Image Taken by Ron Wheeler. Edited by Bob Woodfin
By David Doub What got you into Wonder Woman and Cosplay in General? When I turned 40 I felt like I needed to give back to the community. I had just finished competing in 3 bodybuilding shows, now had an additional chunk of time added back to my calendar. I was aware there was a cosplayer in Las Vegas who suited up as Wonder Woman and served her local hospitals. She also sold Wonder Woman costumes on Etsy. This Cosplayer VivaWonderWoman was one I really looked up to. I started to volunteer at Dallas Children’s Hospital as Wonder Woman. 5 months into serving as WW at the hospital I stumbled upon a charitable Cosplay group. I joined them and then after about a year with them, realized I WAS a CosPlayer! Not only was I doing volunteer events as Wonder Woman, I was going to ComicCons!! What are some of your favorite moments being Wonder Woman? I have so many. Anytime I am able to bring the Wondie magic to the kids. Hands down 100% my favorite moments. A few years ago, I traveled to NY City for the Holidays. I brought my UD Replica Wonder Woman suit with me. I dressed in layers over it and headed to Rockefeller Center. I had to take pics in front of the TREE. It was in the 30’s that night and felt like upper 20’s. I began to take layers of clothing off, was stopped by a policeman. He said, “you can’t do that here” I replied, “do what, take a picture in front of the tree”? He said, “you can’t be in costume taking money for pictures”. I said “oh no. I don’t take money. I am here to take a pic in my suit in front of the tree”. So, I began and had a small line of people who wanted a pic with me. I took pictures that night with over 20 people. The last was a little girl about 5. She said “Wonder Woman!!! Arent you cold”? I replied “No! Feel me. I am warm”. She placed her little COLD hand on my neck and yelled “YOU ARE WONDER WOMAN. MOM SHE IS WONDER WOMAN. You are not cold at all you are warm”. I waited for close to ten minutes for her to go down the street and around the corner. At that moment I was FREEZING!! I put my layers on and went on about my business with no one knowing what was underneath… What sort of time and effort go into becoming Wonder Woman? ery good question. There are a few factors here. When I am looking to do a whole new look, I have to do the research of the comics/drawing, or reference point. Being I am not crafty I then set out to see if one of my 2 main suit makers can replicate what I am looking to do. If not then set out to find whom can make the costume. That can take a few days to few months. Once the full costume is in hand I am getting ready, it takes me 1.5-2 hours to get Wonder Woman ready. Her makeup, though is simple requires attention to details and ensuring I am looking “ageless”. Her hair is always curled perfectly and big. I pay attention to all the details. What’s one Wonder Woman costume you haven’t done that you really want to do? Soooo many! For a few years the Golden Eagle Armor was on my list. Now that the new Wonder Woman 1984 movie is coming out, I am eager to put my own spin on the winged look. I have always wanted to do her nemesis The Cheetah. Took me over a year to get all the pieces together. I will be debuting her this year in 2020 at FanExpo Dallas in March. Stay on the look out for her! What is Cause To Play? Cause to Play is my heart. IT is what keeps me doing the Cosplay. My partner Michael Finn and I started Cause to Play a little over a year ago. It is a charity group that is focused on the Children in our community of Dallas and Fort Worth. We do events for and with needy, disadvantaged, sick, disabled and children with special needs. We suit up and done these personas of Heroes, Disney Characters, StarWars ect to bring that magic to those who need to believe and hang on to that glimmer of magic. We partner with other organizations like MakeAWish, Wounded Soldiers, Heroes for Hope to name a few, to help them fundraise. We are currently seeking our 501C3 designation. Once we have that will also be taking in donations and spreading those to the groups we partner with. What is your role with Cause to Play? How did you get involved? I am a Co-Founder of Cause to Play. We knew we wanted to really do something for our community. To do what we wanted, we realized that we needed to create a safe place and a fun one for our volunteers. We could not do what we do without the outstanding volunteers we have that suit up and spread their love. With that we wanted to ensure we were focused on doing events that we can make an impact within our community. What are some of your favorite moments with Cause to Play? Just one? The moments I cherish are the ones that are not necessarily pictured or really spoken about. They are the ones where you get that hug from that little one, they won’t let go. They hold on to you, you feel their love through that hug, you feel their heart. I read somewhere a long time ago, before I started volunteering with kids. This is what it said “When a child hugs you, don’t ever be the first one to let go. You don’t know how badly they need that hug”. That has resonated with me. I can tell you I have had some of the BEST hugs. I can only attribute those to Cause to Play. How do you see Cause to Play growing in the future? Once we obtain our 501C3, I envision us to really be able to grow by leaps and bounds. When you can take donations in and are able to make a direct impact in your community, the word spreads. With that will come events. We have a steady stream of Volunteer Requests. I anticipate that growing more this year as we continue our mission. Who are some of your favorite local cosplayers and creators? Explain what makes them so cool! Viva Wonder Woman was the first Wonder Woman cosplayer that hit my radar screen. At the time 3.5-4 years ago she was running her own 501C3 charity in Las Vegas, and was also a costume maker. As I set aside my pretty pennies to get 2 of her suits, I began really thinking “I can do what she is doing. I need to do what she is doing”. I stumbled upon another volunteer group and got my feet wet with them for a year, and became a cosplayer. After that year Viva Wonder Woman had made me several suits and became a friend. I had the pleasure of serving alongside her in Las Vegas with her charity, she was WW I was Captain Marvel. I learned so much about her and why she was driven to do what she does. Her heart is HUGE. I realized while looking at other Amazon sisters in her suits that the majority of us all had one thing in common, we used Viva Wonder Woman’s suits to serve the Children in our community. The other thing that makes her so cool, is that when I would come to her with my crazy ideas of Wonder Woman suits to make, she never turned me away. She literally crated my DC Super Hero Girls Wonder Woman, so I could wear it for the kids that knew the Cartoon series. Who does that? Who takes on a commission that they have never done and turns it around looking exactly like the cartoon? Viva Wonder Woman that’s who! Today Viva WW is Miss Vivalicious has turned her shop into vintage dresses that feature pop culture designs. She will continue to make WW suits so we can evangelize and spread LOVE as only Wonder Woman can. What are some of your favorite local events in North Texas? I love FanExpo, FanDays, North Texas Comic Book Show, Women of WonderCon, Afest, Allcon, Arlingcon Cosplay Prom, Gala-Con Alllll the conventions really. I really love how our North Texas Cosplayers are so invested in their builds. I am blown away at the talent we have right here in our community. So anytimne I can go out to a convention and ohhh and ahhhhh I will. https://www.facebook.com/DFWWonderWoman/ https://www.facebook.com/causetoplay/ |
AuthorNorth Texas Nerd is a site for news, reviews, interviews, and opinions about all pop culture and geeky things happening and being made in North Texas. Archives
April 2020
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