Lord Voldemort

Costume Debut: MISTI-Con 2019

Costume Reprised (sans cauldron): August 2019

Honors: Merlie Award for "Most Likely to Be Defeated by a Teenager"

I. Building the Cauldron

After meeting several times to brainstorm, and taking days off work to get it done in time, Irvin and Amber determined they could make the cauldron themselves, utilizing Irvin's newly purchased sewing machine. First, they got an obscene amount of lightweight black fabric. After cutting a gargantuan rectangle to serve as the main body of the cauldron, they cut strips of black fabric to sew in horizontal rows on the inside, creating sleeves. Into these sleeves went five hula hoops of various sizes - these were a permanent fixture of the cauldron, and served to give it the necessary horizontal shape.

The tricky part, however, was the vertical aspect: it had to be constructed firmly enough to stand on its own when Irvin climbed out of it (at a very particular height where Irvin could crouch inside it yet could step out of it). Yet it had to be completely collapsible to actually be transported to and from MISTI-Con. This was the seemingly impossible part. In the end, Irvin and Amber created tubes out of black fabric that were sewn/glued into the cauldron at regular intervals. These sleeves would be filled with pool noodles when the cauldron needed to be constructed, with flaps at the top that could be fastened, and then opened to remove the noodles when needed.

Finally, a shimmery blue fabric was attached to the top of the cauldron, with a giant flap for Irvin to climb out of (and for the potion ingredients to be thrown into). You can see the constructed cauldron in the top left photo (Voldy puppet because Irvin didn't bother with makeup when trying it out). As to the costume itself: a white bodysuit and white makeup was all that was needed!

II. Preparing the Resurrection

Now that the costume was ready, Irvin had to work on the performance of said resurrection. The most important thing was finding a Wormtail to do the resurrecting. Luckily, there is a well-known Pettigrew cosplayer who frequents MISTI-Con, who goes by the name of Ni. Upon receiving an email from Irvin requesting a Pettigrew, Ni replied that there had actually been plans to stage this resurrection years ago, before the Voldemort in question flaked, so together they would make this the most extra thing to ever happen!

Ni already had most of the props - the flesh, blood, and bone in question, as well as the silver hand Pettigrew receives as a reward. Irvin had to provide Babymort to throw in the cauldron. So Irvin bought a baby doll and painted it dark red, which made it the creepiest prop Irvin's used to date.

Irvin then wrote the script with stage directions and everything. He recruited his friends Matt and Leeza to be Cedric and Harry respectively, one to die at the very beginning, and one to be tied up and bled. Irvin got music to go with it - Hawthorn & Holly's eerie song, "Flesh, Blood, and Bone." Lastly, Irvin snagged a black robe that Ni would use to "robe him," as the scene goes (ironically, it was the robe that was the biggest issue in the whole performance!).

III. The MISTI-Con 2019 Performance

At MISTI-Con, the Merlies were in the middle of what Irvin called "the Irvin Variety Hour," so it was a bit of a rushed costume change. The best part was when he realized (after putting on the white bodysuit and makeup) that he'd forgotten a costume piece, and absolutely sprinted (in said bodysuit) through the corridors of the hotel to retrieve. Luckily, most people at MISTI-Con were familiar with Irvin - when they saw a white blur run past, they paid it no mind.

Irvin had spent the first day of the con hyping up the Merlies, promising that they would include "the single most extra costume I've ever done." (He stands by that assessment.) Here is the final result of all his efforts:

After the Merlies, Irvin would be leading the Dancing Death Eaters in their first ever MISTI-Con performance. Luckily, their brand-new routine ("My Obsession") was all about Voldemort and Bellatrix, so Irvin remained in the bodysuit and makeup, just donning his dancey pants and a cape (the Dancing Voldemort costume!). The bodysuit was definitely interesting to dance in, given how slippery it was to hold hands in! But Irvin and the Dancing Death Eaters pulled it off, as seen below:

IV. Post-MISTI

Voldemort (without the cauldron) got reprised very soon after the convention, as the Dancing Death Eaters shot a music video for "My Obsession" in full costume.

As for the cauldron, it is preserved (in its collapsed form) in Irvin's apartment, awaiting an opportunity to restage the Tale of Flesh, Blood, and Bone. After the days of work that went into creating this costume, that cauldron is definitely going to make a comeback!

Note: Not to be confused with Lord Voldemort (AVPM) or with Lord Voldemort (Potter Puppet Pals)... Voldemort is rapidly becoming the most diversely cosplayed character in Irvin's arsenal!