic” -Teen Vogue

Or it could be your look. Most of us have heard some form of “you look like…”, take this and make it work for your costume. Just like when TAS Coach Julianne Vazquez dressed up as “Mirabel from ENCANTO! I dressed up as her for my first year of teaching because my students compared us a lot. Trust, I got that comparison before.”

You could also go with a vibe that works for you. Check out Coach Adam Breazeale’s favorite costumes: “Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. Leah (TAS Office manager and Coach- as well as Adam’s wife) and I always make a huge effort for Halloween. My favorite costume in recent memory was probably Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, I love gothic horror and Victorian era/pseudo fantasy vibes. I would also have to say the Ghost of My Single Life, which is the costume I came up with for the Halloween the weekend before my wedding, also somewhat gothic horror.”

Know Your Character:

“A person should always choose a costume, that is in direct contrast, to her own personality” -Lucy Van Pelt, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Another direction you could go is, what contrasts you?

Coach Linda Meadows, one of our sweetest coaches, took this to heart with her favorite costume: “My most favorite character I have been for Halloween is Jennifer Check from Jennifer’s Body. It’s a fun and comedic cult classic!” Going with a character that contrasts you, gives you a chance to really play!

Halloween is the perfect time to play with characters and costumes! We at TAS know this, especially when two of our coaches picked the same contrasting character as their favorite costume: The Joker.

Coach Nyah Bass said: “During 2020, I dressed up as the Joker. I created the iconic makeup & found the PERFECT vibe that I was going for!”

And Coach Jeanne Morales: “The Joker- Joaquin Phoenix version. I have many more up my sleeve for this year that I will be filming ahead of time.”

Neither of these coaches strike one as a Joker type, BUT they leaned into the fun of playing with something different and it worked!

Where is Your Crew?:

“Sisters! All Hallows Even has become a night of frolic! Where (people) wear costumes and run amok!”-Winifred Sanderson, Hocus Pocus

Now if none of these ideas resonate with you, it’s time to ask where is your crew?

Grab your closest friends or loved ones and come up with a creative idea together.

It could be as simple as just you and one other person. Here’s what Office Manager Leah Merritt’s had to say about her favorite costumes favorite Halloween costumes with husband (and TAS Coach), Adam Breazeale: “It’s a tie between Waffle House (Adam was the cook and I was an “all star”) and Sweeney Todd & Mrs. Lovett (from “Sweeney Todd”)”

Both awesome couple costumes!

Or call on your whole crew like Coach Caryn Achaibar: “Me and my best friends call ourselves the cheetah girls, there’s four of us and four of them so we each picked our favorite character and we always wear the color associated with that cheetah. Two Halloweens ago we all were able to spend Halloween together and we fulfilled our destiny of becoming the cheetah girls. I wish Chanel, and it is the most favorite costume I’ve ever worn and we definitely did a full performance of “Together we Can””

That sounds like the best of times!

TAS Operations Director, Elizabeth Alcaraz, shared her Halloween tradition- “Each year we get together with our friends and go all out! Last year we were Soap Opera stars and created a full storyline- with character backgrounds, subtexts, and objectives. We even filmed a whole video! But my favorite was the year we were The Golden Girls (forever #TeamDorothy), we committed to our characters 100% and even sang “Thank You For Being A Friend” while walking down the street. It was awesome!”

Next Up: Bring it to Life!

Now that you have a character picked out, what’s next?

There is no right or wrong way to do Halloween: Some people just buy a costume- some make them from scratch. Some add makeup and wigs, others choose not to. The important thing is that you have fun and make memories!

For those that are looking to elevate their character, check out these acting tips below (for non-actors!)

Whatever direction you go with your costume, and character, remember to find the joy in it!

If discovering your costume isn’t enough and you find yourself wanting to dive into characters deeper, it sounds like you are in the right place! The Actor’s Scene specializes in helping you find your place in all the playing. Check out one of our many classes that will help you discover your costume, your character, and you!

Ready to get started? Reach out today!

TASFRONTDESK@GMAIL.COM

770-904-6646

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About The Author

Kirsten Krehbiel

Kirsten Krehbiel is an Atlanta based actress, director, and writer who enjoys bringing people new truths through the art of storytelling. She has a love of acting both on camera and on stage, having been lucky enough to be a part of incredible productions in both worlds. Kirsten joined the TAS team in 2020 as a coach, a job she loves because it lets her watch first hand as students grow and gain self confidence as actors. When she is not creating or coaching, you can find Kirsten hanging out with her grumpy cat on their back porch.

Discovering your Halloween Costume