When you attend conventions for a period of time, you tend to meet countless cosplayers of various backgrounds and fandoms. Though I already knew Kylie Marcil, I met her geeky side at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles this past year, where we both cosplayed as characters from the television series Doctor Who. Specifically from the 10th Doctor series. She was cosplaying a gender swap of Captain Jack Harkness, the time traveling colleague of The Doctor who also had his own spin-off series, Torchwood (2006-2011). I had never really seen someone cosplay as Jack let alone a gender swap version, and it was very well done in the area of details and creativity.

Since then, I have kept in contact with Kylie, who has been widely open in sharing her passion for geek culture and cosplaying at countless conventions over the years. Throughout her life, she has been highly interested in mythology, legends and fantasies, which is where her love for Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts sprang from. Because of Newt Scamander’s love for animals and the care for them, she became inspired to go back to school for her lifelong passion of working with exotic animals in the form of education and conversation. Outside of Science Fiction and Fantasy geek culture, she is a huge Twenty-One Pilots fan. She is a skilled Photopass Photographer at The Disneyland Resort and a volunteer for Pet Adoption Connection, a non-profit organization that rescues dogs from local animal shelters and helps them rehabilitate for adoptions.

How long have you been cosplay for?

I have been cosplaying for about four years!

 What got you interested in cosplay?

What got me into cosplay was seeing my friends be involved in the scene and how much fun they had doing it. And even as a kid, I have enjoyed wearing costumes and throwing themed parties. There is something so alluring to wearing something out of the norm, even if it is just for a night.

What was your first cosplay experience like?

My first cosplay experience was for a small Doctor Who convention in Los Angeles known as Gallifrey One. A few of my friends and I got together to do a “poodle” skirt theme for a few of the Doctors; I was portraying the Eleventh Doctor, and the “poodle” on my skirt was the crack in time and space from Amy Pond’s bedroom. I had the red pinstripe shirt, dark-colored skirt, maroon suspenders, and a tweet patterned ascot. This was my first time making a costume and it had its challenges (I constantly thank my friend for helping me with the sizing and the sewing).

How would you compare your first cosplay to now?

I still use that first cosplay for certain events, such as the Dapper Day events at Disneyland, because it is such a fun outfit to wear! But that first cosplay made me realize how unskilled I am in sewing, and gave me a new appreciation for shopping at thrift stores.

What is it you enjoy about cosplay?

The thing I enjoy the most about cosplay is the chance to represent my favorite fandoms in a unique way! There is something so fun about transforming yourself into a character and being able to pay homage to them, especially if it is a character that means a lot to yourself.

Were you ever shy or worried of what people thought about your cosplay? If so, how did you overcome it?

Of course! I am naturally a reserved person, so I was definitely worried about whether people would approve of my take on the characters and how I chose to portray them, but I overcame it by allowing myself to just have fun with it. Another way that I helped was observing how other people did cosplay and how they composed themselves in those realms and learning that there really isn’t a “right” way to it, it’s just about whatever you make of it.

What was the hardest cosplay you built?

Most of the cosplays I do are fairly easy and low maintenance because I am not the best at sewing, but the hardest cosplay to put together was Dustin Henderson from Stranger Things. The most difficult involved some internet sleuthing to figure out the exact shirt he wore in episode six, where he and Steve Harrington walked along the train tracks to lure Dart back home. After that was making props and finding the right kind of.

What was the easiest cosplay you built?

The easiest cosplay I made was probably Newt Scamander. I made the vest myself (okay, I had a lot of help along the way), but the rest was spent with multiple trips to multiple thrift stores trying to find the right kind of pants and boots. The wan came from a licensed merchandise website, and the coat came from everyone’s favorite pop-culture shop, Hot Topic.

What was your favorite cosplay experience and why?

Kylie Marcil – My favorite cosplay experience is anytime I get to dress up as New Scamanderl other than being a Ravenclaw and not a Hufflepuff, he is the character I relate to the most in all of the wizarding world as we currently know it, everything from his love and understanding of creatures, to his curiosity, and his awkwardness. There was one time that I was cosplaying him at Gallifrey One, and these kids ran up to me with the biggest smiles. I guess someone had told them about me, so they had been looking for me all day and where so excited to finally find me. We talked about magical creatures and I gave them miniature Picketts I had made from pipe cleaners. It was really special.

Are you part of a cosplay group? If so, what conventions do you go to and what have been the themes?

I wouldn’t say that we are any sort of cosplay group, but I do go to Gallifrey One wit the same group of ladies and we usually try to coordinate at least one cosplay theme for one of the days. One year, we did the Doctor “poodle” skirts, and another year one of the girls and I did a Steve and Dustin from Stranger Things.

If you could give any advice to any younger people or people who are overall new to cosplay and geek culture, what would you say to them?

My advice would be just to have fun, and always go with what you think will make you the happiest. Sometimes you’ll have the best cosplay experience, and sometimes you might have less successful ones, but the point is to make sure you are content and confident.

Outside of cosplay, what do you do for fun?

Outside of cosplay, I live my life as one big adventure. I love to travel and experience new things, as well as explore interesting places. I want my life to be a collection of stories, just volume after volume of interesting tales, so that is what is always my goal when trying to stay busy.