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darthyagi

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Hey, all.

 

I just did a cursory search of the boards here, and I didn't see this topic anywhere. I had a few questions about it, and was wondering if anybody could shed some light on it? I have a troop tonight—Star Wars in Concert, Tokyo!!—and I got to thinking. My costume is good, but I still have trouble figuring out what to do with myself around the public.

 

This isn't my first troop. I did several while I was with Alpine Garrison (miss you guys!!) and I've done one event and a private party here in Japan. But I'm still awkward around people. So I've come to the hivemind for help.

 

Here are my questions:

Did it take time for you to work into or develop a character?

What things do people generally react well/poorly to?

How did you eventually settle on how you act now (kind of like the first, but different.)

 

Any help would be appreciated. I've noticed that in some previous events that some troopers are really active and fun with the crowd, but I feel like I'm just standing stalk-still and waiting for someone to come take a picture with me. Which isn't as much fun for them or me.

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My $0.02. Now that I've done a variety of troops...

 

I'm always ready to answer questions about my backstory, what's going on in the galaxy, why I'm there, where is Darth Vader, is my blaster real, etc. Scroll down the NCO page and you'll find a topic about backstory.

 

Troops that are intended to be canon, like LFL events and stuff, I try to behave like a "real" Stormtrooper. Military, aloof, nods, curt, "yes, ma'am" etc., kind of stiff, "on duty." For an LFL-approved marketing event the director wanted us to get lively and not look like mannequins, and had to politely decline. Then we came up with some appropriate "staging" (moving from shooting position to standing guard) to make it clear we're people not dummies - very in character. (I always find it interesting that shiny TKs are in high demand, but are often expected to be something other than on-duty professionals.)

 

Troops that are less formal, which is most of them not including cons, it depends on what the organizers will allow, but usually people want to interact with you, so I go for it. It also depends on the energy of the crowd. I love interacting, giving hi-fives, showing that Stormtroopers are good people and not scary or evil, putting my best foot forward for the Empire. I also occasionally tease, stare down, follow, make "I'm watching you" gestures, and other things that are more in character and indicate that I'm actually still "on duty" but not in a scary way.

 

Cons, anything goes. But I like no matter what to keep up some sense of "reality" that fans imagine in their minds. If they see a Stormtrooper, they don't see a person in a costume, and I like to keep it that way. I don't like to "ruin the magic" by removing my helmet... though occasionally, if the audience is right, it's fun to let my red hair fly free!

 

For your event, it sounds like you'll be expected to be on professional behavior, but think of yourself like a soldier overseas... people are curious about you, want to try to figure you out - and you're the face of the Empire to them. (The good face.)

 

Hope that helps!

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LadyInWhite sums it up pretty good. Get yourself a backstory and be prepared for the most common questions, especially from kids. "Where's Vader", "Is this blaster real ?" etc.

There is a video of a lecture of Jay Laga'aia, I think from FedCon or something, where he also points out how to move as a stormtrooper. You wanna walk as if on alert or on patrol.

 

The good news is, you're wearing a helmet, noone's gonna see your face. So if you try out some interaction with the crowd and it turns out to be awkward, so be it. Noone knows it was you.

 

The only thing I refuse to do is kinda "force" people into a certain situation such as being held hostage (the infamous on-your-knees-arms-behind-your-head-trooper-behind-you) or getting handcuffed. I have no moral problem with this stuff, I do it if the person asks for it and I personally think it's a pretty cool picture for the visitors, just forcing them to do it because you wanna do it is a bad idea, in my opinion.

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Agreed. Never force people into things and never let yourself be forced into something if you feel uncomfortable doing it or if it makes the legion look bad.

 

Just relax and remember, you're one of the coolest badasses in the galaxy! Yea we get a lot of flak for not being able to hit water if we fell off a boat, but people love us! So embrace it and the more you troop the more you learn to walk and act with swag. ;)

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Everyone has pretty much covered it !

 

I had the same problem for quite a while but you just have to take the chance and try some things out, you'll soon discover what works for you and what doesn't.

Adults and older kids get a kick out of you acting like a soldier or a cop around them, asking them if they have a permit to film, if they have noticed any droids, and that kinda thing.

 

Because smaller kids are usually quite timid normally I'll just say hello, ask them what their name is and shake their hand or give them a high five, you just wanna try and appear as unthreatening as possible towards them.

Unless they assume the attack position with a toy blaster, then you can have some fun with it :)

 

Just act the way you would imagine a TK would in any given situation and you wont go far wrong.

And most importantly, have fun !

Its amazing how willing the public can be to go along with the act as long as you don't force it.

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For me it depends on the moment and who I'm around. During casual conventions, most of the time I will be your generic "cop" trooper pretending to be minding my own business, almost never removing my helmet because my hair is a mess anyway :P

 

When around buddies, we like to relax and be funny with each other which makes people more comfortable around us.

 

My favorite "acting" moment is around kids, though. Especially the shy ones, being a shy person myself I find that my Stormtrooper character brings out the "hero" in me and so I care a lot about the impression I give to children. I won't hesitate to take their hand and talk to them while their parents take pictures :')

 

My advice to you is to find the attitude that makes you feel most confident, and use that feeling to act as naturally as it comes. Be yourself! Kind of cliché but it's what it comes down to. There is no need to be afraid to do anything since, at the end of the day, anything you'd have done would have been awesome because you did it as a Stormtrooper.

 

It takes time, yes (over a year for me, starting as a biker scout,) and recently had to get used to trooping as a TK which made me start over as a comfortable trooper.

 

What I noticed made people uncomfortable was the slight "sideways look" with the helmet. It's more socially acceptable to look at them straight and wave/nod/do something with your arms. Because our faceplate is intimidating, it's important to distract the non-fan public from it with body language. Always choose slow, deliberate motions as opposed to quick, unfocused, hesitating gestures. The way you move your upper body is important, that's what takes practice.

Edited by daennika
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For Star Wars in Concert, you really don't have to worry about interacting because you are going to be swamped with photos. Basically you'll just stand there and pose while people wait in a huge mob to get a pic with you, at least that was my experience.

 

I usually stay more in character when talking with adults, but with kids I keep it really simple because they are timid and it's easy to scare them. I just high five them and then ask them if they like Star Wars. Sometimes I ask who their favorite character is, or ask if they want to hold my blaster.

 

I too went through a phase where I wanted to interact more and do fun things with people but was worried what they would think of me: Ryan. Then I slowly realized that they'll never know who is behind the mask and that freed me up to be bolder and try more things. The anonymity is actually a very freeing experience once you embrace it.

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I absolutely echo what has been said about developing a backstory.

And yes, you never need have stagefright because noone can see you, only a TK.

 

But I must add this:

 

COMEDY.

 

Comedy, comedy, comedy!

 

A TK's face is the best joke-telling face ever.

"Can't you tell this is my serious face??"

 

Try it.

 

EVERYTHING YOU EVER DO WILL BE 20% FUNNIER IN ARMOUR.

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All good points and posts. I love being a character and the costume just enhances that part of me. When the helmet is off, I'm Jim, but when I'm in costume, it's TK-8455 (or whatever costume I have on). I don't act silly, just sort of "play the part" as much as possible. I think we all have used the word "citizen" from time-to-time and that plays into the role. The biggest question I am asked is "where did you get that costume"? My response is always, "Lord Vader and/or the Empire". If the helmet is off, then I get more personal and talk to folks that are interested in the Legion, armor, and/or costuming in general.

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I so need dance lessons.

 

I did my first public stint in the armor today and I cannot count how many people asked me to "bust a move" "dance" etc. It was at a camp and the energy was very high. We played a full body version of rock paper scissors, but it was man gorilla net. For me it wasn't so much acting as just fitting in with the routine that was already going on. We were working with kids so there was a lot of silliness and I played along as well as I could.

 

I did have an awkward moment when a couple of preschool classes from a near-by day care came by. The little ones looked really scared. I kept my distance and started playing peek-a-boo. Some of them warmed up, but not enough that I felt confident approaching - so I stayed back and waved.

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I did have an awkward moment when a couple of preschool classes from a near-by day care came by. The little ones looked really scared. I kept my distance and started playing peek-a-boo. Some of them warmed up, but not enough that I felt confident approaching - so I stayed back and waved.

 

I agree... as much as I'd like to approach timid children, I wait for them to come to me. Even though I may be smiling at them behind the bucket, all they see is the scary frown.

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So, I'm here to report on the troop. I was able to keep up on some of the advice here—thank you, iPhone!—and use it during the troop. I tried to keep it light, just kind of playing around. Heck, I think I was having as much fun as the people who mobbed me for pictures. Japanese girls have this way of running/dancing in place when they're excited (kind of like when little kids really have to pee). I imitated that a couple of times, and they seemed to enjoy it. One girl had an R2-D2 hand towel, so I snatched it when she showed me, and ran away. :laugh1: She caught up to me pretty quickly and grabbed it back. It's hard to make a break for it when you're wearing the armor...

 

Anyway, I thought I'd let everybody here know since you were nice enough to respond! Working up a backstory at the moment. But it's hard to come up with a short, simple backstory when I'm used to writing everything in detail. *sigh* It's good to hear that I'm not the only one that has felt ill-at-ease in costume before, though.

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I'm already the talk of the troop. I'm the only foreigner there. :P

 

It was kinda funny when I would be talking to folks at the concert, and they were surprised when it registered that I was speaking Japanese. Then there were the English-speaking fans. That sent a lot of the other concert-goers into a frenzy. "Holy crap, he speaks English AND Japanese! What an awesome trooper..." :wub:

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I'm already the talk of the troop. I'm the only foreigner there. :P

 

It was kinda funny when I would be talking to folks at the concert, and they were surprised when it registered that I was speaking Japanese. Then there were the English-speaking fans. That sent a lot of the other concert-goers into a frenzy. "Holy crap, he speaks English AND Japanese! What an awesome trooper..." :wub:

 

SO AWESOME! Glad to hear it all went well and you DID enjoy yourself. :D

 

One last thing... Ralf and I both do this... when it does get to that mob-for-pictures time, when you can't seem to strike another pose and your feet hurt and you're kind of bored, and you feel like a cog in a factory machine that just pushes other widgets along the assembly line... LEARN TO SLEEP STANDING UP.

 

Nobody can see you sleep in there. Though you do have to kind of keep one sense awake, for that occasional fist-pump that you cant' see anyway, or the little kid who is nicking your O2... hehe :D

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Awesome to hear all went well! Having as much fun as the crowd- that, my friend, is what you want!

 

Working up a backstory at the moment. But it's hard to come up with a short, simple backstory when I'm used to writing everything in detail.

 

Why not make it detailed? You can have a super-elaborate history and backstory for your character without telling the whole 4-hour epic saga to every single person who asks. So long as you can quickly tell them what system you're from, what your last battle was, and maybe why you fight for the Empire, that's heaps for a casual fan. Have a ton of material that you can siphon down to basic details and expand on from there (if the person seems sufficiently interested in knowing more about your character).

 

Interestingly enough, once your character has enough backstory, they'll have character motivations (eg. I fight for the Empire because it represents security to me), and it will, in turn, begin to influence the way you act when in 'full' character. And then you won't have to think about how to act, because your character's history and motives will predetermine it.

 

EDIT: Theatre, etc. is fun.

Edited by Darth Furious
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Anyway, I thought I'd let everybody here know since you were nice enough to respond! Working up a backstory at the moment. But it's hard to come up with a short, simple backstory when I'm used to writing everything in detail. *sigh* It's good to hear that I'm not the only one that has felt ill-at-ease in costume before, though.

 

It can be as brief or elaborate as you like, but you're not really going to "explain" any level of detail to fans, so even if you want to write up a detailed backstory, have the 10-second version ready to go. "I'm stationed on the Executor, and I'm here making sure Darth Vader's arrival will be safe."

 

Another fun thing for photos is to do 'bunny ears' to other troopers or the person..... But be careful if you do it to a certain asthmatic supervisor ;)

 

Once in a while, depending on the person and situation... I do this occasionally when the person IN the picture seems reluctant (mostly adults, teens), and the person taking the picture is kind of pushing them. It gives the picture-taker a bit of a reward for their efforts. However, it can be kind of "out of character" for an on-duty TK.

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Once in a while, depending on the person and situation... I do this occasionally when the person IN the picture seems reluctant (mostly adults, teens), and the person taking the picture is kind of pushing them. It gives the picture-taker a bit of a reward for their efforts. However, it can be kind of "out of character" for an on-duty TK.

 

Of course :) Only in moderation and the correct circumstances

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Another fun thing for photos is to do 'bunny ears' to other troopers or the person..... But be careful if you do it to a certain asthmatic supervisor ;)

 

Totally... that's his job (yes that's me)

 

DSC_1799.jpg

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Why not make it detailed? You can have a super-elaborate history and backstory for your character without telling the whole 4-hour epic saga to every single person who asks. So long as you can quickly tell them what system you're from, what your last battle was, and maybe why you fight for the Empire, that's heaps for a casual fan. Have a ton of material that you can siphon down to basic details and expand on from there (if the person seems sufficiently interested in knowing more about your character).

 

Interestingly enough, once your character has enough backstory, they'll have character motivations (eg. I fight for the Empire because it represents security to me), and it will, in turn, begin to influence the way you act when in 'full' character. And then you won't have to think about how to act, because your character's history and motives will predetermine it.

 

That's a really good explaination. To be honest, I haven't thought about a home system yet (awkward, given the fact we're in a sci-fi environment, isn't it ?). The only one who needs to know your entire backstory in my opinion is yourself. The benefit for you is you can jump back and forth between details depending on the current conversation or situation. The benefit for the visitor is a more authentic feeling when interacting with the 501st. I guess that's the extra effort that fills the gap between wearing a TK armor and cosplay.

 

Now I need to think of a home system to fit my backstory....meh

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That's exactly what I was aiming for. By having loads of info to draw from, you can pretty much 'be' the character without using a mini-script for details. Comes across naturally.

 

Gah, I need to type mine up and share it with you all...

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