Cosplay events are always a huge draw at conventions, be they family favorites like Cosplay Chess, or racier affairs, like the Cosplay Dating Game. "The hardest thing is getting all your participants organized and on the same page," notes veteran cosplay staffer Lyndsey Luther. She continued, stating that "trying to decide who will participate in these events is a tricky business." The events require a large degree of judgment and foresight, to ensure both a successful run and a favorable reception. Luther notes that "you need to take into account the popularity of the character the person is portraying as well their reliability and acting abilities." To elaborate, Luther recalled her experiences with this year's Cosplay Chess at Anime Boston. " I wrote the scipt and coordinated with the 60-plus participants on attacks, moves and other issues via email, as well as acting in-character as one of the two chess players directing the match." In addition, a cosplay coordinator must be ready for the worst-case scanrio. Luther recalls that the event "had a few participants drop out at the last moment, requiring re-writes of the script and special attacks."

At the same time, cosplay staff are tasked with ensuring that the participants are up to the task of appearing in front of a crowd. According to Luther, rougly one thousand attendees gathered to watch Cosplay Chess at Anime Boston. "It can be very harrowing to be on-stage in front of so many people," she notes, "and some actors simply can't do it or fall victim to stage fright." Events that focus on spontanaety provide a completely different level of challenges. According to Luther, "It is often stressful even for experienced actors to be in completely improvisizational events such as the Dating Games." The only real path to success in these events is "to know your character inside and out, and be able to interact with the other players AND the audience in-character, and try to gauge which responses are likely to get a better reaction."

The position comes with both rewards and disadvantages. "The downside is that you usually wind up missing out on things at the convention itself, because you're too busy running around like the proverbial chicken with it's head cut off," muses Luther. She continues, remarking that "If there's a guest you really want to see, or a panel you'd love to go to, and these things conflict with staffing duties, you're pretty much SOL." The position does have a large silver lining, though. "As a seasoned performer, one of my greatest joys in life is entertaining an audience. Seeing an audience going crazy for a great music video, or laughing about a well-scripted joke just makes my day."