Mascot Handbook. The FIVE E's of Mascoting:

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Mascot Handbook. The FIVE E's of Mascoting:"

Joseph Hart
5 years ago
Views:

1 Mascot Handbook Mascots should NEVER speak! It ruins the illusion. The human voice sounds distorted and muffled through a mascot head. Also, different performers have different voices which will confuse your audience. Do not let anyone see you change. Never take your head off in Public. Change in a private area as well as break in an area where patrons & children cannot see you. Should you need to get the Mascot head off quickly, find the quickest possible exit and secluded area to take a breather. Water and staying hydrated. Please drink plenty of water at all times. Due to the amount you will be moving, along with Florida weather, you can dehydrate quickly. DO NOT stay in a costume longer than minutes at a time. Make sure when you take a small break, you allow enough time to bring your body temperature down. Ice vests will help reduce chance of heat stroke. The most important thing to remember when you're first starting out as a mascot is that your human identity will be set aside. Therefore you have the opportunity to act as something or someone you're not. This is not a suggestion for causing trouble, but it is a chance for you to portray an ideal character, devoid of faults. Remember that every act, even small, will be watched by every age, whether you realize it or not. Make sure your act doesn't get you in trouble. Be professional and fun. Do not engage in bad behaviors even if patrons are. Remember, everything ends up on YouTube, The FIVE E's of Mascoting: Entrance: Set your mark, with a big entrance. Let people know that you've arrived Stomping on the floor, or letting your shoes rap hard and loud against the cement. Wave your arms. Most of all, grab that attention! Exaggeration: You're in a huge costume, wearing huge feet, a huge head, and needing a huge ego to fill out the costume. You need to double or even triple the actions you would normally do so your costume doesn't hide what you're doing. Walking is usually suggested as a march, try not to drag your feet, but pick them up off the ground. A smooth wobble, a jump in your step, a fluid prowl, or even a child-like bounce adds character to your steps. If you're waving to the Que-line, make sure the guy in the very end of the line can see you. Use your whole body. Mascot Handbook Page 1 9/12/2013

2 Emotion: Practice a number of emotions- happy, sad, angry, scared, excited in front of a mirror with your head on. Learn where the facial features of your costume are and use them the way a human (or animal) would. Once you've gotten down some emotions using your head and arms try and use the rest of your body as well. Shivering, slow motion, trudging feet, tantrums, jumping up and down, skipping and elation are great emotions to try. And remembering that the costume will hide a lot of your gestures, make sure you exaggerate! Elevation: Mascots are expected to be larger than life. But the person making them animated should remember that differences in elevation will be more effective than one who uses slight variations in elevation. This is what it means: to get higher elevation, try some things on your toes. Peer down at children. Jump. Dance. To get lower elevation, slide. Kneel. Lay down. Lunge. Fall (Safely) unexpectedly. If you keep in mind that you are doing a little of both it will add to your animation Energy: Mascots aren't expected to run out of gas before they're done. if you're starting out DON'T GO CRAZY. Pace yourself. If you do run out of breath and you can't get to the changing room, move to a chair or a bench and use your arms to keep your motions going while you catch your breath. Don't feel like you have to be high- strung throughout the entire performance. Many times, a calmer mascot is easier for a child to approach. MOST OF ALL: Treat people with respect. You can't win everyone over, and you should never expect to. Remember everyone has a different reason for being at the aquarium. Sometimes respectfully walking away makes a bigger impression on someone than pressing the issue. The more respect you give the more respect you get back. There are many people who have an actual fear of mascots. It s not the costume itself, but the fear of the unknown person inside. DO NOT chase or harass these people. If children are scared, or you accidently make one cry, there are several options: 1) Hide behind your handler so the child can see the mascot could be just as scared as he/she is. 2) Cover your eyes with your hands/flippers and wobble your knees like you are scared as well. 3) Just walk away and don t press the issue. 4) Many times, parents will want that Mascot/child photo no matter what. Handlers should gently urge the parents to try a photo later with the Mascot. If the child steps back and observes other children hugging and taking photos with the mascot, they usually will work up enough courage to take the photo in their own time. Mascot Handbook Page 2 9/12/2013

3 Common Mascot Gestures Waving Use your entire arm for a big wave in situations that you really need to stand out. Simply open and close your hand when waving to a smaller child in a meet and greet mascot situation. Laughing Bring your hands up to the mascot s mouth and nod the mascot head forward in a rapid motion to signal laughing. Blowing a kiss - Put your hand to the mascot mouth and then flat out in front of the head with the palm up. Hugging Be gentle when hugging. Remember that children may feel shy or intimidated by a gigantic furry presence. Also, if you give a strong forceful hug, especially to an adult or teenager you run the risk of initiating an aggressive or confrontational situation. I love you! point to yourself then use both hands to draw a heart in the air and point to the recipient. I m scared! runaway, cover your eyes, and shake your knees. Lifting one hand up to peek out can be very comical. Aww, shucks! - give a little sweeping kick forward while hooking your arm in front of you. Meet and Greet Mascots Adults and Teens Shake hands, give a big hug, laugh, and even blow a kiss. Most importantly, take notice of adults and teens as soon as they approach you. This will establish a level of authority. Your handler should make eye contact and say something like This is Dolly/Winter! What s your name? to initiate a conversation. This type of introduction and interaction with teens and adults can diffuse many potential uncomfortable or even violent encounters. Children Keep the movement slower and gentle with children. Remember many kids are afraid and intimidated by mascots. Making large fast movements can be very scary to a child. Hold your hand out and open and close your hand slowly to wave. Let the child feel how soft your hand is. Let them get to know you at their own pace. If a child is scared of you and screams you can do the same by moving away from the child, covering your eyes and shaking your knees to signal that you are also a little nervous. Try to move slowly back towards the child and build a relationship but if they re still scared, simply move on to the next child and let them observe how friendly you are. They may still come around for a big hug. Mascot Handbook Page 3 9/12/2013

4 Mascot Safety Handlers You are the eyes, ears and voice of the Mascot. A handler should be alert and always be paying attention to the people approaching, as well as where the mascot is stepping. The handler is responsible for making sure that the mascot sees everyone that needs a hug and a picture. The handler also defuses any negative situation, should they arise. Many times, people do forget there is a person in the costume and will be rough, hit, poke or attempt to hang of the mascot. A Mascot must never handle this situation. It is the handler s responsibility to gently dissuade these behaviors from overly aggressive patrons. When working as a handler, vocalization is key Dolly, there is a little girl to your left, Winter, be careful, there is a little boy behind you. Dolly..we are going down NINE steps Always count the stairs for the mascot and let them know when they have reached the last step. Also vocalize curbs, uneven pavement, wet areas, etc. Sign language Make sure that the mascot and the handler have some hand signals to indicate that they need to exit. Something as simple as a thumb down can tell the escort that something is wrong and we need to get to a secured area. Schedule Breaks and appearances should be established before every performance. In most meetand-greet situations a mascot is not in the costume for more than 30 minutes before having a break. In colder temperatures this can be increased and hotter temperatures this can be decreased but this is a good general rule of thumb. Stay away from dogs, Police K-9s and service animals. Mascots are intimidating to dogs. You don t want to disrupt an animal s peace of mind especially if they are a working animal. You could get bit. If you see a dog, even if it seems friendly, walk away. DO NOT BE A HERO! If you cannot make it through your run, please let your handler know right away and exit for a break to bring your body temperature down. Your safety is our number one concern. Mascot Photos Your hands must show in photos at all times. This is a must, no acceptations. Be careful when touching patrons. A gesture or touch you may not even be aware of can be taken as something else. Gentle hugs are fine. Patrons may ask you to make explicit gestures for photo s because they think it s funny or want it for Facebook. Do not participate in this. You are representing the Clearwater Aquarium and must be professional at all times. Do not hold any promotional materials in photos that belong to other companies (unless it is previously authorized). This is considered endorsement. If the patron pushes the issue, have them contact the aquarium directly. Do not hold babies or children. It is easy for a Mascot to drop a child. A handler can gently suggest a family photo and the parent can hold the baby/child themselves. Mascot Handbook Page 4 9/12/2013

5 HEALTH TIPS FOR MASCOTS If you have the desire to be a long-term mascot you will learn to tolerate the heat longer as you perform more and more. Your body will build up a tolerance for the heat by reacting the natural cooling process. You can only absorb about a quart of water every hour fifteen minutes however, you can sweat it out in a suit at a higher rate. Drink plenty of water before, during and after a performance. Try the ice vests and make sure you properly bring your body temperature down on breaks. Gatorade takes longer for your body to process than actual water. Just stick to water while you are in the suit. Avoid sodas, sugary beverages and dairy while mascoting. These products can increase dehydration. You may feel muscle cramping the day after a hot appearance. This is partially the loss of potassium from your muscles. Eat plenty of bananas before and after a performance to replenish. Carbo-loading prior to performances can help maintain energy. Think of how runners carbo-load before a race? Exactly. You are going to burn calories and carbs faster that going to the gym. Enjoy some spaghetti the night before! Just a good tip I have found works well in maintaining energy in years as a mascot. Eat light WHILE you are mascoting in the heat. Apples, bananas, etc. It will keep your energy up and not weigh you down or make you sluggish. Pizza and greasy foods can make you feel sick while you are in the heat. And above all..stay hydrated! PERSONAL HYGINE As we all know, Florida summers are hot! Now, add performing outside in a loveable Mascot costume daily and it s even hotter. Here are a few tips to help you keep yourself (as well as the costume) at your best at all times. 1. Please shower daily 2.Please use both anti-perspriant AND deodorant every day. When you are mascoting, apply several times a day. 3.Feel free to use talcum/baby powder on your skin and under the costume to help keep cool 4.Wash your hands frequently or use wet wipes in mascot office 5.When wearing the mascot costume, please wear clothing that is cool and easy to move in. Long pants or long sleeve shirts can over heat you easily. 6. The costumes will get hand washed several times during the week, however, we ask once you are done with your shift, please turn costume inside out and febreeze costume. 7.Disinfect inside of mascot head with a light spray of Lysol after each shift 8.Wear close-toed shoes 9.If your costume gets a stain, please contact your team lead right away so it can be properly taken care of. Mascot Handbook Page 5 9/12/2013

6 RESPECTING CO-WORKERS BOUNDRIES It s fun to be a mascot and interact with our co-workers while we are in the costume. Keep in mind that everyone is working and may not be interested in a mascot interaction. Some may be busy while others may feel uncomfortable with the mascot itself. 1. Please stay away from areas where presentations are being held, unless asked to participate. 2.Never interrupt a staff member or volunteer while they are talking to a guest. 3.Most of the time, staff members will enjoy the mascot interactions- keep these fun, yet short. Now, you are ready to be a Mascot! Have a great time working at Clearwater Marine Aquarium! Mascot Handbook Page 6 9/12/2013

Donate Life Virginia Captain Cardinal Helper. Training

Donate Life Virginia Captain Cardinal Helper (Mascot & Escort) Training Thank you for volunteering to serve as a Captain Cardinal Helper (mascot and/or escort.) Your support and promotion of organ, eye