Dragon Con is known as a premiere convention for cosplayers. It is one of the cons that cosplayers work towards all year long, creating brand new costumes for the event as well as bringing several cosplay options to display over the weekend. The capstone event of the con for this community is the Masquerade. There are entire traditions around gathering in room parties or getting into the Hyatt Centennial II-IV ballrooms on Sunday evening year after year (and of course, watching Duck Dodgers after).
The Dragon Con Masquerade is hosted by Tony Gowell and Eddie McClintock, and they have become as much a staple of the event as all the costumes and cosplayers. Gowell has hosted for the last ten years and with McClintock for nine. Both were kind enough to sit down with the Daily Dragon to talk about their time as hosts.
Daily Dragon (DD): How did this masquerade partnership come into being? Whose idea was it?
Eddie McClintock (EMcC): What I remember is, while I was there, someone approached me and said ‘How would you like to host the Masquerade?’ I didn’t really know what that entailed because I had never been to the Masquerade. But Dragon Con had historically been so kind to me by continuing to invite me that I just figured any way that I can give back to them to show my appreciation… still to this day it’s a way for me to give back to what I consider to be my home con. I just love coming and I look forward to it.
DD: Did it start the year that you were Grand Marshal of the Dragon Con parade?
EMcC: Yeah, it may have been! That was what popped into my head first when you asked the question.
Tony Gowell (TG): I was first involved in the Masquerade the year before Eddie started, that’s why I have one more year hosting than him, when Jason David Frank (God rest his soul) was brought on to host. He was really nervous about doing it by himself, so the company asked me if I would go and assist. And my response was ‘I’m currently in drag with some friends doing Wonder Woman cosplay and I’m dressed as Etta Candy. I don’t really have time to get out of this, and I didn’t bring formal wear or something really nice to host.’ Because like Eddie I was unfamiliar… it sounded like a big fancy event maybe I should have fancy clothes. They were like ‘No, that’s fine,’ and then they were like, ‘Wait what are you wearing?’ … So I stood there in full winter outfit from the Wonder Woman movie. I was doing photos with Bryan Humphrey with all my friends when I got the call that I was needed.
And then when Eddie was brought on, everyone noticed that after we worked together the first year that we had a very comfortable energy… so Dragon Con was like, how about we make you guys a duo moving forward? I was like, sure absolutely. I had the best time with Eddie. When Eddie came on board it was just seamless.
EMcC: What did we wear the first year? Do you remember? What was our cosplay?
TG: You dressed as yourself the first year because I hadn’t met you or known you yet to wonder if you would be brave enough to follow my lead and just put on a costume I provided. So, I did Jumanji the first year because I had that little safari outfit. Then you saw me and were like, oh my god I would love to be a part of this. The first year we dressed together you were Willy Wonka and I was an oompa-loompa.
DD: Do you collaborate on the theme or costume ideas from year to year or is it mostly Tony’s brainchild? It sounds like mostly it’s Tony coming up with an idea that’s kind of relevant for the year, like the year you did the WandaVision cosplay.
TG: It is, but of course I always consult with Eddie because if he ever vetoed an idea for whatever reason then we would absolutely not do it. But it’s easy here since I’m local and know the underpinnings of who would be able to join us, with all my local friends and family and people that are avid cosplayers. I have asked people to come and open the show that maybe didn’t win the big prize the year before. Since I have that intimate information and contact information of those contestants, I just go, hey, Eddie, what do you think of this? And he has never had an objection, not a single one.
EMcC: I love it, I love it. I just trust him and he says hey, this is what you’re gonna do, are you cool? And I’m like, yup.
DD: Eddie, is there something you can think of where you would be like, nope, not going to do that? Where is the line? Because you seem pretty game.
EMcC: Yeah, no. If Tony is in, I’m in.
TG: I do try to make Eddie more of the center piece because he is the celebrity guest where I am the employee. So that’s why he was Willy Wonka and I was like the comedic foil being the oompa-loompa. Because I don’t mind making fun of myself. And then as I’ve gotten to know Eddie, he doesn’t mind being a little comedic either. This year [in a Daily Dragon exclusive], we are going to do One Piece. Eddie is going to be our Monkey D. Luffy and I am going to be Tony Tony Chopper, the reindeer.
DD: I confess that I don’t know anything about One Piece and only saw KPop Demon Hunters because it was literally everywhere, and then I loved it.
TG: That goes back to what we were talking about with the genres we choose as hosts. I never want to take away the spotlight from a super-hot property. Because chances are, we are going to see some KPop Demon Hunters cosplay in the Masquerade. I never want to be wearing the same thing that someone else is all about. … That’s why I don’t mind being a little kooky, a little off-center, and maybe referencing some older properties.
DD: Eddie, what is it about Dragon Con that drew you in and keeps you coming back?
EMcC: There was just one year in the sixteen years since Warehouse 13 came on the air that they didn’t invite me. And I guess there was kind of a fan push back and people were like, he’s kind of become our mascot for the convention. … I would say that what really draws me to Dragon Con more than any other convention, besides the consistency, is that there are people that depend on seeing me there. By the same token, I depend on them. It’s very reciprocal. Whatever good I am able to energetically give to them, they don’t understand how much it fills me up. … It is some of the best four days of every year that I have.
DD: What’s the hardest for you as hosts in keeping the event moving and organized? Do you have a role in that, or do you just show up and start reading and trust everyone behind the scenes to keep things moving?
TG: There is an entire department that is carved out for the Masquerade. They have their own director and their own team of volunteers because they have to organize all the contestants, get their write ups, get their music together, help line them up … then there’s the children’s category, which is its own work. They’re also doing the hallway costume contest that runs all weekend. That all falls under the Masquerade department. So, they hand me and Eddie the book literally five minutes before we step on the stage. The challenge is really when the contestant isn’t prepared, and we have to reshuffle them. There is amazing, amazing help from Denise Yeager, who is the person that is kind of like the stage manager. She will come up and just rip that page out of the book, flip it to the correct spot, and tell us like, that person is now number 34 not 18, and we just go, okay! It is seamless, and she has worked with the Masquerade the entire time Eddie and I have been doing it. When I see her coming out of the corner of my eye, I know that she’s going to be giving us a really important piece of information.
DD: What have been some of your favorite or most memorable costumes?
TG: Do you remember the first year we hosted together and there was that chick from I think one of the Hellboy movies? She was like the angel of death and she had all those eyes? It was gorgeous, and she won best in show. It was just stunning. The Scooby-Do gang, I thought they did a really great job.
EMcC: The one that I remember was the obelisk from 2001 so I acted like I was a monkey. Just like free association. Because I’m an applause whore, I got a huge response from that. I remember that one the most because I got the best crowd reaction.
DD: How have you seen the masquerade grow and change over the years?
EMcC: For me, from the first one I can remember until now, it has always been very efficiently run. I think there was a year where we were like, this needs to be a little more fleshed out for us, so it runs a little more smoothly. I know Dragon Con responded immediately and the next year we didn’t have that issue.
TG: Aside from the smoothness of the music cues and tightening the book so it isn’t so wandering, I feel that it’s less provocative than it used to be and more of a celebration of pop culture. It’s less burlesque-y, less skin is being shown to be tantalizing. I think it’s become more family friendly. You see a lot of kids incorporated into the cosplay. Even the adult costumes seem to be more of a celebration of like anime and different pop culture, video games especially. They honestly probably have more skin covered than in their regular street clothes.
DD: What does hosting the masquerade mean to both of you?
EMcC: It means I get to see Tony again. I’m not kidding. I don’t really have a connection to the pop culture, I don’t really know most of the costumes that come out. I’m not down. I’ve also made friends with some of the regulars, and I’m happy to see them. And it also means the end of another great Dragon Con. It’s just a lot of really good memories.
TG: It has a couple of different meanings to me. From an employee standpoint, it means it’s the end of the weekend and I don’t have any stress the moment I step on the stage for the Masquerade. There’s an incredible team that runs the Masquerade under Jason and Katie Guest. The judges are there, Eddie is there, and anything that has been hard work leading up to the Masquerade has already been done. So, it’s like the dessert portion of a meal. … With Eddie I’m meeting a family friend, someone who is going to be there and be my support network.
The Dragon Con Masquerade will be held Sunday at 8:30PM in Centennial II-IV in the Hyatt, with overflow viewing in the Atrium ballroom in the Marriott. You can also see the Masquerade live on DCTV from your hotel room or streaming to your device. You don’t want to miss this cosplaying duo.
