Cosplay isn't just for the millennials on Long Island, these fans prove

His salt-and-pepper beard tucked under an authentic-looking TIE fighter pilot helmet, John Trowbridge, 49, of Baldwin, looked straight out of “Star Wars” central casting as he hung out in Cosplay Alley at Cradle-Con, the comic, collectible and pop culture convention held in June at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City.

Beyond the movie-set quality get-up he was wearing, Trowbridge had another advantage over many in the cosplay costumed crowd, which tilted millennial. Trowbridge’s research into the “Star Wars” saga stretches back almost 40 years to 1980, the first time he traveled in a theater seat to that famously faraway galaxy.

“I’ve been a fan since I was about 10 years old. I grew up on it,” Trowbridge said of an obsession that leapt into hyperspace four years ago when a friend asked him to join the 501st Legion’s Empire City Garrison, the Long Island branch of the Lucasfilm-sanctioned nonprofit cosplay society. The international fan network helps cosplayers assemble painstakingly accurate costumes, piece by piece, including accessories.

“Everything is handmade by the fans,” Trowbridge said of his costume, faithful from the jet-black flight suit to the glossy black helmet. “One person makes the armor, one person makes the flight suit, somebody sells the gloves and you slowly put it together,” he said.

Building a costume to standards that would please Darth Vader can cost between $500 and $1,200, Trowbridge said. The payoff comes when 501st Legion cosplayers — who also dress as Star Wars Storm Troopers — attend charity fundraisers or visit area children’s hospitals.

“The kids come up to you and want to take a picture with you,” Trowbridge said with a smile, “and the older adults from the '70s and '80s that grew up on it get just as excited when they see us at an event.”

Aging into the hobby

Cosplay — role playing in costume as a character from a movie, book or video game — is not just a trend among millennial fans of “The Avengers” and “Harry Potter.” Baby boomers old enough to have seen “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” on the entertainment franchises’ first intergalactic go-rounds are also part of a hobby — some say lifestyle — that often requires dropping hundreds of dollars online or with convention vendors.

And age has its advantages in cosplay, too. While 20-year-olds slide seamlessly into Spider-Man spandex, mature adult cosplayers more accurately fit roles originated by graying character actors.

“In the cosplay community, a lot of people want to be as accurate as they can for the characters they cosplay,” said Jason Linetsky, executive director of CosplayNYC Inc., a Brooklyn-based online magazine with about 6,000 followers.

For instance, Linetsky knows several older people who have found their cosplay niche with such “Harry Potter” Hogwarts professors as Minerva McGonagall, played on screen by veteran British character actress Maggie Smith, and the gray eminence, Albus Dumbledore, played by Richard Harris (and Harris’ subsequent, posthumous replacement Michael Gambon).

Aging has helped Leonard Provenzano, 64, of Mineola, to move light-years ahead in embodying “Star Wars” characters. Provenzano started swashbuckling around as Luke Skywalker, wielding a store-bought toy lightsaber after seeing “Star Wars” on its opening weekend in 1977. Nowadays he’s more comfortable essaying one of Young Skywalker’s older, wiser Jedi mentors.

“My specialty is Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Provenzano said. He cuts a mysterious but familiar figure at cosplay events, where he’s a fixture roaming around in a hood and flowing robes like Alec Guinness in the original “Star Wars.”

Provenzano said younger cosplayers revere his portrayal, hanging on his vocal impressions of such immortal lines as, “May the force be with you” and “These are not the droids you’re looking for.” He says they hold open doors for him and help tote gear now that he has hip trouble.

“I’m older and in many ways a different generation,” Provenzano said, “but they accept me as one of them.”

Cosplay origins

Linetsky traces the origins of cosplay to the masquerade balls of 14th and 15th century Europe. He says the term cosplay was coined in the 1930s as a portmanteau word combining costume and play, and that Americans began to explore strange new worlds in handmade costumes at “Star Trek” conventions beginning in the 1980s.

“My girlfriend way back in 1989 was involved in Klingon fandom where she dressed as a Klingon, and that’s how I got involved with it,” said Wayne Augustson, 56, of Lake Grove, an Air Force veteran who served from 1981 to 1985.

Donning a “Star Trek” tunic for cosplay “can be expensive,” said Augustson, who purchased his authentic Starfleet officer costume from a magazine selling memorabilia from a Las Vegas “Star Trek” exhibit that closed a decade ago. He belongs to USS Britannic, a Long-Island-based cosplay club for fans of sci-fi, “Star Trek: Next Generation" feature films and the “Star Trek: Voyager” TV series.

In the persona of a Starfleet officer, members attend conventions together, fundraise for such charities as the Wounded Warrior Project and occasionally gather in living rooms to watch first episodes or series finales.

“I do it for the social aspect. You have a lot of like-minded people that like science fiction and fantasy, so we kind of congregate together to share our mutual interests,” said Augustson.

He added, “In costuming you look good, it’s a time to escape from the real world. It’s its own little subculture.”

“It’s a nice way to shape reality,” agreed John Kern, 53, of West Babylon, a logistics worker for Target in Bay Shore who cosplays as a chief science officer on a Starfleet ship. “Our main objective is to have fun.”

Many older cosplayers from Long Island dress up for charity, said Andrea James, 45, of Massapequa, the director of Saber Guild Endor Temple, the Long Island chapter of another official Lucasfilm fan and charity organization.

The club, whose members also include her husband, Michael, 47, gets its “geek on for a cause,” she said, and recently raised funds for Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

While many cosplayers portray well-known characters or create original personas inspired by popular series, others live in their own universe.

Wendy Ortiz of Westbury, an actress who describes herself as being in her 50s, said she admires “certain characters from the Marvel and DC Comics” universes. But Ortiz prefers to dress for cosplay events as Swordsha, the Queen of Hybrids, a supernatural character from a graphic novel she’s writing.

“Every time I put my costume on, I feel like I’m the queen of the world,” she said.

Bringing Swordsha to life takes more than a little stage magic. Ortiz said it takes her three hours to do Swordsha’s makeup and hair. To fit into her costume, which has wings attached to its back, she goes to a gym five days a week for weight training and aerobics including running, swimming and swordplay.

“My costume is a size 4, which is not easy to fit into at 50-something,” Ortiz said.